Astrid Blu: Orion's Curse

The Paradise

Astrid closed her eyes, still drowning, in hope for someone to shake and wake her up. But she was still in the water. She learned to swim when she was 10. As a result, she didn't find herself suffocating. The bubbling of the water had settled.

Finally she opened her eyes in hope of finding herself in her bed, so that all of this turns out to be just a dream. It's just a dream. It's just a dream. She told herself over and over again, before opening her eyes.

It was disappointing and surprising at the same time, that she was still in the water. Then it occurred to her that she may have slipped into a water tub in the washroom. But there is no water tub in Little Mary's washrooms. She has to go up and find out what was happening. She slowly swam upwards. The movement of her hands still made water bubbles as a reminder that it's really happening. Water bubbles came from her mouth as well, when she opened her mouth.

The water was relaxing in a sort of way. It wasn't like the usual tap water that would flow freely on her body, everyday when she showered. It was different. As she was reaching upwards, she saw the surface of the water sparkling with sun rays. It felt magical, and earthly, and out of the world at the same time.

She had to find what's happening, so she acted against her desire, and finally surfaced.

First thing she saw when she surfaced was a beautiful blue sky. The sound of birds, the water flowing, the rattling of leaves as the wind playfully ran to and fro. It was indeed magical. Green was all that she could see. Lush bushes of trees and plants surrounding her, making her feel like she was in the middle of a beautiful forest. Forests which only exist in fairy tales, for the princess to go and live in. It was beautiful in every way.

With her mouth slightly apart, Astrid stood up and hopped onto the ground from the soothing water. The ground was thickly covered in grass of different shades of greens. If felt unreal. So she leaned to touch it. It had an earthy smell. The grass brushed on her palms. She slightly smiled at the blissful feeling of tingling from her fingertips to her toes. The sound of a water fall was heard from behind her.

Astrid became curious as she could hear and feel many things that were proving that this was not a dream. It was indeed real. She peeked over her shoulder to get a look at the source of the sound of flowing water. It was a small waterfall. It only had the height of an average person. The milky water falls directly into the lake from which Astrid came. It was gushing in all it's glory. The water was so clear that she could see beneath it. Small fish of multiple colours can be seen moving around in the clear water. Small bushes of corals can be seen on the ground. She thought coral reefs were found only in oceans. But, there it was growing beautifully in the small river which doesn't have even the slightest saltiness in its water. Nothing is impossible.

She slightly smiled at the beautiful views surroundings her. The blue sky with small bundles of clouds here and there, the lush green grass surrounding almost all inches of the area around her, the water falls, making a milky color before settling into a crystal clear look. Every inch of the view was immensely beautiful. The view was blessing her eyes, which has seen only white walls and dark wooden floors. She just stood there for awhile. It has to be a dream, as reality can never be this perfect. It has to be a dream, a dream no one would want to wake up from.

That's when her mind came back into sense. What is happening? Where on earth is she? What happened with the mirror? How will she get back to her dorm? What the hell is happening? Astrid's smile faded into a petrified expression. She looked around to find nothing but the same beautiful views. Her hands went up to slightly grab her wet hair in frustration. It was real. Everything was real. Or at least it felt real. What is this place if its not a dream? Her breathing was slowly becoming unsteady as she pulled her hair, hoping that the pain would wake her up if this was a dream. She felt the pain but she wasn't waking up. Because she wasn't sleeping or dreaming. Everything was real. Astrid can't just stand there in hopes of waking up when it's not a dream in the first place. So she decided to explore. Something she always loved doing when she was at her school.

Remembering of school, the teacher would probably kill her if she doesn't show up. Miss Annie would definitely give her a detention if she doesn't get back home before seven. This is not the time to think of all of that. She is in the middle of nowhere.

She placed a hand on her heaving chest to calm herself down. Her breathing slowly came back to normal. She finally decided to go around in order to find a way back. Wait a second. She came from the river, so it's probably the way back too. It sounded ridiculous, to jump into the water and finding a mirror to get into. But it was the only idea Astrid could come up with. So she walked a few steps backwards, and dived into the river without any second thoughts.

Her cheeks swelled up as she was holding breath under the water while swimming around in hope of finding a mirror. But there was nothing to be seen. The ground under the river only held smooth sand and corals with small fish feeding on them. She held her breath for a long time. She was suffocating when she finally surfaced, heaving heavily than ever. Even though deep inside she knew that she's not gonna find anything, she still tried to find the mirror multiple times. But failed.

Finally Astrid decided to come out of the water, heaving, clothes dripping wet, her red hair sticking onto her body. She had enough searching inside the water. The idea was ridiculous anyway. She sat on the edge of the clear water body, before standing to walk away from there. She can't just stay here all day. There has to be a way out. But how can she find a way out when she doesn't have the slightest clue on what's happening.

Astrid thought that maybe she is in a deep forest, as she was surrounded by huge trees and plants everywhere. She walked almost a mile in the forest. The sun is now right above her. It's noon. She can feel her stomach growling. It's the usual time for her lunch at school. Her clothes were completely dry from the sunlight. And she still haven't found a way out.

She walked silently for minutes. Minutes turning into hours. The sun was slowly setting, giving the sky a light purple color with a deep crimson red. It was definitely the most beautiful sunset she has ever seen. Even when Astrid had no idea what was happening, she still found everything around beautiful. She even forgot the fact that she is actually tying to find a way out of that place. She was still enjoying the little things when the night slowly came creeping. The whole forest was dark. Only the moon can be seen. The shadows of the trees lurked behind her. But Astrid was busy enjoying the everlasting beauty of the moonlight. It was enough to make anyone's day. No matter how hard life is, enjoying the little things would always bring a smile on our faces. How can someone not be happy while looking at the immense beauty of the moon?

It was getting late. Astrid could feel her knees weakening and shaking. She walked around the forest for a whole day. Her stomach was growling heavily. She had to get back, but how? She sat down near a big tree. It was enormous with its branches spread widely around its head. She brought her knees to her chest and rest her head on top of it. She was slowly drifting off to sleep, even when her mind was telling her not to. She has to find a way out. But her heart was enjoying the place around her. So she let herself drift away.

A sound of leaves rattling heavily made Astrid wake up. Her eyes were puffy and half closed. The first thing she saw when she woke up was the morning light coming through the small gaps between the leaves of the tree above her. It fell on her face as she moved. She was laying on her back. She slept peacefully even while she knew that she is in the middle of an unknown forest. The soft grass was comfortable like a cushion. She slowly sat up, taking all the beauty of the sunlight around her. Her mind was still confused about this whole thing happening with her. But she chose to forget all of that, and leaned onto the trunk of the tree behind her.

The leaves and bushes rattled again, startling her. She totally forgot that she was woken up by the sound of something behind the bushes. It was getting scary. The shaking of the bushes stopped, then started again. The sound was coming from behind her. She didn't have the guts to look around and witness something horrible, like a wild animal coming at her. So she controlled her breathing which was getting heavier and heavier. She just sat there, hugging her knees, even when she heard some faint footsteps. Footsteps?? That means it could be humans. Maybe they could help her. She looked above her right shoulder, still scared to move. A tap on her left shoulder startled her and she falls to her right side with a shrieking scream.

" Ahhhhh Ahhhhh..." Astrid's scream echoed through the forest.

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