Ch 3: Follow the Red

Inspira had never traveled into the woods before, so she was unsure of how far they went. There was no direction, she had no compass, and no map. She was simply going by intuition. She was sure the Light Worker would have shown herself by now. The Lantern in her outstretched hand was her only source of light. She felt as if she had been walking for some time, but had no real idea of how long she truly had been traveling. There were no trails or markers to lead her through. It was just her and the tree’s.

A faint wind rustled through the darkness. The gentle breeze combed through her long brown hair. It gave her some comfort, and it helped her feel less alone. She continued ahead with no sense of where she was headed. Maybe she should have grabbed the compass from her fathers study. She could at least know which direction she was going, and whether or not she was walking in circles. She couldn’t tell. The mass structure of trees made it hard to decipher the different geographical points along the way.

Finally, she approached a large boulder. She placed the lantern down on it and pulled herself up. She removed the satchel from across her shoulder, and rummaged through it to find something to replenish herself. She pulled out an apple and took a bite. She looked around, but the lantern barely lit up the space immediately surrounding her. The darkness was very quiet. No sounds of crickets, crackles of broken twigs,or even howling of wolves. It was too quiet. Only the rustle of the leaves from the wind. Inspira finished off her apple and threw it into the darkness behind her. She sat in the silence for a few more minutes.

Inspira placed the satchel back over her shoulder and jumped down from the large rock. She grabbed the lantern and panned it in front of her to get a slight visual of what was around her. She let her body lead the way as she allowed herself to walk in whatever direction her intuition led her. If the Light Worker truly spoke to her in purple, she could not see it. She felt herself growing slightly annoyed. What was she doing? The Princess stopped and held up the lantern. “I could use some help,” she shouted into the darkness. She held her breath, trying not to make a sound. She listened for any kind of reply. The night continued in silence. “Please,” she said more quietly. Still, there was no response. She sighed. She was growing tired.

She knew she would have to sleep at some point. There was a chill in the night. She was afraid to just rest anywhere for fear of any animal or creature of the night finding her vulnerable. She turned around and faced back where she had come from. Perhaps she should have stayed at the boulder. Her lantern shined on a line of trees surrounded by brush. Almost like a wall she could lay close to. The brush was too thick for most wild animals to crawl through. She set her satchel down and began to collect small pieces of wood and twigs. She grabbed some paper from her satchel and opened the lantern door. She stuck the paper into the flame and transported a small spark from the lantern to the pile of twigs. She blew on it lightly until the small flame grew into a crackling blaze. Gently, she propped larger wood pieces into the fire to strengthen the flames. She pushed fallen leaves into a pile. She pulled out a blanket from her satchel and wrapped it around her. She fell into the pile of leaves. She felt the heaviness of her exhaustion as soon as her head touched the ground. She quickly slipped into a deep sleep.

Inspira woke abruptly. As she opened her eyes, she was startled by a bright glow that blocked her vision. She shielded her eyes from it with her hands as she tried to put the glow into focus. She barely made out a figure within the light.

Hello, Princess” the voice said to her. Inpisra recognized the voice. She sat up as the light became less intense to her eyes. “Hello,” she replied. “I was hoping you would appear again. I’m trying to figure out what my next steps are. I’m not really sure where to go from here, or what it is that I am doing exactly.”

“You seem to be following your intuition just fine. Why do you question it,” The Light Worker asked the Princess.

“Probably because I am not sure if this is all real or if I am imagining it.”

“You must have trusted it enough to leave the comforts of your home and follow it into the darkness. Deep in your soul you know the truth, and that is what is guiding you. Continue to listen to that.”

Inspira sighed. “That is not as comforting as I had hoped it would be,” she said to the Light Worker.

“I have some information that may help you. Follow the red. It will take you in the direction you need to go.”

“So… more colors. Got it.” Inpira said. Frustrated, she lay back down on the pile of leaves. From the corner of her eye, she could see the Light Worker fade into the tree’s. With the blinding light gone, Inspira could see the faint change in color when she looked up into the sky.

Dawn was on its way in. Birds began to chirp loudly in the tree’s. She felt relieved as more sounds of the morning began to rush in. A bird flew into her view and landed on the branch right above her head. Inspira recognized the bird as a cardinal by its bright red color. She sat up and stared at it. The cardinal sat there for a few moments before flying off. She noted the bird's flight direction as she packed up her camping sight. “Follow the red,” she said to herself. She flung the satchel strap over her head and made her way through the forest.

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