It had been three months since she had seen Bambi. She remembered it fondly, but the space in between was where Faline had truly grown. The events of her life led the naive girl to push the boy that she was practically raised with away. Being home alone with her parents reminded her of the steady, yet patient arms who were ready to catch her whenever she began to fall. They hadn’t pressured her too much for not bringing the Doe boy home, and let her have her space as she needed. Similarly, Copper came into play as well. Helping Faline realize she didn’t have to feel scared after the attack from the mysterious woman with green hands and long dark hair, he was a great companion for her while he and Chief lived in her little apartment. Since, though, she spent a lot of time considering where she needed to go next, trying to find herself as well as the girl she had lost in the extended period of time she neglected herself looking for Bambi.
Her first step was to reconnect with Copper. He made her feel safe, the safety net he provided was enough for her to fall back on in case Bambi rejected her entirely, unwilling to be friends after her neglectful behavior towards him. He made her feel confident, pretty, and made her feel wanted by someone other than her parents who she had thought was a mandatory thing for parents to feel about their daughters. With the knowledge that Faline would hang out with Copper very soon, have Chief’s adoration once more, made her less nervous to broach the topic of her old best friend. She wanted to apologize to him, to make the next leap forward in her progress. She needed to talk to him to continue growing.
She had spent the entire night before scouring the internet for a cookie recipe that lacked all the ingredients that truly made cookies great. She was required to meet all the dietary restrictions that Ms. Doe had imposed on Bambi such that he would understand how serious she was about her peace offering. Without the butter, milk, and eggs; Faline felt that the cookies lacked any of the gooey goodness she had always loved in them.
Placed kindly in a plastic container, she slipped them into a bag with the rest of her things packed tidily in the bag including a snack for herself she decided to make the trek to Bambi’s home. She hadn’t contacted him to tell him of such, however she hoped desperately that she’d be home when she got there and welcoming of the girl who had shoved him far far away during the winter.
Exiting her home, Faline was relieved to find a decent day. The sun was shining, and the breeze refreshing instead of cool. Her windbreaker and jeans would be plenty to keep her warm on the walk through the woods to find the cabin she remembered Bambi describing briefly.
With headphones in her ears, she bobbed to the music as she made her way to the woods. Once in the woods she walked along a path, trees painted with fading red marks determining the way she was going. She figured she’d meander along this until she stumbled upon Gaston’s home before moving along to find wherever Bambi was from it. Hadn’t he said he lived fairly close? She couldn’t really remember. Gaston’s was near impossible to miss at least.
Once stumbling upon Gaston’s, Faline strayed from the path. Her feet crunching the leaves that hadn’t decomposed over the winter, where new, fresh green grass tried to peak up through. Her head above covered in a light canopy, leaves just starting to bloom above, while pollen drifted downwards. Her curly hair bouncing with each step, eyes wandering around as the music lulled her into a sense of security.
She was ready, to make the next step in her life. To reconnect with Bambi and finally forgive him for running away from her, to move forward. Faline, after years of not being confident to who she was, finally had begun to figure it out.
