Shadows of the Golden Symbol
Chapter 1: Little Forest Cottage
ִׄ˚• 𖥔 ࣪˖ ⭑ ₊ ⭒ *ೃ༄ִׄ˚ • 𖥔 ࣪˖ ⭑ ₊ ⭒ *ೃ༄ִׄ˚ • 𖥔 ࣪˖ ⭑ ₊ ⭒ *ೃ༄ִׄ˚ • 𖥔 ࣪˖ ⭑ ₊ ⭒ *ೃ༄ִׄ˚ • 𖥔
In a forest far from our world, a young adolescent lays on the forest floor in a deep slumber. The forest around them is lush and the animals leave them to rest.
As the sun rises and hits them in the face, they finally stir awake from their long sleep. They blinked open their eyes, sat up, and took a moment to observe their surroundings.
The trees were full of green; the grass was tall enough to hide a full-grown hare, and there were rocks sprinkled around the particular child.
The kid pushes themself up and takes wobbling steps as they wander around. The dirt between their bare feet supported them as they walked. They saw many things like a fly being stuck in a spider's web, a bird sitting in a nest full of eggs, and a snake slithering into a hole.
The child continued walking until their glowing white eyes spotted a little rabbit nibbling on a bush. They slowly approached the hare to not frighten it, but it spotted them and fled. They watched as it ran away and then they looked at the bush full of small red berries.
They crouched down to get a closer look at the berries and reached out for one until they heard footsteps getting louder and closer from the other side of the bush. They peeked around the bush to see a woman picking berries and putting them in her basket.
The woman had eyes as green as the leaves on the trees and wavy orange hair neatly tied into a bun with strands of hair free on each side of her face and bangs that were split on the left side of her face. Her eyebrows, the fur on her nose, and the fur on the top flap of her ears were brown like the bark on the trees. She was wearing a long dress that was red as the berries she was picking. The dress had long sleeves and a white placket and waist apron.
The woman picked the berries with precision like she has been doing so for many years until she reached for the berry next to the young one peaking around the bush. She froze since she didn’t expect to see two small glowing eyes looking back at her.
She snapped out of it and said in an inviting yet curious voice, “Hello? What are you doing there? Where’s your parents?”
The little one tilted their head after she spoke to them. They stayed silent, they just looked at her. The woman’s shoulders got tensed, her brow furrowed, and her eyes were locked onto the kid.
She stood up and looked around for anyone else before turning back to them. “Are you… alone?”
“Alone?” The kid echoed, looking up at her.
Their voice sounded small yet raspy, as if it was unused. She was thinking of what to do until she heard a growl coming from the kid's stomach.
“Are you hungry little one?” She said with her face softening. “I have some food at home... I could go get it for you.”
The kid gave her a small smile and nodded.
“Ok! I’ll be right back. Stay here.” She smiled before she walked off to her home.
On her way there she was stressing about leaving a child on their own so she tried to get the food for them as quickly as she could. When she got home, she put the basket full of berries on a nearby table and went into our kitchen and looked through the covers.
“Everyone likes jam, right? Oh, come on, Charlotte! Stop over thinking. There’s a kid waiting for you.” She said to herself before grabbing a jar of jam and bread before turning around just to see that she accidentally left her front door open, and a little somebody followed her home. She looked with her eyes wide as they were standing near the open door in her house and looking around the new surroundings.
Charlotte looked at them with wide eyes. “Wh-why did you follow me? I know leaving you alone was bad, but you don’t know me. Haven’t you heard of stranger danger?”
The child looked at her with a blank face. Charlotte sighed and put her hand on her face. “You need to be more careful next time.” She placed the jam and bread on the table. “... Would you like a jam sandwich?”
The kid smiled at Charlotte and went up to the table. They watched Charlotte make two sandwiches and give one to them. They didn’t know what to do with it until they saw Charlotte take a bite of her sandwich. They copied her and even though it was tough to bite down, it tasted great. Charlotte smiled when she saw the glee in the little one’s eyes when they took their first bite of the food. When she finished eating, she looked out the window and saw that it was getting dark outside. She didn’t want to leave the child in the dark with nobody to keep them safe.
“Where is your house?” Charlotte asked.
They looked up at her with their neutral, smiling, jam-covered face. Charlotte looked at them and after a moment she put her hands together to imitate the roof of a house. “You know, a home. The place you go to sleep at night.”
The kid looked at her for a moment before pointing at the forest. “That’s… not what I meant. I was asking for your home’s name.”
They made the same hand gesture as her and shook their head. Then pointed back to the woods. Charlotte just looked at them and processed what they did. Her expression went from confusion to concern.
She stayed silent while the kid continued eating with not a thought in the world. Did the kid get separated from their group, or did the kid just get lost?
The child was pretty thin. Their legs were covered in dirt and their hair was a mess with leaves and twigs in it. The clothes they were wearing were shorts and a short-sleeved shirt that was connected to each other, so it won’t be good enough to stay warm for the night.
The child reminded Charlotte of a girl she once knew when she was younger. Charlotte hopes she is doing well… but she can’t think about her now. She has a child next to her.
After a while of Charlotte complaining about the situation that the little kid they were sitting next to, she finally spoke up. “Do... you need a place to stay? I have room for one more.”
The little kid just smiled at her and nodded. A sweet smile grew on Charlotte’s face. “My name is Miss. Charlotte. What’s your name?”
The little kid pointed at the glowing symbol on their chest.
Charlotte looked at them for a second. “Oh um... that’s a nice-looking name... I’m sure I’ll learn how to say it.”
Charlotte ruffed their fluffy dove white hair before she stood up and went back into the kitchen. The kid finished their sandwich as Miss Charlotte came back with a towel drenched in soapy water for the child to use to clean off the dirt on their body.
As the kid removed the dirt from themself, Charlotte put the pillows and blankets from her bed onto her armchair near the fireplace, so the child has a warm place to rest. That night, the kid slept nice and snug while Charlotte slept on her bed with just one blanket. She didn’t mind though. She was happy to help the little one out.
ִׄ˚• 𖥔 ࣪˖ ⭑ ₊ ⭒ *ೃ༄ִׄ˚ • 𖥔 ࣪˖ ⭑ ₊ ⭒ *ೃ༄ִׄ˚ • 𖥔 ࣪˖ ⭑ ₊ ⭒ *ೃ༄ִׄ˚ • 𖥔 ࣪˖ ⭑ ₊ ⭒ *ೃ༄ִׄ˚ • 𖥔
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