This is something I wrote a while back when I was feeling particularly overwhelmed. Let me know what you think!
Shelly ran through the open forest, the amethyst clutched tightly in her palm. She passed by a combination of smells: roses and coffee, like her mother used to make. What a strange situation to be in!
Her mind raced, galloping as a horse does when it’s running, not towards something, but from something. Frantic thoughts motivated bone and sinew to work together; to move the flesh of her legs as quickly as possible, all she knew was that she couldn’t stop moving, couldn’t stop running, or she would be caught.
The storm in her head continued, picking up speed, moving quicker than her legs could take her. Her foot caught a branch and she fell hard on the forest floor. Head spinning, she looked up and realized she could no longer see the sky. In her haste, she had run the entire day and hadn’t even noticed it getting dark. Breathing hard, Shelly pushed herself up from the ground. The effort made her limbs shake, but her brain was still racing, still processing a hundred thousand thoughts per minute, and she saw visions of equations, sounds of passing voices, and yet couldn’t focus on a single one. She knew she had to keep going.
“Quiet.” A voice boomed. It was loud and clear and commanding. The storm in her mind receded, then launched itself again, with vigour at the front of her skull. She began to run again, not caring about the bruises forming on her palms or the taste of blood in her mouth.
“Quiet.” The voice came again. Shelly ignored it, and kept on running, running, running.
“My child, why do you run?” Shelly could hear the voice, but refused to answer. The storm was gaining, they would find her, they would—
“What fear moves you so? There is nothing behind you.”
Shelly turned to look behind her…
and saw only trees. The darkness was gone.
Her lungs were on fire, and she sucked in air like it was the most precious thing on earth. She stopped, and the exhaustion pulled her body down, buckling her knees.
“I-I-can’t. I can’t anymore.” she sobbed, tears falling down her muddy face. “It’s too much. Let them catch me.”
“Breathe, little one.” Shelly obeyed— the will in her had dwindled to a flicker.
“I am here.” the voice came in numerous sounds from around her— the trees, the earth, the sky (even though she couldn’t see it). And just like in a dream, a figure dressed in white approached her. She was the most beautiful and terrible woman that Shelly had ever seen, glowing with the purest white light one could imagine, and Shelly thought that if this was the last thing she saw before she died, she’d die with a beautiful sight.
“I am the mother goddess, of the earth and the stars, and everything here.” She moved closer to Shelly, and her expression softened into one of pity. “But child—” she said as she reached out to her, “Why?” Her hand rested softly on Shelly’s cheek and she was surprised to find that the goddess’ hand was warm and gentle-- she had half expected to be electrocuted. It drew the fear out of her mind like an archer draws back a bowstring, pulling the dark thought that had pervaded in her mind for so long.
The goddess held this dark thing in her hands and it swirled and cracked, like a lightening storm. Angrily it whirled, looking for something to destroy. She looked at Shelly, who stared in horror at the thing that had been pulled out of her head. “One so small should not have to bear something so dark.” She passed her hand over it and threw the mass into the air, shouting a word that Shelly did not understand. The mass writhed once, and then exploded into a million pieces, sparkling against the backdrop of the sky. The sky! She could see the sky again. Shelly’s heart soared, and for the first time in months, felt the fear drain from her body.
The goddess smiled at her. “My dear, you are a powerful creator. That was a very powerful dark thought.” She paused, and focused her gaze on Shelly. “You must learn how to control your thoughts, little one, for you are destined for great things, and your mind— your mind will be the reason you achieve your destiny, or it will be the very thing that destroys you.” Shelly dropped her eyes, ashamed. She felt the goddess’ hand under her chin, tilting her head upwards. “Your thoughts are a powerful thing. Use them wisely, and listen to your heart. It will guide you when all seems lost.” The goddess reached out and took Shelly’s amethyst into her own hands, chanting again, in a language filled with sounds she couldn’t recognize. When she finished, the amethyst was encased in a larger stone with a chain. The goddess placed it around Shelly’s neck— a token.
“I have a feeling we will meet again, young one.” the goddess said, as she left. “And don’t forget, thoughts are power. Think good ones.”
And with that, she was gone.
