On a sunny plane, a boy sat on his mother's lap as she embroidered flowers onto fabric. The boy was in a daze as he happily embraced his mother, inhaling her familiar scent. He smiled as his mother embraced him, she told him tall tales, myths, and fables that she had heard from her travels, and he clung to each word as she worked. He then began to stare at her more intently, trying to memorize her in detail; her short brown hair with a bit of white beginning to appear, a cotton dress that was patched with rainbow fabric, and the scent of wool she used to make tapestries. The boy tried to remain attentive but overwhelming sleepiness began to overtake him. The mother laid his head on her lap and began to sing, his eyes closing. The boy felt at peace for once in a long time as he tried to remember something long forgotten in his dream. But, he could feel something beyond the dream as he awoke from his haze. He was a man now, happy as could be. He held his mother's hand as he looked beyond the plane, an entity stood in the distance. The entity was covered in red eyes and beckoned the man to come closer. His smile faded and his mother was gone. There was no more sun, no more grass, only the darkness that swallowed everything in sight. He was alone again, and he felt that this time, it would be the final breath he took. His heart raced, his anxiety flared, he wanted to run but he couldn't move as it came closer. The feeling of being exposed and gutted was emanating from every corner as he waited, he would just rather disappear. But, the man suddenly felt warm as light again filled his world. A hope he thought he lost reached out to him as the entity stopped to stare. He quickly reached out, refusing to let this opportunity slip away as he leaped through all that was and was not there, finally, his eyes began to open.

     Clovis wiped his tears away and gave a small yawn as he rose from under his cloak. He saw a fire crackling in front of him and basked in the warmth. Briar sat as she waited for the water to boil in a pot that she brought along. Her eyes glistened as the fire was reflected, the bags under her eyes were beginning to fade; she looked as if she was commanding the flames with her presence alone. Clovis kept staring as he took in as much as he could of her etherealness. Briar then turned to look at him and he immediately turned away.

“ You’re finally awake. I hope you rested well. Come, eat, then we will resume on the road”, her words were sharp and almost gave an uneasy feeling of a threat.

Clovis could only agree as he kept his gaze toward the ground.

                                                                                                  ...

     The duo kept heading towards the main road and began to see fewer and fewer hills. The road was now well-defined in some parts but far from being occupied by people. Clovis and Briar walked in silence, but, Clovis was determined to learn more about his new travel buddy and tried to strike up a conversation.

     “You know, this was a fairly populated island a long time ago, people here were famous for their main export, Pandanus fruit and the bark from the Hala trees”, Clovis erupted, expecting at least a few questions on what the tree was. However, his expectations were shattered when she uttered her response," Hmm". Clovis could only sigh as his companion seemed closed off as she refused to look at anything if it was no use to her. She did listen to him, but not out of courtesy, but more out of self-preservation. She seemed to examine his every move and now her eyes were fixated on his leg. It was sluggish and spotted with blood. Briar walked closer and lightly kicked him in the back of his knee. Surprised, he staggered a bit and fell, no noise came from his mouth, just a yelp. He looked up, and down, and he noticed the diary he kept hidden was in plain sight.

     "Well, I haven't seen that thing in years", Briar scoffed as her eyes darted toward Clovis. There was no disdain nor disgust, just indifference in her eyes, it was like she was seeing nothing unexpected or special. "Did you read all of it ", she whispered. Clovis felt his mouth drying up and a sense of guilt wrapped him entirely, "No". 

     She smiled,  the dark circles under her eyes enhancing her expression. She gave off a feeling that was almost sadistic and gave her attention to the diary. She took a step and began to stomp on it. She kicked and kicked repeatedly, her expression unchanging. Pages turned to dust, ripped, and shredded. Those hopeful words that were written, dreams that were not fulfilled, the freedom that was snatched away, all gone and destroyed.

     Clovis sat there, wide-eyed, unable to speak. He could not stop her, he could not scold her, he could only watch as she did what she wanted to what was hers. When it was all done and gone, he gazed at what was above him, an angelic figure smiling at him reaching out, giving him a hand to stand. He reluctantly grabbed that hand and stood, her face extremely close to his. Her eyes were distant as she waited for him to speak. He felt fear and shame, causing him to look away. His mouth opened and a whisper crawled through, "I'm....sorry".

     Briar patted his shoulder and an understanding smile replaced that shuddering aura she displayed. She stepped away and gestured for him to resume leading the way.