She stared out the window, out past the city, into a land so close and yet so far away. Anyone passing by would say she looked bored. Mindless, even. That she was staring out the window because she had nothing else to do. But it was anything but that. Her eyes were nearly glowing with the light of her wonder. Her soul longing so much she could feel it trying to drive out of her chest. In looks, she was was as pale as a vampire and gaunt till the point she looked sick. Her hair was wispy, clinging to her neck, and hardly had any more color in it than her face. Her eyes seemed to be the only colorful thing about her——as blue as ice and as radiant as the sky. But like everyone else in the city, she turned a little duller each day, and her eyes were close to losing their little energy as well. “What are you looking at?” She sighed and turned around. “Nothing, Mother,” Her mother nodded. She was a stiff and bleak women, completely unremarkable. The girl tried to remember a time, once, when her mother used to laugh and smile. But like everyone else in that village, over time, she had lost her shine. Her Mother shook her head at the girl. “Then do something productive,” The girl nodded. She stole one last glance at the forest, the only flourishing, beautiful, unique thing in her life, and left. ————————— That night she had a dream. It was a beautiful dream. It was filled with the most vibrant colors, more than she ever saw in her most wildest imagination. Chartreuse and scarlet and teal and more colors that she couldn’t even begin to name. She was enraptured. She was illuminated. The forest was perfect. She danced. She sang. She spun in circles until her legs gave out from sheer dizziness.. She didn’t feel lonely. The forest itself had it’s own spirit, and she knew in her heart that she was watched and cared for. She was home. And if she had the choice, she would never ever EVER go back. But then she woke up. And all she felt after that was the disappointment. ————————— She stood there and stared. She had never seen the forest from this close before. It was a moment of choice, and she knew she must be taking the wrong one, to have come so close already. She was right at the edge. The brink. Of everything. On one side was the safe world she always knew. A place of no joy and no tears. A place, where no matter what happened, you knew you would always wake up tomorrow. Safe and sound. Alive. The moment was almost involuntary. She almost missed it; a small footstep back. A step towards her home. And on the other side was the unknown. It was the exact opposite of everything she’d ever known, everything she ever believed in. It was a place where you were allowed to cry and laugh. It was her nightmares and her daydreams. But most of all, it was her longing and her pain. Another step back. A step away. The forest was beautiful; with an abundance of colors and trees inviting you in; but everyone knew there was no getting out. You made you choice and that’s it. You’d never be accepted back, if you survived at all. Step by step. A life-changing decision. How could she take such a risk? After-all, the grass always looks greener on the other side. She could be disillusioned. Crazy. She wasn’t seeing things clearly. A step back. Another step. She should be listening to everyone else. How could she know anything? She was young! They knew what was better for her, not her. And farther and farther the forest became. So that’s how she would live her life, then? Becoming duller and duller. Losing the last bit of her soul she was grabbing onto. She realized how wrong she was pondering her choice. She HAD no choice. So she took a deep breath. She held back her fears, and listened to the only part of her that felt true. And she ran. Farther and farther from the home she’d never call home again.