Written as part of a personality exercise as to what you'd do when faced with options. I took what my responses were and turned it into a narrative!
When I woke up, I was no longer in that white, white room. Bright, vivid colours had replaced the dull white that had suffocated that room. Instead, I saw blue above me. A clear light blue, the colour of the sky, with soft white clouds swirling lazily across; it filled my entire vision. I sighed in bliss. Stretching my arm upwards, I splayed my fingers towards the sky, trying to grasp the fluffy clouds.
Wait a minute. Something was not quite right.
I looked at my arm, hard. My hand looked different. My arm looked different. My whole body felt different. I hurriedly sat up and saw where I was: in the middle of a lane. I saw green grass and rolling hills around me. Glossy, white, marble pebbles lined the path I was on. There was a cornfield in the distance, with trees rustling and reeds swaying to an invisible zephyr. I heard the melodious bubbling sound of a river flowing nearby and little buttercups dotted the green grass. A windmill stood majestically about six metres away, its blades rotating slowly.
I blinked. My mind was in a whirl. Where was I? Where was this? What was going on? So many questions were pilling themselves up into a pyramid in my brain. It could have beaten even the largest pyramid in the world, but I could only comprehend one thing.
I was free. I was no longer stuck on that hard unrelenting bed, unable to move; I wasn’t hooked up to a beeping machine with wires like cobwebs entangling me and my arms; there were no po-faced doctors or nurses in white writing and frowning over me; I was free. I felt stronger, lighter and more alive.
There was just one more thing left I had to try. I tentatively placed my hands on the ground, testing my weight, and carefully, gently, slowly, I eased myself up. My legs were wobbling, and I felt like falling. But no, I won’t give in to this weakness. I gave one last push, and I stood up.
For the first time in seven years, I stood up.
I felt the tears on my cheeks and the salt in my mouth even before my brain could fully register that I was actually standing up on my own two feet. A choke escaped my lips. I felt completely overwhelmed. Legs shaking and trembling, I tenderly took a step forward, and fell down.
I swept the hair from my face, and pushed myself up again. I took another step, and another, and another, and before I knew it, I was running.
I felt the wind on my face, whipping up my hair. I felt the strain in my legs, making me feel as if I was going to fall but I kept pushing myself forward. Suddenly losing the coordination of my feet and legs however, I stumbled and fell. I landed on the ground with a loud cry, and I started laughing. Loud breathless laughs.
I laid there for a few moments, savouring the feeling. It felt nice. I smiled, embracing all the happiness in the world.
After what felt like ages, I decided to get up and walk. After all, it’s been a long time since I could do just that.
I walked along that narrow lane. It was times like these where I wished I could whistle. I giggled to myself, and started trying to whistle. I think I failed quite miserably. Suddenly, I saw a small line of brown against the wheat-coloured lane. Tilting my head to the side, I squinted and saw roughly that it was a twig.
A twig! Among this pristine scenery, it looked way out of place. I walked closer to inspect it. It was just an ordinary twig. I picked it up and looked around for more. I found none. It really was out of place here, lying in the middle of the road. I stuffed it in my pocket, not having the heart to just throw it away.
As I continued on, I looked up to the azure sky. It was really beautiful, I thought to myself. Suddenly, I stumbled into something. Something big and hard. I looked down in surprise. It was a large tree that was lying across the path.
“Huh, weird,” I said aloud.
“Who goes there?” a voice suddenly sounded from somewhere very near me, in a very slow but booming voice. “What is weird, if I may ask?”
I jumped, shocked. I looked around, but saw no one. I felt the goose bumps rise.
“Who is there?” the voice repeated, very slowly.
“Wh-who are you?” I stuttered back.
A large eye abruptly opened right in front of me, on the tree itself. It blinked a few times. “Ah. A human,” the tree said. It sounded contemplating. I could now see its mouth moving, camouflaged in its tree bark.
“What are you doing here, human?” it asked.
My mouth hung open, not quite believing the tree before me was talking. “This is just like Lord of the Rings…and he’s one of the Ents…” I found myself mumbling.
“Hrrmmm?” the tree asked gruffly. “What was that?”
“N-nothing!” I stammered in reply. “I-I was just walking! T-that’s all!”
“Ah, just walking. I wished I could join you,” the tree sighed, “but I’m afraid I cannot join you. I have lost a part of me, you see.” It sounded very sad. My fear had lessened by now, having realised that the tree was harmless. Pity rose in my heart for the poor tree lying across the road.
“What have you lost, Mr Tree?” I squatted down as it blinked both eyes at me.
“I have lost a little branch of mine. It’s very tiny, but I feel its emptiness, all the same. It is very sad. I cannot walk without that small branch of mine,” it said, heaving a big sigh.
Poor Mr Tree, I frowned. I knew what it felt like to be missing a part of you. I looked down at my legs. I got up. “I will help you find your small branch Mr Tree!” I declared.
Mr Tree looked surprised. “What? What is this? Really, little human? Will you really help me?”
“Yes,” I nodded my head firmly.
“Oh my… Thank you so very much, little human. You are a kind soul,” Mr Tree blinked his eyes rapidly. His eyes looked slightly watery.
I turned my back and walked down the lane, towards where I came from. Suddenly, an image popped up in my brain. A small twig, lying in the middle of the lane, seemingly out of place. I felt a shiver run down my spine as realisation hit me.
I quickly ran back to the tree. “Mr Tree, Mr Tree!” I shouted. “Is this your missing little branch?” I dug the twig out of my pocket and showed it to him.
“Ah!” he exclaimed in delight. “My missing little branch! Oh thank you, little human, thank you!”
I beamed and placed the twig among his other branches. It quickly merged with a branch and became whole. Mr Tree sighed in content. In a few creaky moments he sat up. And soon he was completely up, towering above me. “I will follow you while you walk, dear little human,” he smiled down at me.
“Hehe,” I said. “Glad to have you!”