Hazel

The overhanging branches blurred together into dark splotches as a splash of red hurried past, foreign in the smudges of greys and browns. The young girl brushed through the jagged mess, not pausing to untangle the brambles that clutched desperately onto her, until the woods opened up to a small valley, a fast flowing stream cutting through it.

She stood there panting for a while, her eyes dilated and her pale face distraught. It was only after a while that she took another step, carefully lowering herself into the little valley. She sat at the edge, half submerged in the icy water. Maybe the cold would numb the burning core of her heart. She slowly lifted her delicate features, her bright emerald eyes now focused and searching.

The snow seemed to hang still in the air as she saw him, its intricate edges glistening in the weak sunlight. He stood with only a thin white tunic and dark shorts despite the freezing shower. Light haired, with almost translucent skin, he could have been invisible, blending, yet somehow stark against the scenery. His bright blue eyes were slanted towards the sky, lashes catching a few of the snow flakes and they clung there as they did on his hair that hung down in waves to his ankles.

It was a strange sight, a freeze-frame in the middle of molten chaos. Then his lips curved into a small smile, eyes flickering down.

“I know you’re watching.”

The simple words had serenade-like quality to them.

He strode down gracefully into the valley to sit near the girl, not touching the water.

“Come out. You’re going to freeze to death.”

The girl stared at him blankly but answered, “That’s my objective.”

His blue eyes twinkled as if her statement amused him.

“I’m Hazel,” he introduced.

She looked away. “Justine.”

“We should swap names,” Hazel commented good-heartedly.

“I have no one left. What’s the point of living?” Her eyes were empty of all emotion.

“As long as you’re still alive, you can have someone. Come out,” he repeated.

Justine slowly got up and walked stiffly to sit beside him.

His presence was so much like Arrowe’s.

“Good girl. Come, I’ll carry you to the cabin to warm your feet.”

“No.”

“What happened to ‘I’ve got nothing to lose’?” he teased.

She just stared as Hazel offered her a piggy-back ride but rose up to her feet after a long pause and meekly followed him.

The simple log cabin half hidden by a large skeleton of a mulberry tree was like something out of a fairy tale with smoke trailing out of its clay chimney. The interior was warmly lit, with a fluffy carpet by the fireplace and strange nick-knacks piled up into the corners. An old rickety chair that produced a low squeak rocked invitingly in front of the roaring fireplace, a blanket neatly folded on it and a single pillow. It was barely a home but felt like one.

Justine watched silently as Hazel tied his hair back into a low ponytail and went to rummage around in one of the piles. He tugged out a can of milk and propped it near the fire, motioning her to sit down.

“I was raised by my older brother. He was very kind, but one day, he just went out and never came back.”

Justine hugged her knees into her chest.

“I tried to look for him, followed his footprints as far as the stream you were just in... there were no more footprints on the other side.”

Hazel peeled the cover open and offered it to Justine. She shook her head but he insisted, placing the can between her fingers. She finished it slowly as she spoke, “My brother, Arrowe left for university a couple months ago but now... there was news that there was a fire in his district with a list of the people missing. His name was on that list.”

Her voice cracked.

“At least you’re not color-blind like me,” Hazel commented.

“Hmm?”

“I can’t see yellow... my name is just one of the ironies.”

“I think it makes you interesting.”

His laugh was a rich crescendo that lit up the room in a warm glow.

“Then I guess I should get you home before you do even more so.” He got up smiling and helped her up. When they both stepped out into the cold, light was already fading, the moon hanging above them in an elegant curvature. They treaded through the wintry forest in a comfortable silence and made it to her house just as the redness of the sun dipped behind a distant outline of invisible mountains.

Hazel’s pale hair billowed in the sudden breeze as he said, “Take care, your brother will come back. After all, red is the color of fate, isn’t it, little redhead? And your eyes are so blue... although I have learned may really be green.” A pause. “I really do hope you find what you’re looking for and never let it go again.”

With that, he retreated alone into the shadowy woods.