Chapter Text
The coarse cloth serving as my blindfold scratched my eyelids. A hand tightly squeezed my shoulder, forcing me to uncomfortably walk forward. The grass beneath my feet was slick and wet, sticking to my ankles. It itched terribly but the rope around my hands stopped my attempts to use my hands to relieve it. Breathing in deeply, I was met with the strange smell of the forest. Something wild, like the rain had just fallen on the pines, or fresh earth that's been upturned. It was familiar and comforting. However, the lack of birdsong generated an eerie feeling within my unwanted escorts. I focused on the sound of crunching leaves and snapping twigs.
I could hear the river from here. This is where it would end for me. Fingers sank into the flesh of my arms as I was pushed forward, mud squishing between my toes as I tried to stall. The cold water nipped at my ankles, and then my waist. Strangely I felt calm. Even as people shouted and cursed at me, even when my head was shoved under the wild river water. They just didn't understand me and were afraid. That's okay, maybe we could've talked it out. It's fine, maybe we can try again. I took a deep breath in. And then another...