life is a journey part... 5

Her journey is nearing its end. She can feel it. She can feel its end, just as she can feel the air around her getting colder. She is happy that she has a fluffy tail. Not only is the air itself cold, but the wind, which is blowing pretty heavily, is also making it lots colder. She does not like it here. She keeps hearing things, like whispers in the wind. It’s quite odd.
“I… I wish it wasn’t so c…cold.” She stammers. Even though she has a big fluffy tail, she still gets very cold. It truly wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t so windy.
She really wants to give up. She finds a little snowy alcove and crawls into it. It’s actually slightly warmer in it. It feels nice, so nice that she falls asleep. She is unaware of how long she sleeps. When she wakes, she has an odd sense of being watched. She jumps up. When she jumps, she hits her head on the top of the alcove.
“Ouch! You stupid snowy alcove, you! I never liked you! You were cold and… and rocky.!” She screams. To emphasize her point she kicks a pebble out of the alcove. She stomps out and continues on. “Stupid alcove, hit my head…” she says as she rubs her head.
“Now now sweetie, it’s going to be okay.” The wind tells her.
“What a silly wind. It sounded a little like it was talking to me. Only, it sounded a little like the big brown fuzzy thing, just a bit scratchier, like he has a cold.”
“I am not as silly as you may think. I’ve been keeping an eye on you.” The wind replies.
“Wow, where have I heard that before?” she mutters, with a bit of disdain.
“Oh, come on now,” the wind pleaded, “let’s not be hasty, just believe me. You would have been dead if not for me.”
“Hmm… well, thank… you?”
“You’re welcome, sweetie.”
She smiles and goes along with him, if the wind truly was a him. As she continues, the wind circles around her. She is happy, utterly happy.
“I’ve never felt this way before,” she murmurs.
“Oh?” the wind replies, a bit of curiosity staining his voice.
“Out of all the things that are going on, out of how much I miss everyone, I can still feel happy.”
“Yeah… I understand that.”
“Has anyone ever came through here before me?”
“Yes… going a different way though…”
“Oh okay—“She stops short when she comes to a crack in the ground.
“Go back a few paces and runs towards the crack, then jump—“
“BUT I’LL FALL!”
“Not if you trust me.”
She sits there and ponders for a bit.
“You had better think fast or you’ll be frozen to the ground.” The wind has quite a humor, it does.
She stomps up and goes back about a hundred hops, then takes off running. As she jumps, a big gust of wind comes up underneath her and helps her over the crack. When she lands, she is a bit stunned. She walks back to the edge of the crack and stares down into it.
“How did you… I was just…”
“Don’t worry about that sweetie. You’re safe now.”
“Thank you. I just wish that I could—“
“I know.”
She continues on her journey, always talking, always being tousled by the wind. However, now she is not so afraid to be alone, or in the dark. She now knows that not all butterflies are out to get her. Fuzzy doesn’t always mean good, but if they save your life, they probably do not want to eat you.
She rambles on, to no one in particular… “Life is a journey, of that I’m sure. We may not always know the destination, but the journey is dictated by who you meet and how you handle those relationships. Don’t take them for granted. Once you do, or once you underestimate the bond that you have formed, it will be gone.”