Run. Run. Run. Faster. Faster. Run.
What was that? Was that them?
No, don’t slow down. Run. Run. Run

The wind clawed my face, trying to drag the tears from my eyes. I refused to obey. The cold bit at my nose and the ends of my ears, trying to make me give up. I refused to obey. My muscles burned, begging me to sit down and rest. I refused to obey.

I ran. My heart pounded in my head, blocking out all sound of my pursuers. I faster than the ones who chased me, thankfully. I knew these woods better. And I ran like my life depended on it, which, in hindsight, it probably did. My ex-captors were despicable creatures. Freedom tasted so sweet.

I ran, farther and faster than I ever had before. I would no longer obey anything that wanted to harm me again. This I repeated over and over in my head. It kept me going.

I will not obey.
I will not obey.
I will not obey.

And my legs moved faster. My heart beat louder. Adrenaline pumped through my veins. My lungs threatened to burst.

Just as the fingers of death threatened to steal my last breath and black spots waltzed at the corners of my vision, a noise clouded over every other thought, every other sense.

And that noise was the sweet song of silence. No sounds reached my cold ears, except my heart and breath. My pursuers, they’d stopped. Nothing was chasing me anymore.

That’s when I collapsed at the foot of a large oak. I was beyond exhausted. I was convinced death would come and claim me with every shuddering breath I stole from the air. I was too tired even to sleep. I just sat there shuddering under the large branches of the tree.

It’s ok, the tree said.

You can cry, the tree said.

And for once, I obeyed.

I sat there and cried. I cried away my fears, my worries, my thoughts. Salty streams ran down my cheeks and collected in small pools around me.
I cried and cried. I sat there and cried until my eyes were dry and I could cry no more.