lotus, pt. i

Vaelyn carries Kit in her arms as her footsteps are left behind over lush soil. She races past the branches that reach to take her, keeping her eyes in the direction furthest from the home she abandoned, and holds onto her innocence as it keeps her gravity in balance. She steps over the burdens of her trauma, running away from the shadows that cover the forest in her mind. She listens to the echoes of chirping birds and calling wildlife as they no longer seem wild, their homes without boundaries, and she chases the same light that peers from the birch as prey dashes from predators.