In Absentia

We hurriedly cleaned our hands, the hand sanitizer stung a little from a small cut on the side of my hand. I handed back the cheap, tiny, blue bottle and then we made sure to be quick with packing everything back into Taraxandra’s knapsack. I could see the hurry in her eyes as she checked her bag and everything else that was around her. She made mention to check if my shoes were retied and that I stay attentive while we walked through the woods. I nodded and checked my shoes for safety’s sake, along with my ponytail that my hair was in.

With freshly tied shoes, new ponytail, and a full attentive attitude, we were off yet again into the forest for the second gate. The forest was big when we first started but it was feeling different? I couldn’t place it when the feeling crept alongside my backside.