G/T Short Stories 2 [Requests CLOSED]

  The day had just begun in the valley. The sun peaking out from the tips of the trees, bird's chirping and fluttering about in the morning breezes, as well as the calm, yet harsh, sounds of the nearby river.

  "TWIG!" A voice erupted, causing a young borrower to instantly sit up in his hand-made bed, hitting his head on the low ceiling. A groan left his mouth as he rubbed the sore spot on his head as he shuffled out of the darkness. He peered out from the stump he lived in to see his father using a staff to push against a rock.

  "Hold on, I'm coming!" Twig called out, returning to the depths of the tree to change into some clothes. On his way out, he opened the shanky blinds that covered the small window and smiled at his siblings grumbling at the light.

  "This dang rock washed up last night." The older man gestured to the rock as Twig approached him, "And by the looks of it, it's blocking the well stream. We're gonna have to get rid of it somehow."

  Twig nodded, staring at it as he tried to think of a good way of moving it.

  As a borrower, there were a lot of challenges, especially out in the wild. Nowadays because of nature reserves and safer forests, predators weren't too much of a problem, however, living out there with all the challenges of the forest was a whole other obstacle. Such as a rock blocking the water.

  "I think we should just try to push it and see if it even moves at all." Twig stating, walking towards it. He went up to the right and partially behind it as his father went to push from the front. Twig made sure not to stand more than a foot from the river behind them, but feeling the water splash against his legs gave him an uneasy feeling. Luckily, it was easy to move, the rock falling back into the stream after only a few pushes.

  "Thanks for the help. I really could not have done that without you." His father spoke with a smile. "Now, come down from there it's dangerous to be that close to the water."

  "Coming-" Twig couldn't even finish his sentence as an abrupt and harsh spray of water caused him to lose his balance. It was only moments later that he was plunged into the water.

  "TWIG!"

  He could barely hear his family's panicked calls as he was swept away by the current. Desperately Twig reached out in hopes to grab hold of the river's edge but the waves were much too strong.

  Adrenaline rushed through him as his eyes glanced in every direction. It didn't seem like there was much hope in getting back to the edge, so he began to look for something he could use to stay above water. To his luck, multiple small sticks and leaves had been passing by and after a few attempts he successfully pulled himself onto a stray piece of bark.

  As he let out a breath of relief, Twig looked up to see a small group of rapids ahead. His anxiety spiked and instantly he tried to paddle to a safer area but it was too late. He was sucked under the water multiple times before slamming his back into a rock causing him to immediately black out.

~~~

  With a sharp inhale, Twig sat up. He felt light headed and nauseous as soon as he did so. He quickly traced himself to check for injuries but only found bandages that were wrapped securely over his injuries.

  Knowing full well that he wasn't the one to do so, he glanced around the area he was at. His breath hitched when he saw the large log cabin styled kitchen. He was sat on a carved wooden table that sat against some sort of furniture that combined the living room with the kitchen. Across the kitchen was a counter with an oven built into it which was on. A gas fire flickering beneath a teapot, steam barely puffing from the lid.

  A chilling shiver made its way down Twig's spine as he knew he was not alone, but he took a deep breath in, hoping to calm his nerves. It was known and well to him and his family that they lived in a protected forest, one where humans knew they existed. Considering he wasn't even in a cage, he hoped that it was one of the nice ones.

  From behind, he heard a small gasp and quickly he turned to look in the sound's direction. His eyes landed on a young woman with long dark hair, round glasses resting on her nose, and freckles dotting her face. Her eyes seemed wide with shock to see him sitting there.

  At first Twig got ready to back up or run, but his entire self refused to move. He felt exhausted regardless of how long he slept, and his head throbbed as he barely moved.

  "I'm not going to hurt you.. I've been trying to help heal you." The young woman reassured, staying where she was. Twig looked at her with doubt, but hesitantly nodded.

  "How'd you find me.?" He asked, keeping his eyes on the young woman as she went to turn off the now whistling teapot.

  "Well.. I was taking a patrol walk around the border and I happened to catch a glance of you laying on the side of a stream. You weren't moving.. And it was hard to tell if you were even still alive.. So I brought you back here to help." She started, pouring the hot water into a mug before continuing, "I was honestly afraid you weren't going to wake up.."

  Twig stayed silent as she spoke, a sense of wary still pressing at him, but he felt a bit at ease. There wasn't any heavy feeling in the room nor a sense of danger, though he still stayed guarded.

  "How long have I been here for?" He asked, watching her as she turned back to him.

  "I'd say a day or two.. Not all that long."

  Hearing that he let out a relieved sigh. He was glad he hadn't been out for weeks, even if it was still scary to think it had been a few days. Twig began to wonder what his family was thinking, if they were even searching for him.. Or if they thought he was dead. He didn't want to imagine what kind of hurt they were probably in.

  "Can you take me back home.? I'm worried about my family." He muttered, wanting to stand but his legs wouldn't allow it. "My parents can take care of me as well as myself.."

  The woman's expression seemed to shift to one of worry or concern, yet she nodded nonetheless.

  "Okay.. As long as you don't walk on your leg too much, get lots of rest and please don't overwork yourself, you should be fine. " She explained, slowly reproaching the table where Twig was sitting.

  "I understand."

~~~

  It was a bit strange to be carried by someone 10 times your own size, but Twig was doing his best to pay attention to the surroundings. He had to help her retrace the river back to his home, which at first seemed like forever, but soon, he noticed the small clearing.

  His family instantly ran in fear, hiding amongst the trees much before Twig or the woman had even been able to catch a glance.

  "You can just leave me by the base of that tree, I'll be able to get to them just fine." Twig explained, slightly tapping the woman's finger as if to get her attention. She nodded and soon lowered him to the ground before turning away with a wave.

  Twig gave her a thankful smile before turning away as well, calling out to his family. At first, the family was wary to exit the tree bases but as soon as they saw Twig they ran out to embrace him in a hug.

  "I'm so glad to be back home.."

~~~

A/N

A new one-shot book :3

I hope to be writing more of these often, rather it's 2000 words or the size of a poem. It's fun and I'm glad to be back into it

Word count : 1391