The smell of the wet earth in her nose

How calming it was to finally be alone

Her feet hit each step gracefully

And her hair was pulled back tight.

The girl's white smile glows.

 

She stopped for a moment, breathing in.

The air tasted clean, freshly washed

By the rain that just passed through.

This was her favorite path to take

One that all her memories had been

 

Looking down, she saw her muddy feet.

They were normally clean, but now they were brown

With the wet dirt caked on them.

But she didn’t care, she was free

She ran to were two paths meet

 

She always took the left, but the right

Looked so much more beautiful.

Rain trickled down the leaves and flowers

Birds chirped softly as they saw the rain was gone.

She watched them as some took flight.

 

Her feet picked up again to the right path

Brown eyes scanned the gloomy sky.

But she loved it, and the cool air on her body.

Stopping again, she looked at a murky puddle

Jumping in, she was in the perfect mud-bath

 

Laughs erupted from her happily

The feeling of mud in her hands calmed her,

Even if it was on her hair and cheeks.

Mother would scold her later for it

As she stood in front of her scrappily.

 

So she stood, and walked the road,

Unaware of her mistake.

While she skipped and played,

Her warning was missed.

“No trespassing” the white sign showed

 

Jumping in puddles, humming her song

Picking wet flowers and watching frogs

Were the only things she was worried about

As a little girl should be

But she didn’t know her place was wrong

 

As she sat in the grass, smile on her face

Her bambi eyes spotted a bright, green frog.

It bounded away and so did she

Through bushes and leaves and vines

The frog gave a good, long chase.

 

Across a field and off the path she went.

Under a log, through a thistle

She tripped a few times, soaked in mud.

She little friend wasn’t coming to her.

Soon though, she was spent.

 

Now, she looked around at this foreign place.

Breathing softly, she wiped the mud from her cheeks

Eyes up to the sky, breeze in her hair.

She didn’t even notice the hunters stand

As she picked up her small pace.

 

In her left ear, she heard a small crack.

A doe lifted its head to her, but then it was gone.

One shot from that stand filled the air

Pain for only a moment, and she hit the ground

The world was gone, but somehow, she was back

 

The smell of the wet earth in her nose

How calming it was to finally be alone

Her feet hit each step gracefully

And her hair was pulled back tight.

The girl's white smile glows…