Feeling Lost

• Ally Owen
• Short Story
• 2016

Once there was a young girl, walking in the forest she stumbled across a small hut. The small hut looked like the one that she had shared with her family before a big scary monster came and destroyed all of the village she lived in. They were only vague memories to her because when this monster came and destroyed everything that she had, was when she was only 3. She is now 10, her long deep brown hair flowed in the wind as she stood in a gaze from those vague memories. Her Clothing ripped, hair a mess yet seemed like it was brushed, dirty face and nothing but the strength that she had. The young girl walked over to the small hut, it looked like it hadn’t been used in a while. She knocked on the door, knowing that no one was there but you never know, just as she had thought, no response or no one coming to open the door. She opened the door and walked in slowly, she shut the door and it creaked. She knew there was nobody here and nobody was ever going to use this hut so why not make it like her own home. She knew it was rude not to ask, but it had started to get cold out and she didn’t have the strength to go out and look for another town. The young girl started to walk down the semi dark hallway, which only had windows for light. As she was taking very slow steps, she could hear the floorboards creak when she placed a bare foot on that hard wood. As nearing what looked like another room, she heard scratching. She stopped in her tracks and looked around her, she was shivering in fear when the scratching noise got closer and closer by each second she listened. Her breathing hitched as the shadow of the owner of the scratching got closer. She was frozen, she wanted to scream and run out of the house but her legs wouldn’t move or even budge, her vocal cords felt like they had shrunk and she couldn’t even talk. She then got a thought as the shadow and the scratching got closer and closer. What if the monster had found her, and was very angry that she was a survivor, what if she was to die today. She was only 10, she thought that she was too young to die. The young deep brown haired girl closed her eyes and prayed up to heaven that she would live another day. The girl opened her eyes to only be met with the culprit of the scratching and of the shadow. A small raccoon. The girl eyes went wide and she smiled a small smile, she didn’t have to be afraid anymore, it was only a small raccoon. While looking at the raccoon, she felt sorry for the poor thing, being all alone. It reminded her of when the monster came and took everything and every life from her. She went over to the raccoon and picked it up, the raccoon s tried to get out of the young girl’s hands and arms until she started to pat the raccoon to calm its shivering body. She smiled and walked to what looked like a kitchen, and put the small raccoon on the broken looking wood table. “I think I might call you….. Sooty” said the young girl. “That would be nice… thank you” The raccoon said. “That’s oka- wait you can talk?!” The young girl said excitedly, “yes I can, and I never caught your name.” Sooty said. “Oh sorry… my name is….” The young girl trailed off, she had forgot her name, due to the very big and frightening incident that happened when she was 3. “You don’t have a name do you?” The small raccoon asked the small young girl, “n-no I don’t… sorry.” The young girl said, she felt like she was guilty and had no way out of this madness.