New

The girl opened her eyes and blinked back the bright light of the sun. All around her stood the imposing forest. She stared out around her unknowing. No longer did everything have a name. No longer was the world explained. All was new, as seen for the first time by an infant. She did not know how to sit up, or how to speak, or think. She had lost all but the quickly gathering experiences she now accumulated. She slowly rolled over, regaining knowledge of her limbs. She found that certain motions brought pain, some motions brought momentum. Quickly she found how to stand. First she was shaky, as a child is when learning for the first time to walk, but her muscles had known standing before. The memory came to her legs again with a vengeance. Finding the sensation quite agreeable the girl ran and jumped and leapt about the forest floor. She touched everything and found some things to be soft and others to be hard, some were harsh while others were agreeable, some were simply wonderful and other just dreadful. She explored every inch of her strange surroundings, straying further and further form the place she woke with ever lap.

Soon the girl found her clothes to be constricting her movement. She found them an unnecessary hassle. She striped away her shoes and pants and sweat shirt until nothing covered her except her underclothes. Again she hopped through the woods happy and free. She did not know what happiness was if not the feeling that currently consumed her.

She was content simply being in the wood, until a nagging pain struck her tummy. She patted her stomach unaware that what she felt was hunger. She tried to disregard the sensation until she became dizzy and sat hard upon the ground. She was so confused. Why did she feel this way? She was not happy. She for the first time noticed the little birds before her. They jumped gaily through a bush filled with small blue berries. The girl was entirely enraptured by the little birds. Slowly she crept closer and closer towards the bushes. She could see the little birds eating the little blue berries. The girl watched them pluck the small blue spheres into their becks. She was fascinated. She reached out to the bush and all the little birds scattered away into the trees. She watched them fly amazed. She stood and hopped about beneath them until her hunger fell her again. The girl looked back at the little blue berries. She plucked the berries into hand. She crushed them between her fingers leaving purple stains across her hands. She smelled the tangy sweet mash that covered her fingers. Carefully she tasted it. It was good. Happily she placed as much of her fist into her hand that she could manage. She sucked off the sticky sweet substance and plucked up as many of the little berries that she could find, and ate them greedily. She ate her fill without reservation.

Again contented she continued her exploration. She crawled slowly through th brush looking over the ground for more that could be hastily ingested. The world was so miraculous. It provided for her food, and was covered in an increasing number of birds and other equally wondrous creatures. She danced along looking happily at the strange plants and watching the little animals. Soon she came to the river. It was not a deep river, just about waist high, but the girl was enamored. She was captivated watching the little twigs and leaves travel swiftly across the water. She followed the assorted debris for a ways down the bank. Then she saw tiny fish in the water. She could not control her excitement. She leapt into the water after the strange suspended creatures. She immediately regretted the action. She jumped out of the stream cold, sopping wet, and frightened. She was not entirely sure what had just happened. The water was not solid like earth. That confused her terribly. She sat looking at the water in confused annoyance. She splashed her hand through the water. It was cold, but not together unpleasant. She put her feet in the water and walked about kicking up long sprays of liquid. She actually quite enjoyed the experience. She rolled around in the water. She played to her heart’s content. She gulped large breaths of water finding that it was not a good thing to do. She ran to the bank coughing up water, again she was upset. After she recovered she plopped down on the bank again and pouted.

She sat still long enough that the wild life lost their fear and came closer. Across the stream a raccoon drank water out of cupped paws. At first the girl was concerned that the animal might choke as she did, but the raccoon was fine. Carefully the girl many her way to the water’s edge and tried to imitate the furry creature. After several failed attempts she brought enough water in her cupped hand to put to her lips. She drank slowly at first confused by the purpose, but soon it became apparent how great her thirst had been. She drank from the waters of the stream until she could drink no more.