Chapter Text
“Okay, squirt, be back here in two hours. Don’t stray too far. You have cookies and water in your bag if you’re hungry. Don’t punch anyone,” Anya was looking down at her with hands on both hips spouting off reminders she has heard a million times.
Lexa rolled her eyes. “I know, I know,” she answered impatiently shifting from foot-to-foot tugging at the strap of her small backpack draped over her shoulders.
“Okay, go ahead and play then,” Anya waved her off. “And, Lexa, don’t talk to strangers,” Anya said giving her one last glance before running away and joining her friends.
Lexa stared at them for a few minutes observing Anya laughing and playfully pushing another girl as they walked away. She shook her head at their antics, the bunch was always up to no good.
Lexa adjusted her small backpack and started walking towards the other side of the park while swaying her arms leisurely. There were many kids running around playing tag and she was careful to avoid them. She saw several boys laughing and playing at the jungle gym while a few small kids were building a sand castle at the sand box a few paces away. Lexa had a small smile on her face as she passed them because the place she was going was way better than what this park can offer.
She noticed a blonde little girl with pigtails standing near the swings looking at her. She was wearing a white shirt under a pink jumper and white sneakers. She had on a blue shell backpack that was too big for her own size making her look like a turtle. The bright colors were such a huge contrast to the black shorts and gray shirt Lexa was wearing that for a moment her eyes were overwhelmed and she had to look away. Lexa chanced another look and saw that the blonde with the cute round face and big blue eyes were still looking at her smiling.
None of the kids usually paid her any attention. She always played alone. Lexa was unnerved and walked faster.
Lexa loves the summer. There was no need to wake up early every day to go to school, she loves the weather and how it makes eating ice cream perfect, she loves that Anya can take her to the park and let her play for as long as she wanted although Anya would always say she can only stay for two hours, but most of all, she loves that she can play in the forest behind Polis Park. She likes it there so much, it was so peaceful and it feels like entering a different world where she can let her imagination run free. There were so many things to discover in a forest too and that makes it even more exciting.
Lexa’s thoughts were interrupted just as she was about to cross the tree line by a small voice behind her. “Wait, wait!” She was horrified to see the blonde girl walking towards her. “Where are you going?” says the blonde looking at her with a big smile painted on her face.
“Nowhere,” Lexa’s brows were furrowed as she surveyed this little ball of energy in front of her.
“I’m Klor. I’m four yir old,” the little girl said while holding up four little fingers to highlight her point. “You’re Lessa! I heard your sis call you Lessa,” the blonde said seriously like she was telling Lexa a very important secret. “Okay, I will follow you,” the girl continued and walked past Lexa as if to lead her. Lexa was so confused at this turn of events that she just stared at her for a moment.
Sensing no movements behind her, the pigtailed girl looked back and waved at Lexa to move faster. “Lez go, Lessa.”
“Wait, wait, you can’t go. Don’t follow me.” The blonde pouted and looked about to cry setting Lexa in a panic. “Your parents might look for you.” She explained immediately trying to appease the little girl who just shook her head.
“I’ll go, Lessa.”
“Wait, go ask your mom first. Go, I’ll wait for you,” she lied. The blonde looked at her skeptically for a moment but then smiled and gave her a nod before running off maybe to find her mom and ask for permission. Lexa sighed with relief, turned her back, and ran the other way. She felt guilty for a minute for having tricked the girl, but her worries were forgotten the moment she entered the forest.
She inhaled the sweet scent of grass and trees as she ran looking around and above her enjoying the way the light shines through the trees. Lexa was humming to herself as she walked and skip around rocks. There was a huge smile painted on her face as she took on her surroundings. Every few minutes she would bend over a rock and investigate the bugs hiding underneath it, and watch with silly amusement as they scurried away. She heard a shrill bird call and she spent a few minutes looking up at the trees trying to find a nest. Lexa got distracted by a bunch of mimosa pudica plants and spent minutes touching the leaves and watched with wonder as the leaves fold on itself under her soft touch. She then spent some more time picking berries from a shrub putting them inside her pockets. Anya had been teaching her about edible berries after she almost accidently ate a poisonous kind last summer, and she has been enjoying picking non-poisonous ones and showing it to Anya who would beam with pride every time.
Lexa was very happy when she found a stick. It was a sturdy one that had fallen on the forest floor and was as long as her arm. She took it on her hand like a prized possession and swung it a few times. She laughed with glee and nodded with appreciation happy that the stick made for a fine sword. Lexa continued her walk swinging her stick and randomly hitting shrubs and trees. Every now and then, she would swing, spin around, and hit a bush with a loud “Yah!” imagining herself a warrior and the poor defenseless plants monsters that she was vanquishing.
Lexa got herself tired brandishing her sword and jumping between rocks and tree stumps, sweat glistening on her forehead and running down her back. When she got hungry, she took out a cookie from her backpack and ate it with one hand while continuously swinging her make-shift sword as she walked. She was happiest here.
“I found you, Lessa!”
Lexa jumped at the voice and started chocking on the last bit of cookie she was swallowing when her peace was so rudely interrupted. She was bent over and coughing, her eyes blurred with tears and she vaguely felt small hands gently hitting her back.
“Iz okay, iz okay, Lessa…” the blonde cooed behind her.
“Wha… what are you doing here?” she stuttered after turning around and looking at the little girl in front of her.
“I found you,” said the blonde girl looking very pleased with herself.
“You can’t be here.” Standing up on her full height and trying to exude as much authority for someone who was just about to die from choking a few minutes ago.
“I found you, Lessa,” the blonde repeated insistently as if it was all the reason she needed to be there.
“Kids should not be in the forest. Go home.”
“But you’re hir.”
“I’m not a kid.”
“You are!” the blonde crossed her arms over her chest and pouted.
“I’m not. I’m six years old,” she stood straight and crossed her arms behind her back trying to intimidate the girl before her. It did not work.
The blonde took a deep breath, shrugged, and threw in an eye roll as if saying Lexa was ridiculous. She then smiled as she saw the stick Lexa was still holding. She extended her hand and made a “gimme” motion by opening and closing her chubby little fingers. “Sword! I want!”
“Nooooo,” Lexa was appalled at the demand and twisted her body so the stick was far from the blonde’s reach. She turned around and started walking trying to put distance between her and the obnoxious little girl who started following her immediately. “Go away, leave me alone.”
The little girl did not answer and continued walking with a determined look on her face. Lexa would look every now and then behind her back and roll her eyes every time she saw the blonde still following her. She does not know what to make of this girl and why she was adamant to follow Lexa. Other kids would normally just stay away from her whenever she asked them to. This girl was like a leech or an annoying mosquito that tends to always find its way back to you no matter how much you swat at it. And a very talkative one at that.
Lexa knew the girl was not used to playing around in the forest. Her steps were not as sure as her own and there were a few times she lost her footing and face planted on the ground. Lexa did not help her up, she was sure the girl will eventually give up if she saw that it was difficult to follow the brunette around. The blonde girl apparently was more stubborn than she anticipated. She had a small gash on her chin for hitting the ground hard earlier and Lexa was sure she was about to cry but the little girl just chewed on her bottom lip and tried so hard not to let the tears fall. She stood up with her palms and tried to brush dust from herself, a pitiful effort considering her pink jumper was almost entirely covered by dust and mud by now from all the falling she did earlier. One of her pigtails was already loose and she had sweat beading on her forehead. The blonde walked past Lexa with a resolute gait and with both hands holding the strap of her pack and Lexa can’t help but admire the little girl.
Lexa got distracted with a rabbit poking its head from a hole in the ground. It was a fluffy white thing and she bent trying to coax the rabbit to hop nearer. It hopped closer a few times but raised its head sniffing the air and twitching its ear before scampering away back to its hole. Lexa was disappointed when she stood up and started walking again. Behind another tree, she saw the girl pulling at a shrub. Her brows were furrowed and her tongue was poking between lips in concentration. A few more tugs and the blonde fell back on her butt. She was holding a stick and her face was alight with triumph. She stood and proudly showed the stick to Lexa, “Aha!” It was actually more of a twig than a stick. A small short thing not even longer than the blonde’s forearm, if Lexa’s stick was a sword, then the blonde’s was a dagger, but the pride in the blonde’s eyes was contagious. Lexa can’t help but smile.
The twig seemed to have drastically improved the little girl’s mood. She was smiling while walking and she would copy Lexa and hit plants every now and then with her twig. She even became more talkative much to Lexa’s chagrin. Lexa would hear squealing of “Lessa, look!”, or “See, Lessa!”, or “There, Lessa!”, or “Lessa, here!” every few seconds. The blonde’s enthusiasm in discovering new things was contagious but part of Lexa was still not sure if she wanted to share her special place with the girl and she had to resist rolling her eyes every time she heard her name squealed. Either way, she did not notice that she was slowly having much more fun with the other girl noisily trailing behind her. They watched a family of squirrels chased each other, and had a contest on who can spot a sleeping owl in one of the trees around them (no one won), and drawn different shapes on a puddle of mud with their sticks. They even discovered a dead snake and poked at it for a few minutes trying to scare each other.
Lexa was about to call the blonde to show her the anthill she discovered when she noticed the other girl was gone. She walked back a few paces but did not find the girl anywhere so she started calling out to her in hopes that the other girl will answer. No answer came and Lexa frowned. Suddenly, the forest was too quiet. It was the usual quiet she was very familiar with in the past but this time it felt like something was missing and she wished the insufferable chatter box was still with her. She slowly walked forward, movements sluggish as she tried to ignore the sadness she felt and the longing for the blonde. In reality, the six-year-old was not really sure what to make of what she was feeling or why, she just knew that she was sad the other girl was no longer there and probably decided to go back to the park.
“I found you, Lessa!” she jumped back as the blonde suddenly appeared in front of her, almost hitting the girl with her stick because of fright. “Here. I got you,” the blonde said while extending her hand in front of Lexa’s face, holding a bunch of purple and white wild flowers, and smiling like a maniac. She had fresh mud on her right cheek, stray blonde hair was falling on her face and sticking out in weird angles, and a few leaves caught on her hair.
Lexa’s brow furrowed a bit confused and still reeling from the scare she just went through. “I got you,” the blonde repeated and pushed the flowers in front of her more until Lexa finally got the message and smiled taking the flowers with her free hand. “You like it?” the little girl asked smiling while observing her. Lexa’s face was split in a huge smile and she nodded, pulling her backpack in front of her and unzipping it. She carefully placed the flowers in one of the inside pockets.
Lexa smiled mischievously as she took the girl’s hand, “I’ll show you where the ants live,” she explained with a smile as she pulled the girl excitedly towards her latest discovery. The blonde happily followed.
Both girls were lost discovering the anthill, they were fascinated with how big it was and walked around it several times to investigate. They spent long minutes here, observing the ants going in and out of the nest and coming up with stories about ant princesses, and ant heroes and ant warriors, and debating whether there are ants with wings that live inside and what should they call them. They only went away when the blonde poked at the anthill with her twig, when Lexa (obviously the more responsible one) was not looking, and a chunk came off, causing a horde of ants to come out of the nest. The girls ran away shrieking and laughing and fell on the forest floor with chest heaving as they continue to laugh and catch their breath when they were finally far away enough.
The girls continued exploring and would venture a few feet away from each other, discovering new things around them and going back to show the other their new findings. It became a sort of contest between them, trying to outmatch who found the better specimen. They have compared rocks, leaves, sticks, moss, and even mushrooms. Lexa was poking at a pile of dried leaves when she saw what she was sure will top every other discovery they had so far. She gingerly picked it up and walked towards the blonde looking very eager to show her prize. She called the attention of the little girl and shoved her hand towards the blonde’s face. It was a giant stag beetle -- huge, black, and shiny, in all its glory as far as bugs were concerned. Lexa was expecting the girl to be amazed and awed not blue eyes growing wide in horror and disgust. The horrified kid stepped back hurriedly, turned around, and ran in the opposite direction while screaming her head off. It would have been funny if Lexa was not so shocked at her reaction.
She put the beetle down on a log and followed the girl hurriedly calling out her name. The blonde was nowhere in sight and Lexa was feeling bad for scaring her away. But who would have guessed she was afraid of bugs? She was not even afraid of snakes, so why bugs? Lexa would have rolled her eyes at how weird the little girl was if only she wasn’t feeling guilty for what happened. She continued to walk to the direction where the blonde ran off to and called out her name but there was no response and heavy rain started falling. Lexa was starting to get worried, she knew she should go back to the park but she doesn’t want to leave without finding the blonde. She told herself that maybe the girl was able to find her way home on her own… but then what if she can’t?
Lexa was now drenched. It has been almost close to half an hour since the blonde ran off and twenty minutes since it started raining, and still no luck. She was now starting to get frantic and noticed too late that she can no longer recognize her surroundings and doesn’t know exactly what part of the forest she was in now. Lexa bit her lower lip and took a few calming breathes trying to remember what Anya would say she was supposed to do in case she ever gets lost. “Find shelter and stay in one place so people can find you.”
Lexa found a naturally carved space along a wall of rock. It was small enough not to be a cave but large enough so that she can huddle inside and be protected from the elements. The space was just high enough for her to stand so she walked in and sat hugging her legs, her chin resting on her knees, and her back pressed firmly against the rock wall. Three quarters of the front of the opening of this space was covered in shrubs preventing the rain from getting inside when the wind blew at its direction. Unfortunately, this prevented her from seeing anything much of the outside and so she just glared at the bushes in front of her willing the rain to stop.
Lexa was cold and wet, brown hair sticking on her forehead and she was shivering. She has not stopped biting her lower lip worrying about herself and the blonde girl she has not found yet. She realized she enjoyed the blonde’s company and would have wanted her to be there even when she does not stop talking. She suddenly felt so alone. Tears burned at the back of her eyes and she hid her face at the crook of her elbows, squeezing her eyes shut to stop the tears from falling. She did not notice the bushes moving and a yellow head poking inside.
“I found you, Lessa!”
“Klor!” the brunette looked up in disbelief as she took in the site of the blonde girl, wet from head to toe, pigtails limp and hair sticking all over her face, clothes covered in mud as if the girl had been swimming in them before finding her, one tooth missing, and there were a few more scratches on her face that was not there before the girl ran off. The blonde had a huge smile on her face and blue eyes shining. “Your tooth is missing!”
“I fell,” the girl giggled but provided no further explanation.
“Come,” the brunette motion her to move inside but the blonde stayed near the bushes and suddenly looked apprehensive. Big blue eyes darting searching for something. “Oh! There’s no more bug. I promise.”
The little girl stood still for a moment debating and nodded once after making up her mind that it was safe to approach Lexa. She sat closed to Lexa and they both watched and listen as the rain continued to fall around them.
The girls were both silent, sitting side by side hugging their knees and shivering a bit. The quiet was interrupted when she heard the stomach of the other girl grumbled and heard her sniffing.
“Are you okay?”
“Hungry,” the blonde sniffed again and wiped at her nose with her sleeve leaving a trail of snot on her left cheek.
Lexa shivered at the sight remembering how gross kids were. Apparently, they were still repulsive even if they were cute little girls.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard another grumbling sound and she took her backpack and unzipped it. She pulled the ziplock her sister packed with one cookie left inside. She looked at it longingly but swallowed and gave it to the blonde who took it happily. She was six years old after all and six-year-olds can make sacrifices. She went back rummaging in her pack looking for her water bottle. When she looked up, she was surprised to find the blonde holding out half a cookie with one hand and munching the other half with the other. She gratefully took it and they finished both their cookies in no time at all. They also shared the water between them before lapsing back into silence. The rain has stopped but darkness has fallen.
Lexa felt the blonde moved closer, their sides touching, and she felt the other girl shiver.
“Lessa, lez go,” the girl whimpered.
“It’s dark. We have to stay here or we will get lost.” The girl whined again beside her. “It’s okay, Klor. It’s okay. Anya will find us.” She reached out and gently pat the girl on the head to provide a small bit of comfort. She felt the blonde shift closer and relaxed beside her.
In reality, Lexa was scared too. They were lost. She was cold, still hungry, and it’s dark. She never liked the dark. And she just wanted to go home. Her eyes burned and a few tears fell. She was glad that it was dark and the blonde cannot see her tears. Several more tears fell and she can’t control when she heard herself sniffle a few moments later.
“Don’t cry, Lessa,” the girl beside her whispered. “Iz okay.” She felt small hands gently brushing her hair.
“It’s dark, Klor.” Lexa sob quietly, overwhelmed by her fears and the comfort the little girl beside her was selfishly giving. “I don’t like the dark,” she confessed honestly.
She felt the blonde stood and reached behind her back. It was now too dark to see but she can hear the girl unzipping her backpack, and felt her pulling out things, and spreading them on the floor. She heard faint scratching before a sudden explosion of light from a matchstick that the blonde had for some reason. Her small fingers were carefully holding the matchstick as she lowered the flame to the wick of the candle in front of her. The wick caught fire and they watched as the flame grew brighter spreading more light around them and chasing the darkness away.
“You have a candle!” Lexa gasped in disbelief. The candle was a foot tall and it was thick, the circumference almost twelve inches too. It was white but there were swirls of blue around it, not the kind that was perfectly spaced and professionally made, this one was uneven, the design seemingly thrown in random, but it was the most beautiful candle Lexa has ever seen.
Lexa’s tear-streaked face was illuminated and the blonde reached out her dirty palm to wipe the tearstains but only managed to smudge Lexa’s face with more dirt. Lexa smiled appreciating the gesture either way.
“Me and Daddy made it,” the blonde said proudly and Lexa’s smile grew bigger. Lexa noticed the things strewn across the floor. There were some loose pieces of paper with random lines and circles on them, apparently the girl’s chicken scratch version of a drawing, a thin coloring book, and some crayons. There was no food, but the bag was just the right size to house the candle she was lugging around.
“It’s pretty,” Lexa whispered bringing her attention back to look at the dancing flame. “See, I told you iz okay,” the blonde said smugly nodding like she held the wisdom of the universe. “Daddy said light a candle and everything will be better.”
“He did?”
“Yup,” the blonde said with conviction, putting a lot of emphasis on the P with her cute pouty lips.
They exchanged smiles and went back to watching the flame dance in silence until they both fell asleep, heads pressed together.
Less than an hour later, both girls were rudely awakened by a frantic Anya, Gustus, and a few firemen she does not recognize. Their bodies were quickly assessed for injuries, given some juice and beef jerky to munch on, and were wrapped in thermal blankets before being carried out of the forest. Later on, Lexa will learn that Anya tried looking for her on her own but had to come clean to their dad when night fell and she was not yet at their meeting place. Another girl was reported missing at the station and Anya, Gustus, and his colleagues searched the woods looking for the girls while the blonde’s parents were requested to wait at the park. They were having a hard time finding them because of the darkness of the forest and the dogs were not able to track well because of the rain. It was only after seeing the light from the candle blinking like a beacon as the wind rustles the bushes in front of the space they were holed in, that they saw the girls, huddled closely together heads touching sleeping peacefully, that they were all able to breathe in relief.
The minor cuts and grazes from their adventure were treated separately and Lexa was getting tired of everyone fussing over her. When she finally had an okay to leave after changing her clothes to a green sweatshirt, pants, and sandals, she looked around trying to find the blonde. She was disappointed that she can’t find her and frustrated that there were a lot of adults around forcing her to stand on her toes and strain her neck to try and see around them.
She was surprised to feel a tug on her shoulder.
“I found you, Lessa.”
“Klor!” the brunette turned around smiling. The blonde has changed her clothes and was now wearing a blue shirt, black leggings, and black shoes. Her face was clean except for the small cuts she got and the snoopy band-aid on her chin.
“Bye-bye, Lessa!” the blonde shyly waved in front of her.
“You’re leaving?” her face fell. The little girl nodded.
“No,” Lexa pouted, she looked down on her shoes and became teary eyed.
“Iz okay, Lessa,” the blonde looked quiet for a moment contemplating before nodding and, “Here, I will give you my candle. You can light it when you’re sad. Everything will be better.” The blonde was holding the candle in her outstretched hands and Lexa took it delicately. She pulled the candle to her chest and held it closely.
“No, don’t go, Klor! What if I don’t see you again?” Lexa was shaking her head trying not to cry.
The blonde stood on tip toe and gently patted Lexa’s head. “Don’t worry, Lessa. I will always find you.” Blue eyes met green, the little blonde smiled and leaned in to kiss Lexa’s cheek before running away. She looked back and waved once before disappearing in the crowd.
Lexa put her hand on her cheek where the feel of the kiss lingered and she smiled. She hugged the candle like a teddy bear the entire way home.