Long Shadows #5

Alexia awoke. She glanced around the cave that she and her furry friends, Puff and Chestnut, had slept in. A dim coral-colored halo had formed around the mouth of the cave. Alexia looked outside. The cool, crisp air filled her lungs and a sudden wind pushed her hair over her shoulders. Soon, the wind died. A few saplings still shuddered. Long, lush green grass gently waved in the soft breeze. Bluebirds chirped in the trees as they settled down amongst the smooth leaves for the night. The sky was a beautiful shade of indigo with thin wisps of delicate, dove-colored clouds drifting about. The sun hovered low to the west. Its dying rays lit up the clouds around it, turning them from white to a pink or orange-red color.

Good. We didn't sleep to long. We've got plenty of time to cover more ground, Alexia thought.

Alexia turned toward Puff and Chestnut. Chestnut was still asleep, but Puff was wide awake. As Alexia headed out of the cave once again, Puff followed her. She was going to take a short walk, scouting the area and watching out for any wild dogs. As she was walking, she came across a path. Alexia gasped in surprise. She guessed that people made the trail. That meant that humans must live nearby! She squinted, trying to find a house. Instead, Alexia spotted a neon sign in the distance. She picked her way back toward the cave, hoping that Chestnut was awake. Sure enough, the filly was snuffling through the food bag, trying to find one of the apples.

"Oh, Chestnut!" Alexia exclaimed, laughing. "We have to go and buy some more food while we're still close to a store." Chestnut looked at her with sad, liquid brown eyes. "Fine, fine. We'll eat first. But, lets go before dark. We don't know when the store closes."

Alexia dug through the food bag. She held up the piece of cheese and unwrapped it. She ripped off a bit and set it down in front of Puff. Then she grabbed an apple for Chestnut. She gave the horse the food. Then, she reached into the sack for her own food. She got out a banana and a piece of bread.

She sat down cross legged. She peeled off the banana's bright yellow peel. Alexia admired the cream-colored banana for a brief moment and then took a bite. Puff swiped a paw through the cheese. Alexia picked it up, guessing that, because he was a ghost, Puff couldn't eat the food. When she finished the fruit, she ate the bread. By the time she was done with that, Chestnut was eating the last of of her fill. With a final bite of grass, the horse trotted over to Alexia. The little girl picked up Puff, swung her leg over Chestnut's side and then they where off.

Chestnut swerved bushes, jumped over logs, tore through undergrowth and dogged vines and trailing branches. Soon, the trio was just outside of the rectangular-shaped tar-black parking lot.

"I's sorry, but I will have to leave you and Chestnut here," Alexia explained to her grey-and-white cat.

"Mew! Purr purr. Wow meow mrow!" Puff replied. Alexia hoped that what he'd said was cat for "okay!"

Alexia left the two begrudgingly. She ran across the lot and into the store. She searched the shelves for things that she would need. She began to head for the cat aisle when she remembered that Puff couldn't eat food. Alexia decided that she should buy a few carrots for Chestnut. She walked into the produce section. She got a bag and put two peaches, a bunch of grapes and three carrots into the bag. Then she checked out. She payed the cashier $1.90. Then she rushed outside with the bag held tight in her fist. When she returned to the spot that she had left Chestnut and Puff, she saw Chestnut settled down in the grass with Puff sleeping nestled beside her.

******

When they had walked some distance away from the cave, it was almost dawn. Alexia decided to stop for now. She looked around. All she could see was a few patches of melting snow and a small cluster of trees. She and her friends huddled underneath the trees. Then, they all fell asleep.

-KittyLover8
© 2012