We are so pleased to be posting a story written by Sarah Al Mulla titled The Maverick and she also included some pictures with her story. Enjoy
She passed through a familiar forest; frozen with the remnants of a harsh winter. The trees were thin, naked against the cold. No leaves were left, just branches swarmed by sharp icicles. The snow crunched under her boots as she walked between the trees. Her footsteps left a trail behind her. In the distance, a hint of smoke guided her towards what she hoped was a fire.
A hundred steps later, she found a small bonfire left by someone who needed warmth. It was mostly ash, but some sparks hid in between and they were enough to start the fire once more. She hurried to find some fallen branches, her heavy breaths heard from a mile away,
A hundred seconds later, a fire was reflected in her wide eyes; her cheeks now reddened by warmth rather than the cold.
She fell asleep as the sun gracefully walked away and the moon took its place.
The person who sat there before her came back to take something left behind. A red quilt embroidered with houses and winter trees. But the person saw that something, or rather someone, lay under that quilt. A tired looking girl as white as the snow. The person was mesmerized by this new creature. Unexpected.
Unannounced.
So the person decided to follow her. Know what she was up to, what she was looking for.
Night dominated the sky. She had slept for hours, the person thought she might be dead. As soon as that thought came to mind, she started to stir. Eventually, she woke up, used all the energy she had to stand up and to continue her trail. She walked for miles and miles, the person silently walking behind her. She never looked back, never felt any other presence. She seemed dazed, in some way lost.
This time a light at the end of the forest guided her steps. A very soothing light, the person thought.
It was time for the sun to come back. The sky losing all control of color as it prepared for its return. The girl kept walking towards somewhere she must have been before. Until she reached a house, with walls of white and a roof of mahogany. The house moaned from cracks and peeled off paint. It looked fragile, but the more the person looked at it, the stronger it felt. Like it had been through storms, but had stood still.
“I thought I’d never reach.” The person was startled to see that the girl was looking back, her hand on the handle of the closed door.
“I didn’t doubt you for a second.” The person approached the girl and wrapped her with the quilt of houses and winter trees that she had left behind.
“Do you want to come in?” The girl said as she slowly opened the door. That light they had followed touched their skin, as soothing as the person thought it was.
It almost felt like .. home.
“I’ve never wanted anything more.”
Author: Sarah Al Mulla
Untitled Chapters 