(SE) Of Gods and Mushrooms

I R I S Twigs snapped far too loudly beneath her feet, the sound resonating amidst gnarly, ancient bark. She pulled her coat around her shoulders and stopped to observe the wood. At first, she could only hear silence. Then, trees creaking and unseen creatures rustling the canopy. She spotted a bird, its dull colors blending into the dim surroundings. The ground was brisk and strewn with roots intent on tripping the unwary traveler. Its most successful residents appeared to be fungi. She approached a cluster of mushrooms and tapped it with her foot. Content that they were harmless enough, she plucked one from the ground. At first, it smelled of nothing, and then her nostrils were filled with the foul stench of rotting flesh. She dropped the offending fungus like it had bitten her. Fastening the straps of her bag around her shoulders, Iris carried on at a quickened pace, eager to leave the unsettling woods behind her and reach the Settlement before noon. She had been walking for a few minutes when she saw it – a rabbit, white as snow, barely two steps away. She followed it. She stared, wide eyed and out of breath, as the rabbit broke bones beneath its teeth. Dark brown stains on the grass stretched into the dark cave beyond. She carefully backed away from the beast and noticed, in her peripheral vision, a sudden burst of color. The grass shone like the crystalline ocean floor. Leaves rustled like hundreds of birds with a song as calming as a lullaby. Bright patches of sky appeared overhead, letting warm rays streak over the clearing. She realized that she was lying on the ground when, gradually, the colors started floating down in streams. Propping herself up, she watched them congregate and mix together like wrestling serpents. They formed a puddle, then a pond, and grew further into a lake. Iris watched, entranced, until on the other bank she spotted him – Elias. The colors dripped around his form, nothing more than a dark smudge, barely recognizable to anyone who didn’t know him so well. She swam toward him. Her throat was dry, making her voice crack as she called out to him. Her breaths came in heavy, so she saved them, struggling to keep up. She must have been trailing him for hours. The colors had faded and the Hollowed Grounds were once again dyed in plain browns and greens. The sight of Elias’ back was a constant, ignoring her calls, just out of reach, a misstep from disappearing from sight. Finally, she seemed to close the distance as they walked into an apple grove. A second later, he was gone. Turned around among near identical trees, she dropped to the ground, desperate and exhausted. “Fuck!” She called out, voice raspy, hitting the ground with her fist and instantly regretting it. Henry