She realized that she had fallen asleep without even changing into pajamas. She went to her window and pulled the curtains aside, looking out into the freshly born day. The sun had not yet taken a firm control of the cold sky outside. Clouds slowly drifted over the blue expanse. Already children were running about outside, letting the the sun's rays warm their cheeks.
The voices down below raised as Nen changed into fresh clothes. She went to her backpack and pulled out her book and dumped the rest of the contents on the floor. Then she put inside her book, a binder with paper, and plenty of pens (she tended to lose them).
Once opening the door, she could clearly hear the voices echoing up from the kitchen below. Her parent's rarely got along, always bickering over one matter or another. She headed down the stairs quietly, trying not too make much noise. She saw her parents in the kitchen, and so stayed far from the doorways. She reached the front door without drawing attention to herself, and she opened the door quietly. Once she shut the door behind her, the voices of her parents faded out, leaving her alone to the sounds of children playing and the wind blowing through the trees.
She walked quickly down the stairs, and soon was on the white sidewalk. She walked with an even step to the end of the street, where the black asphalt ended, leaving the bushes and trees to grow alone and unabated. She looked outwards, towards the horizon where the sun had yet to touch.
Not too far away from where she stood began a series of dry hills resting in the light of day. Large rocks lay scattered unevenly over their surface, giving small pools of shade here and there. She often came to these hills and read when her home was too noisy. Here she could not be found easily, here no one would bother to look for her. These hills were her own little world off of the old, her own little world of peace and quiet.
Nen walked quietly, trying to not make a sound as she went through the brush. She disliked sounds, they always seemed to give her a headache and thus a bad mood. She was content in the quiet surroundings, alone and undisturbed. She noticed a vivid green color to her left, catching her eye. The surroundings were of the same light brown color, so the color green shone out like a beacon of light in a raging storm.
She altered her course a few steps to find out what exactly the green color was. She soon made her way over, and looked silently onto the sight before her. A small puddle of water hid in the shade of a giant rock, not fully taken away by the sun above. The green color she had seen was a tendril of ivy, newly grown and still in the throes of life. The tendril had grown towards the water, like a man dying of thirst. Nen, with her love of the ivy, bent down and gently moved the plant onto the edge of the water. She could not see an evident change in the ivy when it came into contact with the water, but Nen felt a bit happy. At least something beautiful is growing out here, she thought to herself.
She sat down next to the small amount of water in the shade of the boulder. The sun left her shoulders, and the coolness of the shade immediately enveloped her. She sighed in contentment, glad for the quiet and the lack of others. She did not know exactly why, but being near many people bothered her, always making her glad she could be alone. She pulled out her book, opened up to the page she was on, and began to read. She only got through a few pages before her head sagged, resting on her chest, and her eyelids closing, blocking out the rest of the world.
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Pic (C) by me, Des H