Gold by Juleanna Green

    I was falling.
    Not the fast, my God, I’m going to die, type of falling.
    But the slow, graceful kind.
    It was beautiful. I felt a soft breeze, like breath in the air. I could smell Spring. A golden sunset was all I could see. It was like autumn colors, like fireworks, like…. like his hair.
    But who was he? Who was this young man, whom I saw so vividly in my mind? His perfect hair, his loving smile, his knowing eyes. His eyes were emerald, and they seemed to look directly into my own eyes, as though he knew me. Yet I could not recall anything about him.
    But I had no time to think about that now. Just by the feel of the air, I knew I was nearing my final destination. I was in my final moments, as I began to plummet towards the ground, destined for my life to end, now, with no memories of who I was, of where I was from, of who he was.
    I closed my eyes, preparing for impact. Instead of ground, though, my back was greeted by water- or at least what felt like water. It created the same kind of splash, and I was still falling, slowly as though submerged, but I could breath. As if by magic, I landed gently in a small clearing, trees creating a ring around the grass. Nearby, a river whispered, ever so softly, pleading with me to come closer, to relax in it’s waters, to be free.
    Slowly, I stood up. I felt a sharp, agonizing pain in my chest, but it was gone as quickly as it had come. Solemnly, I studied my surroundings, hoping against hope that I would know where I was, to no avail. It was neither dark nor light, like dusk, right before the last of the sunlight slipped away. I circled the clearing multiple times, unsure of which of three found paths I should follow.
One was littered with beautiful spring flowers, and I could feel the warmth radiating from the inside of the forest; this was most pleasing to my eyes.
    Another, directly across the clearing, was dark and damp, yet omitted truth throughout the trees, amongst the boughs; this was most pleasing to my mind.
    The third and final way was dimly lit, the trees intimately woven, so little to no light, of what little there was, could be seen. It was mysterious, the path nearly overgrown, and of this one I was most curious; this was the most pleasing to my heart.
    After long contemplation, I chose the latter of the three. Slowly but surely, I stepped out into my chosen path- that was when I first realized that I was barefoot. Noticing this, I stopped and assessed the rest of my garments. A long, flowing white dress that fell to the ground and almost covered my feet, with three-quarter sleeves and a gold rope tied around the middle. Although beautiful at one point, it was now tattered from the waist down, scratched and torn and covered in dirt. Curious, I thought, but I had to trudge onwards- I don’t know how, but I knew that I had to find something, or someone. Maybe it was him.
    The path seemed to go on forever, and I began to wonder if it was getting to be late; but how could it have been, when it was no more darker than it had been when I began? After what seemed like hours and hours of blindly following a compact, barely visible trail, I found it. The river.
    It gleamed silver, white foam bubbling along the sides. The water flowed by, sleepy yet steadfast. From one bank to another, a fallen tree laid uprooted across the stream. Calmly and gracefully, I balanced my way over the log, but stopped at the center, where I sat down and put one foot into the brook beneath me. A strange ripple was created when my toes entered the water; the liquid travelled around my foot.
    Out of nowhere, a dog padded up besides me and laid himself across the log. He was a golden retriever, with long golden hair. Gold, I thought, reaching out to touch his fur. As my fingers laced between the silky hairs that covered his body, I was overwhelmed by a memory:
    A boy with hair the color of the sun, and girl beside him. Laying on a blanket, in the woods. He wore a button-up, short-sleeved shirt, the top two or three buttons undone, and black pants. She wore a long, white dress, with a golden rope or ribbon tied about her waist. Her dirty-blonde hair was in a braid draped over her left shoulder. Her brilliantly blue eyes lit up with joy as she talked with the young man. They were laughing together, about their dog, a long-haired golden retriever, who had somehow managed to fall into the river. He came over to them, happy and drenched, and began to cuddle with them, much to their playful dismay.
    My eyes came back into focus. I removed my foot out of the stream, and looked down at my reflection. The most stunning thing I noticed about my facial features were my eyes. They were bright blue, like the sky on a spring morning. I looked back up again, and felt for my hair. It was a bit undone, but it unmistakably had been in a braid.
    Suddenly, I heard a quiet twang from behind me in the forest. Before I could turn around, the ache in my chest had returned, although this time it did not go away. I forced my head down, to see what had happened, dreading what I thought to be true. Sticking out from the middle of by chest was an arrow, with a bright red tip. I felt blood dripping out of my chest, and saw it drip, drip, drip, into the creek below. In my mind flashed another memory, that made me remember him, remember everything.
    Blood gurgled in the boy’s mouth, a broken arrow lodged in his abdomen; it had broken when he fell to the ground, so one half lay beside him while one half remained inside of him. He looked up at her; his eyes now seemed pale green, not as bright as they once were.
    “Run,” he said to her, as she cradled his body against hers. “Go!”
    She didn’t want to leave him, but knew what she must do. Grieving, she took off, not knowing where she was headed, nor if they were still behind her. She felt her dress tear on thorns and branches, but she did not have time to stop. They would be upon her soon.
    Suddenly, the trees opened up, and there was nothing. Just the end. She turned around, and saw her foe, emerging from the trees. Desperately, she turned back towards the abyss, hoping that she missed something, begging the universe for one last chance. Once she heard the sound of the bow string being pulled back, she knew it was too late. She stood tall, one last defiance; she would not go down afraid. She heard the string release an arrow, as though in slow motion, and felt it sink into her skin. She turned, unsure of what to do, but lost her balance,and fell, back first, into the unknown. She looked up at the bright gold sunset, and closed her eyes.
     Back in the present, I was drifting away. I realized then that I had been carrying this wound for my whole journey. I just hadn’t been able to remember that it was there. My head began to spin, and I had to lay down. No, I tried to tell myself, You have to sit up. You have to stay strong. You have to live! But I was so tired… Just a short rest. My left arm hung off of the log, my fingertips dragging in the current. The dog came back, though I hadn’t even realized he was gone, and began to lick my back, around the arrow shaft; licking my wounds.
    I felt my last bit of strength begin to drain out of my body, and closed my eyes to the sweet song of the river, its tide washing away the crimson stain of my blood, soon to forget me and my memories.