The GreenSpot

Once, there was a little girl.

She was around 7 years old at the time,

and lived with her mother and father

in a little red house, in a little green forest.

They made chicken soup on their little stove 

with extra carrots,

and chopped little branches off of trees

to make a bonfire every now and then.

It was a simple life.

One that almost sounded like a fairytale.

The little girl, curious as she was,

would wander about the forest every afternoon.

She knew all the twisted, gnarly paths

by heart.

About half a mile from her house,

she would come across a little clearing.

One large brown rock sat in the corner,

which she would sit on to take rest

before walking home.

Everyday she would witness small things 

from her rock,

like the blooming of flowers, 

a bird's nest sitting high, atop a tree,

small bugs crawling on the vividly green grass.

She would watch the world grow to the climax

of summer, and then settle down to a golden autumn

and eventually a frigid winter.

she loved the simplicity in her life and hoped

it would never change.

-------------  ---  --------------

She's older now, eleven.

She got a new crimson colored bike,  

almost matching the color of her house.

She rides it every day to her little clearing,

which she now calls the GreenSpot.

Her life feels more complex now,

since her mother left her.

Her mother had said that 

she didn't want a small life anymore.

She wanted a bustling life in the city,

one where she could never sit idle.

When her husband didn't agree, 

she decided to leave him.

The girl wept on her knees,

but wouldn't leave her father's side 

for some overly crowded city.

So they watched together as she drove away.

That's when her father gave her the bike.

He told her it was an early birthday present,

when really, it was a token of appreciation for 

his daughter's loyalty.

The girl continued going to her GreenSpot.

Years past by without calls or messages

from her mother.

She began to wilt,

the only things that would raise her spirits

were her father's smiles and of course the GreenSpot.

One scorching summer afternoon,

as she reached her special spot,

she was in for a surprise.

There, sitting on the (her) rock,

was a boy.

He looked to be around her age, fourteen.

He looked surprised to see her as well.

They began to talk.

His name was James.

He told her how his dad traveled for work,

and how they had to move a lot.

She told him about how her mother left her

for the bustling streets of New York City.

They talked and talked, losing track of time.

When the girl finally got home,

she told her father everything.

He raised an eyebrow as he listened.

The next day they met each other again,

starting up quick and swift conversations.

For some reason, it was easy to talk to him.

She didn't need to think twice.

Days, weeks, and even months passed like this.

The two of them together at the GreenSpot.

They celebrated their 15th birthdays together,

and other holidays too, like July 4th and Thanksgiving.

She blossomed into a lovely, happy person.

She was grateful for all that she had.

Although, it wasn't much later when she was shocked

by news of James and his father getting ready 

to move again.

California this time.

The girl cried in her room for a whole night.

She didn't feel like meeting James the next day.

Though, she eventually gave in and decided

she had to see him.

As they were now the best of friends.

Two weeks flew by and it was already 

the moving day.

They cried and hugged and cried again.

They told jokes and shared one last meal together.

And then,

He was gone.

Just as sudden as he had come. 

The girl couldn't help but think to herself

how people keep coming into her life,

just to leave.

Few days go by, hopeless, sad.

Her father couldn't bear seeing his daughter in 

such a state.

So later that evening, he booked two flight tickets

to California.

"Let's make a trip out of it," he had said.

The girl was over the moon

and hugged her dad for a long time.

Their flight left in a few days,

but before then, she decided she had to pay a visit

to the place where it all started.

The GreenSpot.

Her GreenSpot.

It was a funny name, she realized.

She walked around its perimeter,

taking in all her surroundings.

At her own special place,

that she had discovered all by herself,

she finally felt at home.