bAnisHED

Penny strolled around the garden, not really bothering where her feet guided her. She had nowhere to go. Banished in this paradise she often looked beyond the curtain of rose bushes into the dark forests of misery. Her heart often wished to once tread that path towards the old barren house that stood in a small clearing, surrounded by old rotting trees. Yet she knew better...there was always a better way to live your life and Penny had chosen this life for herself. Looking around she glanced at the varied colors spread before her eyes, the millions of flowers blossoming under the soft warmth of the sun. Behind the rose bushes there were not many colors. She had only seen a dull blackness surround the dark forests and perhaps a shade of grey here of there...Nothing like her home. Sighing she walked towrds the apple trees. It was a sight to behold. The lush red apples bending low, waiting to be plucked out of their stems. Penny simply walked amidst them and dared again to look beyond them into the dark forests that surrounded her garden. No sound ever reached her ears other than the happy chirping of the birds that nested in the trees. Yet whenever she stared at the wide expanse of darkness she felt an eerie silence calling out to her. Purposefully she plucked one red apple and walked back towards her cottage. It was not a palace, just a small cottage that perpetually smelled of freshly baked bread. Walking animatedly towards the sink, she washed her apple and looked for the knife to cut it into small pieces. The knife easily sliced through as her eyes ventured to look out of the window for yet another look at the dark forest. From where she stood she could see the path that joined the two. where the rose bushes ended, the path took on a desolate look, forlorn and tired. Where as the rose laden path seemed freshly strewn to welcome a princess, the path that led into the dark forest had a certain withered look, as if many small feet had walked upon it. She tore her eyes away from the forest and back to the apple. She deftly decorated the plate with the many slices of apple, poured some warm milk for herself and went out. The chair rocked slightly as she eased herself into it, holding the glass of milk. She sipped on it. From her front porch the house on the other side was clearly visible and she looked again towards the house. A while later the door creeked open and she stepped out. She was hardly twenty...or perhaps an year older. Her face was pale and figure delightfully round. Dressed in a thin white dress that reached till her knees she had the charms of a princess. Her hair were long and healthy and had a curl towards the end that swayed in the wind. The girl looked at her once and smiled. Penny looked away and reached out for her apple, wincing at the sight of her wrinkled fingers. Her face had withered like the trees, eyes had long lost their gleam. Layers of sagging skin and a dry parched mouth. Her legs were weak and bony. Like a skeleton who had been made to wear a skin bag...She looked once again as the retreating figure of the girl, bouncing away farther into the midst of the dark forests of misery, humming to herself as her youth accentuated the lightness of her step and then at the endless rose bushes spread in front of her eyes...She rocked her chair and closed her eyes...Paradise...