AIYANA
The forest always knew how to hold me when no one else could.
The leaves never judge the weight of my steps. The tall branches never try to bend me. Here, I can breathe without feeling like I owe anyone anything.
I ran without direction after leaving the house. Climbed out the window like some rebellious teenager, stumbling over poorly fastened boots and wounded pride. The cold air clung to my face like frost, but I didn’t care. My breath came out in quick, white puffs as I pushed through the snow.
That morning, the snow reached almost to my knees in some places, and the forest looked like something out of an old dream. Branches blanketed in white arched overhead like bowed arms, and the silence was thick broken only b
