She looked down at her pale, gaunt hand to see that the lace around her wrist has torn. She thought of home and how she does not the terrible place. Sitting upon the rotted root of an old massive tree, she let her fingers feel the brittle, withered bark- it made her think of her home just how it is, fragile, over all hopeless.
She sat there pondering. She reminded herself of the abuse she felt around her family, the neglect. She loathed those memories of a place she once called home.
She brushed the bark off of her dress; all of the million pieces flew away as the wind flew by. As depressing as the scenery was in the black withered forest, she found it peaceful and captivating. She felt calm… then, she felt a tickle on her finger. It was a jewel beetle. She brought it up to the horizon of her yellow-green eyes. Thinking of how majestic the colors were: the crimson red, the yellow, and orange entwined together making graceful swirls on its exoskeleton.
She whispered to herself, “How beautiful.”
In a tiny voice, so faint, she heard a reply from the beetle, “thank you, so much. But why are you all alone in the withered forest?”
“I ran away” she replied in her shy voice.
“You look lonely,” the beetle replied.
“ I am…”said the girl. “ I want to be happy; I cannot do that when I am cooped up in a room with my lonesome self and Beady, a stuffed rabbit smothered in dirt and has an eye hanging on a thin piece of thread dangling down its face. My parents died. My mother killed my father, then killed herself soon after, leaving me alone. I cannot bare it any longer.”

Tears streamed down both of their faces. There was a long pause.

“What if I could help you?” the beetled questioned.

“Help me?” she asked.

“Yes, I can help you. There is a magnificent place I can take you to. It’s my home. Too bad I had flown away, though. There was a storm the night before last, I fell asleep on a leaf and the wind blew me off of the branch. I woke up the next morning and found that my left wing was broken. It’s quite painful and bothersome. I cannot fly. I can guide you to the ruins if you want. By the way, what is your name?”

“Alice.” She replied with a smile. Her pale slender face blushed in a radiant, red tint
“Then let’s go! The trail begins past that canal.”

Alice stood up and brushed off her lacey dress, then placed the beetle on her shoulder. Heading towards the canal Alice’s heart was pounding; she was overjoyed. Passing over, she had scraped her legs against the brittle thorn bushes leaving her thin-netted stockings to absorb the blood. She didn’t care; she was too excited to acknowledge it.

She hopped over the canal, splashing thick mucky water all over her peach colored dress, leaving it stained with the colors of the earth. The two continued on the way to the ruins.




Unexpectedly, something stopped them. It was a gigantic spider with massive legs sitting upon a web the size of the world. Both of their hearts stopped as the spider’s eyes began to open. It approached them eagerly. Instinctively, Alice ran as fast as she could, ripping through the branches. Looking back over her shoulder, she saw the spider coming toward them. The two panicked. Alice noticed an old crystal cove that her father once worked in and quickly ran in that direction. She spotted a mining pick and decided she would destroy it before it destroyed them.

The spider dashed at them left and right. Swinging the pick, she stumbled and fell to the ground. The spider cornered them and darted with its mouth wide open. All it left behind was Alice’s blood rusted-skeleton, and Beady, under the bedazzling rays of the sun-hit crystals. Alice was left forever in a beautiful paradise, after all.