Haunt

Haunt sits alone in the forest. She listens to the rustling of the leaves and the whispering of the wind. She hears critters nearby, some birds, some chipmunks. In the distance she can hear a fox, or maybe even two. The complete tranquility surrounding her is nice, it’s why Haunt comes to the forest every now and again. Just to wind down with nature. Before getting back to the daily struggle.

Sometimes, sometimes Haunt just wants to stop struggling.

Life is hard for a dragon without a home. Despite what others might think, treasure is an absolute necessity in this world, and Haunt just doesn’t have that. Nor does she have a steady supply or food, or a place to rest her head when she’s tired. Well, she has the forest of course, but when the weather gets bad she won’t be safe. Also despite how lovely this place is now, Haunt knows that there are predators in the forest too. She would have to fight for her place either way.

But today is one of those days where Haunt just wants to give up. She’s tired, she’s hungry, she’s depressed. And the forest makes her less depressed. The forest fills her head with silence and fills her lungs with fresh air. Haunt decides to stay for a while, and forages for something to eat. She finds a little, a small amount of edible flowers, but it will do for now. She eats them carefully, savoring them. All life is precious, and those flowers should be respected for theirs. And for sustaining Haunt’s life. When Haunt is finally done eating, the sun is already setting. Finding a sleeping spot in the city will be hard now, especially seeing as Haunt still needs to go back. So, for just this once, she can sleep here, in the forest, right? Haunt lies down in her favorite clearing, looking up at the sky where stars have started to appear.

And she closes her eyes.