Chronicles of Araxx - Forever Broken

“Look at this forest, Blossom!” A male voice shouted. He had a strange twang to his accent that was hard to place.

The sound woke Annaleah where she was still on the ground at the foot of the oak tree she’d fallen asleep under. When she opened her eyes, she was met with the bright light of the sun beaming through the green leaves of the trees above her.

“The trees look so alive,” the man’s voice said.

“I agree with you there, Bear,” a shrill female voice said. She had the same strange twang to her voice as the man. “You can feel the forest’s heartbeat can’t you?”

“Totally,” Bear said. “Nothing beats the beauty of Ireland though. I can’t wait to go back home.”

Annaleah sat up slowly and could see the pair walking on the path not far from where she was. The man called, Bear was a thin man with no hair on his head, thin metal glasses, a moustache and goatee. He was wearing baggy trousers and a tight-fitting vest, both in a dark green colour. Blossom was also strange-looking, but almost the opposite of Bear. She was a plump woman, with long, blonde hair in dreadlocks weaved with lots of beads and different coloured ribbons. She was wearing a dress, pink and patterned with flowers. Both of these strange people were attractive in their own way, but nothing like Annaleah had ever seen before.

“I really don’t think they should cut down this forest.” Bear continued, but Blossom had noticed Annaleah when she had taken the loaf of bread from her rucksack. Although she had wanted to eat the entire thing last night, she managed less than half before feeling full.

“Hey, look over there,” she said to Bear.

He looked over towards Annaleah.

“She looks dirty, do you think she’s homeless?” He asked his companion.

“Might be, yeah, she looks thin too.” Blossom sighed. “We should help her.”

Annaleah knew what she needed to do next.

She needed to make her way to a city, London if she could. She didn’t know much about the outside world, but she remembered her parents taking her to London when she was very small. Of the little memory she had of them, this one was clear in her mind. Perhaps if she went somewhere she remembered going with them, she might be able to remember their faces.

“Excuse me?” Bear called from the pathway, not walking closer to where Annaleah was still sitting under the oak tree, watching them nervously. “Didn’t mean to scare you. I was just wondering...” Bear went quiet. He was nervous, not really one to talk to strangers.

“We were wondering if you were homeless,” Blossom said bluntly.

“You can’t ask someone outright like that, it’s impolite,” Bear scolded Blossom, but it didn’t seem to phase her, nor did it bother Annaleah.

“Yeah, I am,” Annaleah answered. There was no point lying.

They walked closer and Annaleah stood up quickly, grabbing her rucksack, ready to run if needed.

“Oh, you poor child.” Blossom gushed. “What’s your name?”

Annaleah paused for a second before she answered. She never liked the name, and now she could change it. After all, it wasn’t even the name her parents gave her. She could no longer remember her real name, but the name, Annaleah was the name Kane had given her.

“Lee.” She smiled friendly. “My name is Lee.”

“I’m Blossom, and this is Bear.” Blossom gestured to herself and her companion. “Nice to meet you.” She extended her hand.

Lee was reluctant to take it. The only physical contact she had for most of her life was when she was being beaten or hurt, and now someone was extending a hand in friendship.

“I won’t bite. Promise.” Blossom smiled.

Lee eventually took her hand.

“So, where are you going Lee?” Bear asked.

“I don’t really know,” she admitted. “I don’t know my way around here very well, but I know I want to get to London.”

“We’ll if this isn’t a coincidence I don’t know what is!” Blossom exclaimed. “We’re on our way there too. There’s a convention in two days time about the conservation of the trees around here. We can take you if you want.”

While Lee was sceptical, she knew it might be her only way of getting to the city.

“I’d love to, but I can’t afford to pay you…” she started.

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Bear said. “Call it karma. If we do this for you, something good might happen for us in return.”

“Thank you,” Lee said.

“First things first, though, we gotta get you clean.” Blossom pinched her nose with her fingers in a joking manner, then laughed.

They led her to a camper van in which they lived, and currently parked at the side of the road, just a ten-minute walk from the forest where Lee had slept.

The camper van was small but cosy and there were pictures of the two of them all over the place, and little ornaments from around the world.

Blossom showed Lee the shower and left her to clean herself.

Lee took off her clothes and looked at herself in the mirror. She’d seen herself before, but never really looked. Her body looked painfully thin, and her ribs and hip bones were clearly visible. Her skin was pale too. If it weren’t for the many freckles which covered her arms and face, she would have looked like a ghost.

She was dirty. Years of not washing had caked the dirt and grime into her skin. It took a lot of scrubbing until Lee came out clean. Her nails were the hardest part and there was still dirt under them when she left the bathroom.

“This will help with that.” Blossom handed Lee a toothpick.

She looked at it with a blank expression.

“Use it to get the dirt from under your nails.” Blossom laughed. “And if you come over here, I’ll do your hair.” She gestured to a comfortable looking settee with bright cushions all over it.

Lee went with Blossom, allowing her to brush through her auburn locks as she cleaned underneath her fingernails. It was oddly relaxing, and a very pleasant feeling.

Blossom offered to cook for Lee, saying she was already making food for two and a third would not be too hard to cater for.

Lee accepted. She wasn’t going to pass up on food, not likely.

Blossom cooked some strange foods Lee had never eaten before, but for the last seven years, she hadn’t really had much other than scraps, stale bread and the occasional bowl of soup if she was lucky.

The smell of the food cooking was making Lee even more hungry. There were sweet smells, spices, and the aroma of cooking food soon filled the camper van.

While Blossom was cooking, Bear took it upon himself to question Lee about her past. “So, how old are you, if you don’t mind me asking?” He asked.

Lee thought for a moment. She didn’t actually know how old she was.

“We’ll I know I was born on April 10th in 2009. What date is it now?” She asked.

Both Bear and Blossom turned to look at her.

“It’s March 7th, 2025. You’re nearly 17?” Bear was shocked.

“I guess so, yeah.” Lee shrugged her shoulders.

What was an age to her, it didn’t matter one bit? Lee looked at both Blossom and Bear. Why were they so shocked about her age?

“Can I ask you another question?” Bear asked.

“Go for it.”

“How did you become homeless?” Bear asked.

“Bear, you can’t just ask someone that.” Blossom was outraged by Bears rudeness, but it didn’t bother Lee.

She thought for a moment before she answered. She didn’t want to tell them the whole truth, she had a feeling telling them she’d been locked up in a cell wouldn’t go down well.

“I was young, about seven, I think when it all started,” Lee began.

Both Bear and Blossom were paying close attention to Lee now. Blossom was plating up the food, vegetable stir fry with a sweet and sour sauce, but her full attention was not on the job.

“The house I was living in with my parents caught fire and I don’t remember much about them, not even their faces, nor their voices. I saw my Mother die, but not my Father. I know he’s dead, though. That’s where I got this.” Lee held her arm out, showing them her scar.

“Oh, you poor thing,” Blossom gushed. “Did you not have any family to take you in?”

“I don’t have anyone,” Lee said. What she had said so far was true. She’d never actually said they died in the fire, just that they were dead. “I’ve been on my own ever since. Well, sort of. There have been people in and out if my life, but no family.” Again this was true. The only people who were constant in Lee’s life were Kane, and his accomplice Jacob.

Lee had thought at one point Jacob was her friend. For a while, he was nice to her for, but it only turned out to be a ruse. He was playing her, getting inside her head, and boy did he.

Lee, in the short few months Jacob was friendly with her, fell head over heels for him. When she found out his niceness was only to get information from her, and he was working for Kane, thirteen-year-old Lee was crushed.

“So, where have you been living?” Bear asked, snapping Lee out of her own memories.

“Here and there,” Lee answered. “My goal is to get to London, though. I’m sick of living out here in the country.”

“Well, we leave for London in the morning. You’ll be there by tomorrow night.”

Lee thoroughly enjoyed the stir fry. It hit the spot. She couldn’t remember the last time she had vegetables, or something sweet.

After dinner, Blossom brought out a chocolate cake for pudding.

Lee only had a small piece, but the taste would stay with her forever. The last time she had chocolate, she was a little girl.

While they were eating, Blossom explained all the things she and Bear had collected on their travels. She pointed to a wooden elephant, saying it was from India, then there was a beaded necklace on the side which came from Greece. There was a dream catcher hanging on one of the walls.

Lee was enchanted by the idea of a dream catcher. She could do with one. Maybe it would help her remember her parents’ faces more clearly.

Outside the sun was down already, and the camper van was lit with the dim glow of fairy lights. The colours were purples, pinks and golden whites, making the camper van feel warm inside.

Bear and Blossom took themselves off to bed once they finished washing the dishes and Lee was tired.

Lee was exhausted after the day, and all the talking she did, and the stories she heard, but once she was on her own, laid out on the sofa with a warm blanket over her, she was still wide awake.

She looked out of the window, seeing bright stars above. Lee stared at the stars. They were beautiful. Tiny balls of fire which burned brightly in the sky. It wasn’t long before she drifted off, the sound of the wind chime hanging outside the door, singing a soft lullaby to a girl who was out-of-place.

Lee was awoken the next morning with the smell of something sweet. She breathed in deeply, still not fully awake and her mouth began to water. She remembered that smell, she’d eaten this before. Pancakes. Home-made pancakes.

Blossom was cooking when Lee opened her eyes.

“Morning.” She said in a chirpy voice, blonde dreadlocks bouncing around her face.

Lee was suddenly aware of the hum of the shower and thought Bear must be taking a wash. Sure enough, the humming stopped and a minute later, Bear stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist.

“Smells divine, dear,” he said to her as he kissed her on the cheek.

“Go get dressed, then we can all eat breakfast.” Blossom smiled back at him.

Soon enough he was back and Blossom plated the food.

“I can’t remember the last time I ate this much!” Lee scoffed with a mouth full of syrupy pancakes.

Blossom laughed delighted. “I hope you’re enjoying them. They’re made with organic and free range ingredients. Only the best of Mother Nature.” Blossom really was a true hippy.

“We’d better get on the road soon if we want to make it to London before the tea time traffic sets in,” Bear worried.

“How long will it take to get there?” Lee asked. She had no idea how far away from the capital she was.

“About six hours, give or take time for traffic,” Blossom said. “But there’s no rush really.” She smiled. “Finish up your pancakes, then we’ll get going.”