Twilight had settled on the swamp like dust on a windy day. A thin, trailing mist clung to the floor of the mangrove and in the boughs above, the birds of the day nestled down, preparing for sleep. It was through this fog of time standing still that a young doe with a long silky mane sang with tears in her voice and a slow sadness to her steps. Her voice bounced through the trees like an awakened ghost. The song was of sorrow and loss, a love long past.
And it was quickly grating on Mirage's nerves.
She had been resting beneath a willow, she was getting on in years, and like any older kin, she was bedding down earlier and sleeping less entirely. She was trying to get some kind of sleep, but this child simply refused to quit her griping.
And, of course, her stupid song just had to resurface those pesky memories she had been trying her hardest to shove down into the deepest sections of her mind. Thoughts of Haze and their life together swam before her eyes like the tears of this stupid doe, pictures of happiness, safety, and comfort. And then came the darkness. Murder and blood, these terrible memories filled her mouth with a bitter iron taste, one she would never forget. Worse yet, a flicker of memory, her what she had done after--
"Will you PLEASE, just SHUT UP?!" She cried out, leaping from her sleeping spot, "Get out of here, you stupid girl! You know NOTHING of loss, do you hear me? NOTHING."
Panting hard, sides heaving, she stared with such terribly sad eyes as the startled doe fled, sobbing. She stood there for a moment before having a heavy sigh.
"Finally, maybe now I can get some sleep." But of course, there was no chance of that now. Mirage lay down in her bed beneath the willow and waited for the nightmares to come.