i am a rabbit hearted girl

The gentle brush of the willows against soft earth was one of the only sounds in that peaceful place. Isolated from the world, it was the perfect place for Irin to have spent the night, curled up against the bark of a tree. Frogs croaked happily, and little splishes and splashes filled the night, making it seem more comforting than it usually did.

Though morning had long since begun, Irin couldn't bring herself to leave her peaceful sanctuary. She found herself seated near the edge of the waters of the pond that the willow grove hid, light gaze focused on the flickering form of a fish that swam through the shallows, oblivious to the presence of a predator. Luckily for the fish, Irin had eaten recently enough that she didn't feel particularly hungry.

Maybe the fish had been born somewhere far away from here. It had probably only been a tiny thing when a bird had swept down to scoop it up and take it back to its nest. The bird had two--no, three little ones, and it was eager to keep them satisfied. But it found that it had bitten off more than it could chew in this fiery colored fish, who flailed and smacked at the bird until the bird let it fall down, down, down to the earth. The fish had been thankful when it found itself hitting water instead of the cold hard earth, and slipped into the deepest waters of this pond to recover from its attempted kidnapping.

Tail wagging contentedly, Irin watched as the fish slipped from view, vanishing into the deeper waters. For the moment, she was blisfully alone, and that was nice. Still, try as she might, Irin couldn't ignore the lurking sense of loneliness in this empty grove.