Disoriented

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There she stood; a little girl alone in the dark stormy forest. Though she wracked her brain, she couldn't recall exactly how she had gotten there, but she knew how to get out. The path lay just before her. She had spun around multiple times, surveying every corner of these creepy woods, but the darkest and most worrisome road was the only one that seemed remotely familiar. Just as she realized it was the way out, the storm picked up. 

The wind began to rock the trees around her as it whistled through the canopy above. Thunder cracked through the sky, and the thick cloud cover dumped freezing water.  The little girl wrapped her arms tightly across her core. She was thankful to be wearing her warmest winter jacket, but even still she shivered as the downpour struck her bare head and cheeks. She was not yet aware that the frigid climate was only partially to blame for her quivering.

Still she stood there, soaking wet and growing colder by the minute. She had figured out which direction to go, but something seemed to be stopping her from heading down that path.  It could have been the ominous shadows looming overhead, or the drastically poor visibility, but it seemed like more.  She had recognized those problems, and the little girl understood that there was nothing she could do about them.

"It is what it is," she reasoned to herself.  "I can only control myself."

So, she took a few small steps forward, but froze in her tracks shortly after beginning her trek.  She couldn't move anymore, because she suddenly felt so small.  She felt as if she had become a miniature version of herself standing in a world of giants.  Despite knowledge of her strengths and capabilities, the little girl cowered in the deep dark woods.  The road seemed even longer now.

With a heavy weight on her shoulders, the girl stretched out her neck and trunk. She squinted her eyes in an attempt to see more clearly, but it was of no use.  The fog had rolled in, and she could barely see her own hands in front of her face.

That's when her stomach began to turn.  Something down in her gut began flopping around, but rather than deal with it she reached up to chill her unexpectedly feverish cheeks. The two sensations combined caused her to waver in her stance. She automatically blew out a long stream of air, and crouched to her feet. 

Frustrated, the shrunken little girl couldn't take it anymore.  She was exhausted and overwhelmed from her circumstances. She closed her eyes and let her fingers rake in the damp earth below her.  The little girl knew what had to be done, and she was eager to get on with it. She hoped that an epiphany would strike her, and this sudden burst of insight would shine some much needed light on her situation.

But no amount of grounding or rationalization would get her out of this. She was alone in an unknown land. Though she told herself to move on, the little girl was stuck trapped in a body that wouldn't listen to her.

"I just want to get out of here," she thought to herself over and over.

Tears squeezed out of her tightly clenched eye lids, and her lip began to tremble. Then, a low flying gust of frigid wind knocked her off her precariously perched feet. She slammed down hard into an icy patch of dirt. Without realizing it, the little girl let loose with a wail that was just as loud as the cry of the storm.

She attempted to recompose herself, but that only lasted a couple of short seconds. Then the little girl understood that she couldn't even control herself any longer. She let go in a rare fit of unregulated emotions. She screamed and thrashed about in a way that hadn't been acceptable of her in years. The girl kicked her feet and arched her back while sobbing with every ounce her diaphragm could muster.  She knew it wasn't going to help anything, but she didn't care anymore. The little girl was distraught. She felt confused, frustrated, sad, alone, and angry.  She was overwhelmed, and she was frightened she would never make it through this.

After what felt like forever, her tantrum tapered down and her weeping faded to a whimper. The exhausted little girl slowly sat up and opened her eyes to see the unchanged world around her.  With a heavy heart and a vacant mind, she carefully shifted her weight. She wanted to slip her weight back to the ground. She craved nothing more than to just give in to the insanity that seemed to be consuming her. However, as she leaned carefully backwards, the little girl startled.

She had struck something cold and hard. She turned her body to feel it with her hands.  As she groped along the rocky surface, she found herself crawling forward. Cautiously, she moved further and further until she realized that she no longer felt the cold sting of rain drops on her skin or the burn of the wind as it rushed across her cheeks. She listened carefully, and heard droplets echo in puddles around her. Still blinded by her darkened surroundings, the little girl assumed she must have entered a cave. She got to her feet, and looked around. She had no idea what lay ahead, but, if she squinted really hard, she swore she could see a pin prick of light in the distance.

She adjusted her proportions, and returned to her normal stature. Her chest still ached from fear and her gut flipped with anxiety, but something told her she was going to be okay.  So, the little girl headed off on her journey.