We ran through the woods, trying to escape the lives we were born into. The day was cold and crisp, and we thought we could do anything. The funny thing about hope is that it's sneaky; seeping into you when you're glancing the other way. You tell yourself every day that hoping is too dangerous, but you find yourself doing it anyway. And it landed you here, running through the woods with the girl you loved, though you would never tell a soul. Your heart pulsed in your ears, and you thought maybe this is what it felt like to be happy.

It was quiet: leaves crunching and wind softly whispering. The sky was soft. You looked over at her, and she was smiling, just a little. "You're beautiful when you smile," you whispered, so softly you couldn't even hear yourself.

A bird was singing, and your lungs were begging for infinite air. You paused, and there was sun in your eyes. We can do this, you thought, and you were suddenly sure. We'll be fine. It'll be alright.

Hope is a bitch sometimes. For you, hope was your drug. At first you were cautious, but it pulled you in, and you became addicted. Even on the cold nights when the two of you huddled beneath moss canopies, you found reason to breathe. Her warm arm brushing your skin was your high, dreaming of sweeping kisses and fairy tale weddings. Even when you could hear search parties calling your names, wolves howling and your old life haunting, you pinned the hope to your chest and simply focused on that. Breathing was easy when she was beside you.

Hope made you dizzy and stupid. It fucked you up, and the memories are hazy now. It feels like a different world: sun and leaping around and laughter and almost never wondering if anyone at home missed you. You never thought, We should never have left. You couldn't imagine dreaming of what would have happened if you had been caught. When you had nightmares, you woke up to the sight of her face, to the scent of the mint she chewed like gum and her skin, which always felt sweet but smelled salty, although you were never near the sea.

At some point, you thought they stopped looking. You were a fool, and you were wrong. They never stopped. You were more important than you realized. They were just quiet about it, quieter than they had been before. Your comfort made you linger, and you were so much closer to them than you should have been.

You were gathering berries, the dark ones that bled a deep purple onto your fingers. It smelled like spring and the hope. You grinned a secret grin, picking up the plumpest berry and brushing it against your teeth.

There was a scream, and the berry dropped uneaten from your lips. You rushed over, and she was lying there, too still. There was blood staining her light blue, somewhat seethrough shirt, and an arrow in her chest.

"No," you said, and your purple fingers brushed her cheeks. You were crying, or maybe screaming, or probably both.

"You'll be okay," she breathed. You thought you were going to be sick.

"No!" you said again. "No! What will I do without you?"

It was a beautiful spring day, and the air smelled sweet and lovely, a little bit like mint. Deep in the forest, you were sitting on the ground, crying. Hope was bleeding in your lap.

You looked at her. Her breaths were becoming shallow, and far apart. Her eyes were green, how did you forget to mention that? A deep green, like olives, and there was sunlight dappling the leaves, and she couldn't be dying, because you had a future together! You would live, and love, and...

You had dared to hope, and now Hope was paying the price.

You closed your eyes, and a single tear leaked out, onto her lips. She didn't swallow it, and she didn't live.

You opened your eyes. Her pulse could no longer be heard, and you never got to tell her you loved her.

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1/29/21 update: SooOo this piece just won a Scholastic gold key?? Dkjghweidujsdjgheiukjds thank you for the ages-ago prompt Krei_Toshi much appreciated <33 y a y