Her eyes shattered. No, no it was here! I know this is where the entrance was!" Mimi reached her hands up to her mouth. She bite her nails. Mimi stared at the mass of trees falling to her knees.
"Why, hello there little one." A female's voice echoed throughout the path.
Mimi turned around on all fours. She looked for a pair of feet. Mimi not seeing any sat up while folding her arms.
"Look up," The female voice called out.
Mimi glanced up in front of her. She gasped in awe. The woman was stunning.
The woman upon being noticed floated to the ground. Her white dress bellowed as she touched the path. " I am the Willow woman, but you may call me Willow." Willow moved closer to Mimi.
Mimi scampered back holding her hand out. Her palm faced willow.
Willow stopped moving. She noticed Mimi's terror-filled eyes. "It is all right." Willow bought a finger to her mouth. "Shush, I am not going to hurt you." She got on her knees and crawled toward Mimi.
Mimi scooted back every time Willow inched closer. "Stay back!" Mimi balled herself up shaking.
"Sweet child. So frail, and ready to give up. Isn't this place frightening? Aren't you tired?" Willow held out her hand smirking.
"This place is so confusing, so heartbreaking. I don't know what it wants from me!" Mimi lifted up her hand and covered her forehead.
"Why for you to give up. To lay here with me and wait for all of time to pass. Wouldn't it be so easy to give in? To give up." Willow approached Mimi.
Mimi did not move away. She lifted her head, dropping her hand down. "To give in..."
Willow reached her hand toward Mimi's face. She then cupped Mimi's chin. She reached her other hand up grabbing the side of Mimi's face. "Why yes, we can stay here never moving forward. Never going back. Nothing good ever comes of going forward. Nothing ever comes with moving backward. Staying still, never achieving anything that is the way to be."
"Never moving?" Mimi glanced at Willow. The woman was infuriatingly beautiful. It was tempting to stay wrapped up in this almost reassuring presence. "I could stay here. "
"Could you? How sweet. Now, stay still while I nibble." The woman's voice suddenly transformed into a dark sinister mocking tone.
"What, no!" Mimi slapped Willow away.
Willow hit the ground. "Ha, ha, ha, I will come for you. You do not have to run. Running is hard."
Mimi stood up clenching her fist. "You do not know how strong I am. I am not as weak as they come. I have been hurting for so long. Inside feels like a hole that's ripping me apart. Their actions, their words incircle my head. People I have trusted, people I cared about, turned their backs on me. It is cold, and it is dark. There is no way out! Every waking moment I think, I deserve it! Even if someone were to tell me, that is not true. It would still consume my very being. I wish I knew a way out. I don't see through it. All I hear, all I see is their hate. I feel like it is becoming a part of me."
Willow smiled, and she spoke. "Woody I think we are finished here."
Woody appeared with a small circular table. He was sitting on an absurdly small stool. Woody had a teacup in one hand with a saucer in the other. "All ready and I just got to tea time," He huffed.
Mimi looked between the two. She glanced back and forth. "Do you want to eat me too?"
Woody placed down his teacup. "Heavens no. You would have to excuse my language! I think you are still rather raw."
Mimi glanced at Willow who was still on the ground. She pointed at her. "Does she want to eat me," Mimi asked with a raised eyebrow.
Woody sighed, "No one wants to eat you."
Mimi huffed, "Then why go through this."
Woody shrugged. "Because I can." He picked his cup up and poured his tea on the ground. He then placed the teacup on the table.
Mimi narrowed her eyes and stomped over to him. " You are not a good person."
Woody replied, "I am a figment of your imagination."
Mimi grabbed at Woody's suit jacket. "That ain't saying much."
"There are people out there who are not lucky at all. You survived... Next time you may not."
Mimi let go of Woody's jacket. She slid down to the ground. "I survived," she whispered to herself. She then looked up at him. "So, this is my mind?"
"A warped version of it, yes. We did a bit of redecorating. I want you to know; it is not your fault, that it is okay. I can't even imagine the pain you are in. I know you must be afraid. That you think that they will look at you differently. Is that so bad? Are you worried that they will hate you too? That person or persons you think so lowly of." Woody moved toward Willow. He helped her up.
Mimi lifted her head up. "Yeah, I don't think lowly of them, I think lowly of myself."
"They will want to help you. If you talk to that person or persons; If you can not speak, write letters, if you can not write, show them. Show the messages, the bruises. If you can not out of fear, out of it hurting too much. I promise you they would rather have you alive. But If you can not, I get it. There are other forms of help. Please consider them. I can assure you, that you are not the only one. That help does exist. I can assure you, that it is okay to ask for help." As Woody finished speaking the path and trees slowly disappeared. A complete blackness overtook Mimi's mind.