Bumping, sorry.




[center]
[i]Hum.





I feel very odd today.
What is this?...
So... So very odd...





I notice that the little fawn is gone from my side. Hum... I wonder how long it has been since I fell asleep?
The snow still falls. The flakes are gentle and not the least bit cold on my back. So different from the rain, though they were both made of water...
I close my eyes. There's barely any use in keeping them open, really; all I see is eternal midnight, anyway.
A memory stretches its head out from my heart's depths, seeking. I breathe deeply, readying myself, and let it wash over me...


------






The loud rush of rain.
"Mother... When will the rain stop?"
A gentle sigh.
"I... I don't know, dear..."
A pause. The voice continues, fake and cheerful.
"I'm sure nothing will happen to us. The rain will stop soon, dear. We'll be fine."
Silence filled by the roar of the rain.

------


My breath catches in my throat and I swallow it down. Mother... Mother, Father, I miss you.
That was the beginning. That was when everyone thought it was just the seasonal rain storm, just the usual downpour...


------





[=#304567]
The loud rush of the rain, weaker, but still there.
A whimper.
"I'm so thirsty, Mother..."
A strained voice, dry and harsh. "Dear... There isn't any water..."
"B-but all the rain! There's so much water! Why can't I drink it? I'm so thirsty! Mother! Mother-"
"There isn't any clean water! The rainwater has mud, leaves, dead things in it! Drowned things! Do you want to get sick and die?!"
A sickening silence. A sob.

Bump'd, so more can see.




[center]
[i][=#A880D0]Hum.





So...
I am blind.
Dear Lemon... Now I know how you feel, I think...





I know it is snowing by the feel of cold soft things landing on me... My, I wish I could see it! The snow! I was always fond of it, I was... The air would be beautiful, as cold as it would be, and the white things fluttering about was a favorite sight of mine to see...
Pity I'll never see it again.
Surely it is even more beautiful in this lovely forest. Oh, how I envy them! All the others who can see and gaze upon this beauty without a thought!
Ah, well.





I can hear the cries and joyful hoofbeats of fawns and adults dashing about. I approach a few groups shyly, seeking a little bit of warmth... But who wishes to invite a blind doe? Besides, I cannot join them; with only midnight darkness in my eyes, I cannot hop and run around like them... I would trip and fall, and that would be unpleasant.





I remember in my fawnhood (my, it is so far back!) how I played in the snow with my father and mother... That was far before the floods, it was. Mother would wear her violet hat with the green feathers in it, and hop through the snow, father and I following her exact hoofsteps...
I smile; remembering little things like that makes we wish the floods never happened...
...everything was washed away...
I shiver and cry out, hoping someone to come to me and nuzzle me, keep me warm in this cold snow. Simply someone to sit by my side, under the shelter of a tree or such...

Bump'd.




[center]
[i][=#A880D0]Hum.





Perhaps I should be alarmed by this blackness... But, strangely indeed, I am not.
This is the path I have taken.
Ah... I remember when everything was crisp and sharp.
I smile into the sun; memories are enough. No matter how blind I become, I will always remember the true clearness of this forest, the times I spent here in this haven...





Lost in my hazy, blurry world, only a tunnel of light in the center of a blind blackness, I wander around. Now I must rely even more on my ears and nose - this will take some getting used to, to be sure!
Hum, I scent someone slightly familiar... Ah, sir Corvus, I believe. Last time I saw him, he had those lovely candles on him.





I find him laying in the depths of bushy blueberries, idly nibbling on the fruits. But it is difficult to exactly locate him, it is! Then he stands, and the movement is easy to detect, and I bow to him in approximately the right direction. I hope he forgives me for this silliness!
Ah... But he is a sweet young thing, he is. He asks nothing of my strange behavior, though he is probably puzzled - I cannot see his face clearly so it is hard to tell.
But I, indeed, am saddened by my condition, for it impairs my ability to have fun. Fun! What a lovely thing. Hum. I did not have much fun in my fawnhood. A pity! It is such a wonderful thing, fun.

Bump'd.




[center]
[i][=#A880D0]Hum.





I am getting used to this blurred forest... Really, it is quite pretty. Everything soft and bright and unfocused, like a dream, or like a memory. Or a painting of a memory. A good memory, mind.
Things are not so bad when I think about them. Walking in a painting? Why, it sounds like a faerytale.





And the water! Why, but I will always say that I am blessed to have such clean water close by. Indeed, I have never tasted such sweet clean water. There was no water as nice as this, even before the floods!
Hum... Perhaps those two gods, sitting atop that hill, always keep the water clean.





The only problem with my vision, I discover, is the difficulty of recognizing other deer... Now I must rely on my ears and nose than my eyes. Hum. A pity. I hope the others do not mind my silliness, bowing in slightly different directions than where the deer actually are...
At least the trees and rocks are nothing to worry about; I can simply walk through them. Lovely!





Hum! I smell a certain scaly, long-tailed stag! Oh, it will be good to see Queze again, it will. I run as fast as I can towards them, for another doe seems to be with him by the smells of it.
Wait...





But... That is not Queze! The scent... is different... all of a sudden. Hum, I am confused! Are my eyes playing tricks on me? But I was sure... I scented Queze...





Greatly disappointed, I stumble away, wondering what exactly had happened.

[center]
[i][=#A880D0]Hum.





It seems that my eyes have worsened yet again. But my oh my! What is this? Rain! Torrential rain! Oh, horrors, I do think I am disliking this rain very much! It is so wet! So slippery and muddy! Why, any deer would catch a cold, staying out here!





So I dash and run, searching for some sort of shelter, the rain stinging my eyes. I see a dark shadow up ahead; a huge tree with magnificent branches spreading out to the sky. Shelter! Yes, shelter. to my surprise, the tree is hollow! Oh, much better.
This is a strange old tree, for it hums gently... Hum. It is peaceful, and slightly warm within this tree's hollow. There is a squirrel sheltering here as well, and another stag. A fawn joins me for a short time and then dashes off again to play in the rain. The poor dear. He'll get sick, surely.





But my! Is that my friend Seed? Yes... Yes, I think so... I can't quite tell from this distance... Oh, there! Yes, it is Seed! And he has some lovely candles in his antlers. Hum, see how the rain does not make them go out! Those will keep us warm and toasty in the Giant Tree. How thoughtful of dear Seed!





We spend a little time casting upon a plain-pelted stag, but soon we settle down to sitting at the Tree's entrance and watching the rain. Rain... Why did I dislike the rain, again?...
Oh... Oh, yes... Rain was what caused the floods. Too much rain... Too much water... and it all...
Never mind.

Bumping so more can see.




[center]
[i][=#A880D0]Hum.





My eyes... They are unfocused. The world, blurry and soft... At first I am afraid that my vision has worsened to this extent, but no, soon it clears and the world is visible enough. That gave me quite a scare, first thing in the morning!
...And hum, I am quite tired, though I just woke. I think... I do think I was having a strange dream. Was it a dream?... I cannot be quite sure. But there was a fawn, a poor little fawn, all alone.
Hum. That seems to be all I can remember. Pity that dreams are always like that.
It seems there are no familiar scents about... The forest is quiet...
And I seem to be a little out of it today. Hum.





I wander around, a little aimlessly, finally ending up at the pond. Deep blue water... So clean and clear... Ah, but this forest is blessed, surely, to have such beautiful water available. Why, I remember in my fawnhood, during the floods... There was little clean water, I think.





I keep a little fawn warm for a while, keeping it close to my side. Poor little thing, sleeping out here in the open. Surely he should be with his mother in a comfortable den.
Hum... I still seem tired. Perhaps it would be best for me to simply go back to sleep... Later my friends may appear. Hum. Good-night.





...Ahh, now I feel much better.
Hum! I scent my friend Lemon! Why, but I woke at a good time, I did. I dash towards her scent, mingling with some other deer's. There, there she is!

[center]
[i][=#A880D0]Hum.





Is my vision slightly blurrier than yesterday? I cannot exactly tell. But no matter! I can see well enough yet. Surely this is just a result of my age. One cannot expect to have perfect sharp eyes all through their life, now!
Today is a bright sunny day, warm and nearly hot. I can see the shade of the forest is much needed on days like this.





Hum, but look! Is that my dearest friend Queze? I see him leaping among two others whom he seems to know well. Dear me, what am I doing? I must go greet him.





He joyfully greets me back and the two others introduce themselves; the brown doe, Lemon, and the green stag, Seed. But the poor dear, feathered Lemon! She is blind.





Another strange red stag with a skull for a mask joins us in our games. We all walk backwards, passing through trees and separating from each other until we fall upon the ground, laughing and laughing. Oh, what fun! What fun it is to be with friends! Why, in my fawnhood... Hum, the only fun I ever had, really, was with myself. I did not have many friends... Especially after the floods. Then I had no friends. Ah, but then I should be even more grateful for the friends I have now, I should!
Lemon strangely disappears during our playing, however. Seed explains that she has a bad connection. "Bad connection"?...

[center]
[i][=#A880D0]Hum.





And I thought that this forest is endless daytime! How wrong I was. Look, see the blue moonlight, see the dark sky, see the bats that flitter... See these pretty flicker-flies, dancing with me in the stead of butterflies.
It's lovely. I surely hope this won't be the last time I am able to experience night-time.





I wander hither and thither in the dark forest, and I find myself walking toward the pond... Hum, I wonder what the water looks like, bathed in moonshine. Beautiful, to be sure!
I see many deer gathered there, perhaps with similar mind. Who's that? A deer with candles on his antlers?...





He is sitting all alone at a cliff-top. It seems like he wants a bit of solitude but I, believing politeness comes first, curtsy to him from a distance. He bows, returning the greeting, but my! How he shivers! I want to go over and comfort the poor thing and assure him I am only a harmless middle-aged doe that's going a bit on the plump side, but I decide it's best to go elsewhere. Poor thing. Perhaps we'd be friends, someday, when he isn't looking so solemn.





In the distance I see those strange lights flashing and singing their odd music. I cannot help but be a little frightened of them still; they are the most bizarre things I have ever seen in my life! Hum, really, I am being silly. They do no harm, those lights, so I should get used to them by now, I should.