"Time Alone"

Part 1

Ash closed the door to his burrow and adjusted the strap of his gathering basket. The sun had yet to rise above the horizon and spread its tendrils over the countryside. He yawned and reached over to a leaf, cupping his paws around a dewdrop that had formed on a little sprig near his entryway. Rubbing it through his whiskers and across his face, he yawned a second time and suddenly wished he weren't journeying today. The call of his moss bed was almost too much for him.

His quiet pawsteps found the path leading past Petal's burrow. He forced himself not to stop at her door and instead turned west, following the funeral path that flanked the Beaver Pond on the south side. The glassy surface of the water came into view as the canopy disappeared and gray sky spread above him. All about the pond thin stumps sharpened to a point dotted the banks, rising like ghosts from the mist.

Mr. Barkwhistle surfaced on the far side of his lodge, sending ripples across the water. Ash was certain the big beaver couldn't see him--his eyesight had never been that keen--and rather than stopping to chat, Ash veered off the funeral path and took a little-used gathering trail that extended toward the West Woods. He liked Mr. Barkwhistle, but the young mouse wasn't in the mood for conversation this morning. Perhaps when he returned.

The trail skirted a strawberry patch, and he paused long enough to pick a round, red strawberry and stuff it in his gathering basket. The berry fit perfectly inside the robin's eggshell that comprised the bottom of the basket. He picked another and took a large bite of it, the juice squirting across his fur. Rolling his eyes, he took one more bite, then tossed the remainder in the grass. He plucked another dewdrop from a slender grass blade and washed his fur a second time, removing as much of the berry juice as possible.

The West Woods loomed tall and dark ahead of him. He never much liked entering these trees--there was something off about this place. But, this was the only location he was sure no one would stumble upon him.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, he stepped into the shadows of the forest and left the safety of Evershade behind. He hoped it wouldn't be for good.