...where are you going?
Yes, where was she going? Was there anywhere to go for a little longneck and a little flyer? As the young girl thought about this, the voice of someone she had once met suddenly spoke insight of her.
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Some months prior
"Lizzie, can I talk to you for a second?" Her eyes were still red from crying all night as Lizzie looked up from her crouched posture, meeting the wise eyes of the old stranger who had spared her life by saving her in the desert. Although he was a kind and wise old fellow, the child didn't feel like talking to him at all, the wounds of her father's betrayal still too deep and fresh. Well, at least he was kind towards her... so she decided to hear him out.
"Yes?" she responded with a sad sigh that still carried the sort of hiccup you got after weeping for a long time.
"Well, the herd's decided to move on," the old longneck spoke as he lowered his neck. "Unfortunately though the leader did not allow you to become a member as we've had other families' children starve to death only recently. I'm sorry Lizzie but you cannot stay with us..." The regret in the old dinosaurs voice was shining brighter than the usual wisdom that it seemed to carry. Lizzie registered the words but they didn't cause any emotional response despite the implementations that they obviously carried. Once again she was being abandoned, although this time she would be dismissed kindly... or so she assumed.
"I want you to know that this is not what I wanted. Leaving a child on its own in such a world is irresponsible and absolutely immoral yet I have to obey. The herd needs me too, y'know?" A sad smile crossed his face for a second. "Anyway, I will try to make sure that you'll have the best of chances, Lizzie. This place has enough water but very little food - certainly more than enough for a child like you but what if this place ever dries? This whole region was once a wide, fertile grassland back in my days and just look what became of it..."
"Okay..." Lizzie merely replied, listening intently although it didn't quite look like that from an outside perspective.
"If you ever don't know where to go, Lizzie, then you should walk with the Bright Circle in your back. Beyond this grassland were wide forests and lush rivers in the past. If you can cross this desert and run from the Bright Circle, maybe you can have a chance. This area is so deserted that even Sharpteeth seem to avoid it but don't let your guard down."
Lizzie looked at the horizon, the remains of dawn still visible on the sky as it was barely morning. "So... I should move this way?" She pointed over to the direction the old longneck indicated.
"Well, take the Bright Circle as a reference when it is at its highest on the sky, then your path will be most likely to reach cooler regions where hopefully food is still growing..."
If it hadn't been for the fact that he had saved her life - though she was beginning to muse that she'd rather have perished, and that he'd always been kind and upright, Lizzie probably wouldn't believe his words. Given the wisdom that he possessed and his position as a high-ranked deputy in the herd, Lizzie had to assume that his advice could be taken for granted.
"Good luck, little one, you will need it..."
"Thank you..." Lizzie replied sadly. Despite the lack of interest in anything around her and despite the emotional distance that she had kept to everyone, adults and kids alike who she interacted with, the little longneck felt a little gloomy which had nothing to do with her trauma from the past. Even though she preferred to be left alone, it was something completely different to BE completely alone without protection, without a home...
"Just promise me one thing kid okay?"
"Huh?" Lizzie got mildly curious.
"Do your best to survive and hang in there. Life is too precious and beautiful to be thrown away. You are like a flower that has yet to bloom and grow. Do you understand?"
Lizzie wasn't entirely sure if she understood what the old dinosaur meant but what she did understand was that he wanted her to survive. Slowly, she nodded, a few tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Farewell, Lizzie."
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Ever since that the young longneck hadn't spoken to any other sapient creature. Even though she was all alone, a spark of hope had started to light up. What if the old dinosaur was right and she really could escape the desert her family had tried to escape for so long to no avail? It was her luck that she had decided to eat as much of the little food the place offered before eventually starting her journey towards the north. Though at first she was eager, following the path described to her, now, many months later she was as hopeless as a dinosaur could be and might have long since starved if she hadn't eaten so much back then. She still hadn't escaped and strayed from the path a lot in her depressed state. Still, if there was one direction to follow, it'd probably be away from the Bright Circle.
"A wise dinosaur once told me to walk away from the Bright Circle where the weather is cooler and food more plentiful. However, I still haven't been able to escape this desert. Unless you know a better way though this is where I will go." After some more thinking, she added. "Although it seems like the big ocean is that direction. Wonder if we should follow it. At least it has water..."
And sends gigantic waves inland...
Lizzie hesitated for a moment as her idea suddenly seemed much less foolhardy but how big were the odds of another terrible earthshake to cause them?
"Anyway, you do not have to go with me if you don't want to. It would be nice though..."
