Innocence

This is a story about a girl who was finding herself. She had been protected her whole life with her walls of iron and slippers of soft velvet. But now she’s older, taking off her slippers she’s venturing beyond the walls that were built up for her. She is about to set her feet upon the sharp rocks. The ones she had been told about were out there. This is how she faired.

Ava set her foot upon the ground. The grass beneath her was soft but not as soft as her slippers. Still, it wasn’t the agony she was expecting. Continuing she came upon a boy in the sand. “Come play with me,” he called out to her. Delighted she set foot to the sand; coarse it was, but still not as sharp and painful as she was expecting. The boy and her played for hours in the sand. He was kind to her and gave her things that he had already had.

“You’ve just come out of your castle,” the boy, Thomas asked. “Yes, I have,” she responded. “I must show you the world then!” Taking her hand, he led her away from the sand and into the woods. The ground was varied here. Soft in spots but painful sticks and pine cones in other places. She learned quickly not to step upon those. Still this isn’t as bad as they said. And this boy is quite nice. They must have been mistaken. She said to herself.

He took her to see the smooth stream but it was filled with monsters. He showed her old gnarled Mr. oak but he was grumpy and filled her with fear with his creaking in the strong winds. They began to climb higher up then. The ground grew rougher but she continued on because she was following the boy.

He brought her up to the mountain cat that scratched her; he led her through the pit of snakes. They bit at her feet, leaving them bloody. The boy, Thomas, forced her inside the lair of spiders that crawled along her body and sucked her blood. She grew scared and told Thomas of turning back but he gave her reassuring words. So, she went on following him.

Time later they stopped by a river and Thomas left her. She met another boy there who warned her. “You mustn’t stay with him. He is after the fresh and naïve. He will leave you destroyed and broken. Instead, come with me along this river and I will take you to safer lands.”

Ava agreed but before they could get the boat off Thomas returned. “Where are you going,” he asked. “To safer lands,” she responded. Thomas laughed at this. “Don’t you know that there is no such thing?” She spoke again,” I was there once. So, there must be a way back.”

“Not for you,” he grabbed her but the boy in the boat jumped out and got in between Thomas. “She does not wish to be with you.” Then Thomas responded by hitting him in the face. The boy fell backwards. “Watch my girl,” Thomas said to Ava while picking up a stone off the shore. He began to smash the other boy’s head in. Again and again he struck.

With his hands covered in blood, he stopped. There, Ava stood while he wiped his hands on her white dress. “Can’t you see now,” he spoke,” your innocence is gone; and you will never be able to get it back. It’s like your virginity, once it’s lost it’s lost for good.” And there she wept. For she saw it now, the sharp rocks they had warned her about were true. But in the sense she hadn’t realized. She had always been looking for it but didn’t see that it was a matter of the heart. And the heart will hurt far more than anything that happens to the body. For it never goes away.