In the Woods

Hey y’all! I’m Catharine. I’m new here, so I thought I’d share some character sketches and then part of a story I’m working on. (Sorry if there’s too much dialogue)(critiques needed)

This is Daphne Alderidge. She’s the main character of the story. She’s extremely ambiverted and has a group of close friends that she keeps around her. Daphne has one younger sister and an older brother in college.

Ajax Astor, 17, lives in the big house on Elmwood Street. He’s tall, strong, and Daphne meets him by chance in the woods. Ajax feels really deeply; he’s very tender and kind but covers that up as best he can. He doesn’t let on that he’s REALLY depressed…

Meet Danae. She’s been Daphne’s best friend ever since they were twelve, and Danae is the more optimistic of the two. She’s kind and gentle, and is the voice of reason in her friend group.

This is Iantha. She’s definitely a jokester and loves to laugh. She’s very close with both Danae and Daphne but also has a crush on [undisclosed character]. She is always ready to put a smile on her friends’ faces, but she can be serious when she needs to.

 

Now on to the story…

Part 1

Daphne looked up through the trees as she walked; spots of light came through and touched her face every now and then. She kept walking, trying to forget everything unpleasant, letting the golden sunshine wash all of her problems away. She spotted a log that she could sit down on and began to walk over to it.

“Hello.” Daphne stopped dead. She turned in a circle, looking all around her. Someone was there. “Up here!” She looked up and gasped – there was a person in the giant tree above her. He moved through the branches with incredible dexterity. Daphne just stared.

“Um – hi?” She stuttered. “Who are you?”

“I’m nobody. Who are you?”

“I’m – I’m Daphne.”

“Daphne…” He muttered. He peered down at her through the branches.

“What?” She was becoming a bit more confident.

“Nothing.” The boy looked around through the trees.

“You seem very secretive, nobody.” Daphne remarked, starting to become stubborn.

“My name’s Ajax.” He sighed.

“Well, what are you doing in the tree, Ajax?”

“I’ll – I’ll get down.” He clambered over a few branches, then dropped suddenly in front of her. “So,” he continued. “What brings you here today?”

“I’m just taking a walk.”

“Did you know this is private property?”

“No, I’ve walked here my whole life.”

“Interesting.” Ajax ran his fingers through his shaggy hair. His bare chest was heaving as he caught his breath from the jump. “I’d better go. I have other things to do.”

“But maybe we could talk again soon? We could be friends.”

“Maybe. I don’t know.”

“Well, I’ll come back tomorrow. I like walking here anyways.” Daphne took one last look at him, turned around, and started walking the other direction. She looked back after a minute and Ajax was still watching her. Not that that was a bad thing, it was just kind of weird. She began to run and within a few minutes she had gotten all the way up to her room.

 

             “Daph, why did you tell him you’d come back? He could be some hobo for all you know. And besides, how do you know you can trust him?”

             “Danae, you should have seen his face. He just seemed so lonely!” Daphne looked at her friends’ faces, staring back at her on her computer screen. They a bit suspicious. She didn’t get why, though. Had they seen Ajax themselves, they would have done the same.

             “It’s just a matter of safety, really. I mean, you don’t just go meet in the woods with a guy that you’ve never met before. He was in a tree? By himself? Yeah, that’s suspicious,” reasoned Iantha. She pondered her friend’s situation as she slowly twirled her hair. “I don’t think you should go.”

“But he’s so lonely!” Protested Daphne. She sighed and looked down at her keyboard. “Would it make you two happy if I just got his number and left?” Danae and Iantha slowly nodded, thinking of anything and everything that could possibly go wrong.

“Please, Daph, please be careful!” Danae pleaded.

“Don’t worry,” Daphne assured her. “I will.”

 

How did y’all like it? What did you think? Should I post another part?

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