At the End of the Day [Windy]

The night was dark and suffocating, the twinkling starts glinting with mischief as Sage walked down the empty street. Her feet made quiet taps against the concrete, the slight sound echoing loudly like a pounding hammer in her head after the silence of working in the orchard fields all day. The trees made no effort to talk to her, though some did whisper in airy rustling leaves where she should step, how she should turn, where she should go. Sometimes, their directions had her twisting over herself in an attempt to get into the right place, all just to trim away what needed to be cut and nurture what needed to thrive. Her entire body ached with the effort of walking after bending and climbing and running all day in the sun, her skin pinked with the dye of it's relentless and merciless beams. Her eyes were dried out completely, tiny red capillaries webbed across the surface from the strain of the squinting and the lack of sleep. She wasn't sure if she'd even look like a sane human being ever again.

Life had become routine for Sage ever since she'd started working at the orchards. In fact, she hardly even had a life outside of the trees and fruits of the district. Every move was made for the good of the district. All of the districts were intense when it came to their jobs, but eleven seemed to go above and beyond that call. They devoted their children to the efforts as tribute, the harvest like a mini Hunger Games within their own wire fences. Casualties were not unheard of. The midsummer sun and thick humidity made it easy for a child to fall from their lofty perch under the spell of whirling exhaustion.

Sage continued on her way, stepping over cracks and small pieces of trash as she went, relishing the cool of the night and the slight illumination of the moon. Night was her refuge, despite it's eerie silence and foreboding shadows. In the daily repeat of her life, Sage always knew what was coming. Night was different. Night held the possibility for surprises lurking just around the corner, for change. Night was a place where she could take her time and take new routes home and sleep for an hour or two with vivid dreams of laughing and playing in fields of corn and wheat. However, night also held fear. The calm monotonous day held safety and home for her while night had dark creatures of her nightmares waiting just beyond her sight. Her imagination ran wild with the chance of danger, her heart beating wildly in her chest as heavy footsteps started up somewhere behind her, coming closer with each and every one.

'Hold me close and hold me dear. I pray that nothing bad is near. Hold me close and hold me dear. I pray that nothing bad is near. Hold me close and hold me dear. I pray that nothing bad is near. Hold me close and...'