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The clouds had dropped very low to the Earth. A girl in a white shawl walked barefoot on the bright green grass, which tickled her feet pleasantly. In her hands she held a basket. After a moment Elizabeth stopped at a small hut that looked more like the den of some forest animal. It was tiny, and it was covered with moss on all sides.
After waiting a few seconds, Elizabeth drew in more air and knocked timidly on the door. She was afraid the bark might fall off the walls. An old woman in her seventies opened the door. She was dressed in a brown dress, over which she wore an apron covered with soil. There was a strong smell of fertilizer mixed with forest herbs and mysterious potions.
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The girl straightened her hair and threw her head back – now she looked like a fairy princess. She's only twelve, with her whole life ahead of her. Louise looked at the houses and wondered who might live in them: shepherds, farmers or office workers? It would be nice to go to the City just once…
There wasn't a soul around. It was the same as always. Louise's soul longed for adventure and new discoveries, but her inner voice told her that it was better to keep a low profile and stay at home, under Galina's supervision. Galina… who was Galina, anyway? For as long as Louise could remember, her mother had never flown anywhere. Did she have wings? Or maybe they were in the distant past and now they're gone? Galya had always said that Louise's wings would be so huge that sometimes she wouldn't even be able to squeeze through a regular doorway. I wonder if other Butterflies have wings like that. There are insect butterflies, there are girl butterflies, and there are boy butterflies – just boys. How do they live without flying and toasting with wildflower jam? They must be unimaginably bored. By the way, Louise had never spoken to a boy before-she'd never seen one, not even at school. She's kind of weird, this Forest School.
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