The Last Girl Standing

This place was full of Echoes. Not the generic kind of sounds that one hears bouncing off surrounding canyon walls when crying out from a majestic mountaintop, but the type that has an actual physical presence. If she quieted her mind, rather than hearing them, she could feel them. Sometimes they were even bright, and she could see them, though of course, they were mere shadows of people, places, things, and times that had been. Once, she passed a faction of unfamiliar outsiders who had sensed the Echoes, too. They called them ghosts, but she didn't care for that representation because it conjured up images of ghoulish malcontents. Unlike ghostly personages, Echoes were completely benevolent, kind, and dear—much like your favorite stuffed animal, a soft blanket, a cool breeze under a warm sun, or that one lovely hug from your mother when you were just barely old enough to stand and remember. She wondered whether those images were actual memories or if she had somehow conjured them up in her mind.

Regardless, how could Echoes be anything other than pleasant apparitions? They were free of physical constraints, no longer confined by time or body, or susceptible to life's slow, almost imperceptible deteriorations, until one long day later, you wake to find yourself stiff, weak, or painfully infirm.

No, that was not the way of Echoes. They were unencumbered, joyful, and willing to help you navigate the unkind realities of a chaotic world. They made sense of it all, though you had to be the perceptive sort, which most people now were decidedly not. Not that there were many left that she knew of.

In this future age—whenever it was—populations had abruptly declined. Transportation was nonexistent. Cities had deteriorated and disappeared into vast, flat, and wild wastelands. Wealth could no longer be defined by a bank account or credit limit. What was once considered knowledge had long disappeared. Books, libraries, news organizations, computers, and other sources of information had been deemed too subversive, controversial, and contrary to the opinions of a small, but elite ruling class—though you couldn't really call it that. It was more of a disorganized system run by vigilantes, eliminating any idea that was opposed to their way of thinking. Resistance to that system had grown rampant across countless factions of extremists until what had existed as a loose power structure had floundered, crumbled, and become completely obsolete—a final reckoning of sorts.

The few that survived that final reckoning had become mere wildlings. More animal than human—untamed, untaught, non-verbal, and untrusting. She often wondered how she had escaped the same fate and managed to hold on to her own sense of humanity. She seemed alone in that, a fact that weighed heavily on her mind. But the Echoes had rescued her and even become welcome companions. She had grown to accept life on those terms while coping with the surrounding desolation. How it had all played out, she couldn't recall anymore. The only moment that mattered was the present.

It was at that moment that she became aware of the Echo developing before her in what had been an otherwise desolate field sprinkled with a handful of dry weeds and a layer of fine gray and white ash. She remembered choosing this spot to stop and rest because it had seemed safe enough, and she had grown weary. She intended to stay for a short time but had fallen asleep, not realizing just how worn she had become. The following day, as the sun rose, she awoke, disoriented and groggy, unable to recall any other night when she had slept so soundly. She was no longer clear about how she had even come to be in this place, but gradually, as the sunlight gathered, day broke on an unseasonably temperate morning, and she became more aware of her surroundings. She thought she remembered something… But before her thoughts could develop, she was distracted by a small dust devil that swept up a bit of ash, swirled it around in an otherwise clear blue sky, and created dozens of tiny unattached vortices, dispatching them almost as quickly as they had emerged. As they disappeared, she quieted her mind, then gradually, Echoes of a deep, seemingly endless forest began to emerge—images that intensified and grew, overwhelming all of her senses.

They felt as real as the air that she was breathing, as though the shadows weren't Echoes at all, but an actual, living forest that still stood. This vision was amplified by the sounds of migrating birds—hundreds, even thousands—practically blocking the light of the sun. She had no memory of ever seeing such a large flock of birds, let alone a single bird in flight. She wondered and marveled at these Echoes. Had birds ever really been able to fly?

The scent of pine and cedar hung heavily in the air, descending like a dense, wet fog. She shivered slightly as the air cooled her skin, and she rose to venture cautiously forward into the beauty and abundance of what was emerging as something both grand and deep. Diffused sunbeams pointed her in the direction of a footpath that flickered in the foreground, disappearing, then reappearing, weaving around countless stands of ancient trees in what seemed to be an old-growth forest. She was compelled to follow, the cool layers of moist leaves and moss quieting her every step. Soon, her movements became fluid, and she was gliding along the pathway—one that defined a new journey, and directed her to a new destination, deeper into the woods, more removed from all that had been hostile and unpredictable. She had been tentative and uncertain before, but now, she felt calm and reassured.

Soon, the trees parted, and an untouched wildflower meadow appeared. It was covered with thick, verdant grass, interspersed with scattered patches of tiny flowers in every color and shape. Sounds of rushing water came from beyond the far edge of the meadow, where suddenly, the girl found herself. Facing trees that again towered above, the thick woods compelled her to go on. Then, she disappeared into their shadows, merging with the old forest, willingly becoming an Echo of herself and everything that she had once known.