Searching ~ 5 minute freewrite ~ Prompt: tree

"Mommy, my feet."

"I know my sweetie-pie," Jenna said. She stopped walking to reach down and smooth her daughter's hair around her tiny face, and looked at the tennis shoes that were beginning to have holes.

"How much longer until we find Daddy?" She looked up with her electric blue eyes, the same as her father's.

"Not much longer, I can feel it," she smiled and scooped Lucy into a hug.

"But Mommy, you said that yesterday morning and the day before," she whined.

"Well, I'll tell you what...let's stop for lunch and look at the map."

"Ohhhh!" Lucy squealed. "Can use the compass again?"

"Of course," Jenna kissed the top of her head, then led them both to a knobby post oak, where they could rest their feet.

Jenna reached in her back pack, pulled out a large sack, then retrieved the small bits of nuts and dried fruit that remained. Then leaned back against the tree, and closed her eyes. Lucy happily picked through her portion, quietly humming to herself, and Jenna wondered where her daughter's joy came from. They were both rapidly losing weight, and Jenna feared for her daughter's health.

"Alright, my love," she said a half hour later. "Which direction do we need to head if we want to go east?" She watched how Lucy maneuvered the compass in a circle with her little fingers until the needle pointed in the right direction. Just like she had taught her.

"This way!" she yelled. "This way to Daddy!"

---

Thank you for reading!! I wanted to write more, but the Yeti and I are on the road and I'm navigating! If you would like to try a freewrite, please visit @mariannewest where the daily prompts are posted!