Wild Berry Meadow you can't wake up; this is not a dream

@Iliksis

 

The girl-- Seabreeze, now, it seemed-- had left Zada for longer than she expected. The dark woman grew bored very quickly, and soon she was setting off with an inner promise to return before her pale-eyed sylph. She wandered far, admittedly, but she knew the direction back-- and was taken with the meadow she had discovered.
In spring, she knew it would be breathtaking; winter rendered it plain and stark, but she had seen meadows enough to picture it well. In her mind's eye, it was flourishing, green with bright splashes of berries and flowers, bustling with new life. She longed for that image to become real. But it would not.

Zada sat down, pawing aimlessly at the snow-covered roots of the tree next to her. She thought she saw something move-- a mouse? The dark woman lowered her head to sniff, then pawed more at the roots, delving deeper into the crevices between. A sharp sting in her paw startled her, and she yelped and jerked her foot back. The awkward angle worked against her, and the force of the action caused a sickening crunch. An agonized, gasping whimper escaped her, and at once she knew it was broken.