I was young once, filled with wonder and promise. I ran through the fields with unabashed awe, heedless to the dangers. I was innocent, and so was the world. I had no concept of anger or malice and interacted with the world with that same innocent. Would flowers ever smell so sweet? Would the air ever smell crisper? Could I ever love anything as profoundly as I did the randomly discovered leaf that fell from the tree? All the world was a treasure, and I was the first to see it all. I was the first to run my fingers over the silky texture of a Rowan twig, dig my pointed toes into the loamy soil where the Harvest Beetles burrowed. The first to feel the Sap Gnats buzz around my eyes and gently kiss my skin in touch and go maneuvers. 

How I ran through the tall grass, dew briefly clinging to my dappled skin until flung from me to be replaced by another short-lived dewdrop. How my body would shiver and the bumps would rise on my skin as the dew cooled my body, then warm me as I ran through bright slivers of sunlight that peeked through the branches of the World Tree. All around me would smile or burst into laughter. I was young and free! Some would look back in fondness, some would look in envy, some would look away in horror. 

Eating was always a challenge in which I was ready to compete. Sweet, sour, bitter, hot, there was nothing I hated, though I loved some more than others. Textures fascinated me. I would put anything in my mouth at first as most children do. If only to cement in my young mind if something was friend or foe. Nothing was safe from my questing lips. From the wiggliest beetle to the nubbiest toe. Voracious was my name and I was determined to taste it all. I separated the world into two categories: Yum and Yuck. 

Dewdrop soup was a yum. My mother would stir the pot that hung in the hearthstone oven once a day for the required seven days. Adding Beef Gnat, herbs and spices, and various roots depending on the day, Mandrake for Monday, Tulip for Tuesday, and so on. All to bring out the flavors and nourishing properties and also pay homage to the Mother, who gave us everything in life that was sweet and bitter. As we sat down to sip our soup, ladle a small portion to the Sap Gnats I would breathe in the aroma, and knew it would top the list of Yum. Also on this list; sweets, honey, dew, and cook sap. 

Yuck was categorically assigned to dirt, sand, sunlight, and Dirtfruit. Dirtfruit was ugly, covered with eyes, and tasted bland and boring. No amount of coaxing in the World and the In-Between could eat Dirtfruit. My mother would offer sweets and various other enticements to bribe me into eating the Dirtfruit, but I was steadfast in my convictions it was the most horrible of things. Well besides The Sadness. 

The Sadness was rare and shattered my beautiful world. 

But that is a story for Winter.