Episode 3: A Chance Encounter

I tried opening my eyes. My head still throbbed along with my left shoulder blade. When my eyes were fully open, I didn't know what to expect. Maybe there was no savior, just my mind playing tricks. Maybe my senses were betraying me, giving me a false sense of security. But the very next sight took all those thoughts away and left my mind utterly blank for a moment. A guy with brown hair, lavender eyes and long pointy ears and nose was staring intently at me. His eyes seemed a little worried at first. Relief flooded in as he saw me trying to move. He hurried to help me sit up. The same cold touch. So, it wasn't a dream, I smiled unconsciously and found him staring at me. I flushed a deep scarlet.

"Does it hurt a lot?" He asked, misreading my expression.

"No," I answered belatedly realizing that he had been holding me for too long. I tried to stand up. "Ummm who are you?"

In a fraction of seconds, I saw it all cross his face so fast that I thought I imagined it all. Shock, hurt, resentment and finally indifference.

"I'm Will. It will get dark soon. You should start heading down."

It was getting dark. I couldn't imagine the forest floor seeing the sky light but here I was, sitting under a willow tree, the surroundings flooded with orange.

"Sure," I said, standing up and for the first time realizing the path back was lost for me. I looked back at him. As if reading my mind, he answered automatically, "I will walk you to the meadow." "Thanks," I smiled.

We walked down together in the twilight through the dark woods, yes, we were back in the dark woods again. The orange palette had vanished behind the silhouettes of the canopies. Or maybe it had vanished for the day altogether, there was no way of telling.

"So, what happened to that man?" I asked partly to break the silence and partly out of curiosity.

"He's taken care of. Don't worry. He is always skeptic of outsiders. He just misunderstood you and the situation," he said in his melodious voice.

I wondered if I could ask about their peculiar and yet gorgeous features but I was afraid he might find it rude.

We were already near the edge of the meadow. I could see the tree house at a distance. "Be careful," he said it in a concluding statement and with a sinking heart I realized he was going to leave now. "Thanks," I said once more as I picked up my bicycle.

"I am Ella, by the way," I said turning back towards him. His eyes gleamed in the dark. "Nice to meet you," I said as I rode down the hills.

That night as I laid on my bed, picturing Will's lavender eyes, something inside me felt unsettled. Like I was missing something, something important. I turned on my cellphone. The time read 02:00. I really needed to sleep. So, I turned on the Twilight Piano track to serve as my lullaby as I dozed off to sleep.

My first night in Meadow Town I dreamt of a flashback from when I was young, and we were playing in the meadow near the treehouse. Except it couldn't really be a flashback because Will was there too. A dangly kid with wavy, brown hair, lavender eyes and pointed ears and nose. It had to be him.

"Look! I can ride with my eyes closed," Larry called from somewhere. I looked up to see him riding his bicycle as he crashed onto a tree. "I told you you'd get hurt," Joanne ran to him shouting. Even in the dream, I could tell how much she cared for him.

I saw a twelve-year-old me trying to paint a very young Will who had a butterfly sitting on his nose. He was smiling. So warm and so different from the real guy I had met in the woods. He was happy. And so was I.

This very moment, this very dream had to be my personal paradise.

"Why's she crying?" someone said from afar and with that sound I realized that my dream was dissolving. "Honey, what is it?" I heard mom ask me, voice full of concern. "Did you have a bad dream?" I opened my eyes and realized the sun was up and my mom was sitting on my bed and my dad was standing on the doorway, looking worried.

"What's up?" I asked trying not to feel anxious. However, all my senses said that it couldn't be anything good. "Did you go hiking up the mountains yesterday?" Dad asked. "Let's have breakfast first," mom ordered.

I sat on the breakfast table anticipating what it was that had made my parents so grim. Ofcourse, I couldn't taste any food I was eating. But grandpa seemed relaxed. He was just happy to have us there. I was happy too. Not right now though.

Then dad spoke up, breaking through my stream of thoughts. "There have been many cases of people going missing in those woods in the last few years. Mrs. Hudson saw you riding down the mountain yesterday. Don't wander about places you don't know."

Wait. That's it? I almost smiled with relief. I had no idea who Mrs. Hudson was. But I had to keep an eye out for her. "You are thinking of sneaking out there, aren't you?" Mom asked. Dad looked crossed. I couldn't hold back my laughter any longer. I giggled and then grandpa giggled. "She has always been fond of the mountains," he commented. "Doesn't matter. She isn't going back there," dad concluded.

Not go up to the mountains! Those mountains made a big portion of why I agreed to move back here. I am not a kid anymore. I can take care of myself.

"Also, don't go out today. We have somewhere to be," Mom informed.

Damn!