Chapter 5

Six months later.

Andy crouched next to a tree. His legs ached. He was tired. He had no idea how long he had been running. He breathed hard. He breathed fast. He breathed into his hands, trying to dissipate the fog of his breath. His breath would give him away in the cold night if he wasn’t careful.

“SShhsssst!” He heard the arrow in the instant before it struck the tree where he crouched. Snow rained down from the vibration caused by the arrow’s impact. His pursuer had found him. He dragged himself to his feet. His pursuer was playing with him.

Andy cursed the black night. Cursed his pursuer, the snow, the cold, the wind, and this whole damned world he had created.

He formed a plan in his mind. There was no way he was going to escape by running. The only thing he could do was put enough distance between him and his pursuer so he would have time to open a portal and get through safely.

He pressed forward with renewed vigor. He ran faster for shorter periods. He rested for shorter periods. He hoped, all the while, increasing the distance between him and his pursuer. He searched for a clearing or the edge of the forest. He needed a clear space to open the portal.

The occasional arrow still struck the trees around him as his pursuer let him know that he was behind him. Hunting him like an animal.

Then he saw it. The forest ended on his left. It was barely discernable but the snow was brighter without the cover of the forest. Andy removed the book from his coat. With the briefest of glances behind him, he charged for the end of the forest.

When he broke from the cover of the forest he expected the snow to be thicker here without the cover of the forest but was surprised to discover that it was hard rock covered by just a thin film of snow.

He almost screamed with joy as he broke into a sprint. His pursuer would be slowed by the trees and now was his chance to put distance between them.

As he ran he felt in his coat pocket for the bookmark. Where was it? He panicked. It wasn’t there! Another pocket. Nothing! It had to be with him. It couldn’t be lost! He flipped through the book as he ran. Not there! Without it the book was useless!

And he was dead.

He reached inside his coat, checking the inner pockets…. There!

He pulled it from his coat and flipped the book open to the back cover.

“SShhsssst! SShhsssst!” Two arrows flashed past his head. He guessed his pursuer had realized what his plan was.

He saw a dark line appear in the snow before him. Rock swept clean of snow by the wind. Andy slowed. He realized it was the edge of a cliff.

He was going too fast to stop!

“SShhsssst!” Another arrow. The next one would not miss.

A cry from behind. Inaudible. Swept away on the wind. His pursuer.

Andy pressed the bookmark to the page.

The ground before him lit up instantly as the portal opened.

Instinctively Andy dodged.

“SShhsssst!” The arrow tugged at his coat as it passed.

The portal was beyond the cliff’s edge.

Andy swore.

He was afraid of heights.

He had no choice….

Leap or die.

He increased his pace in the distance he had left then, with his last stride; he pushed off from the cliff’s edge……

Into the air.

Leaping……

Falling…..

Silence…. but for the swirling snow in a storm of wind.

Then he passed into light. The cold diminished. He had made it.

He crashed onto the floor of his study and relief flooded through him.

He stood quickly and opened the book removing the bookmark. The portal through which he had come closed with a “Pop!” and cut off the freezing night air that rushed through from the world he had just come from.

Pages blown by the wind settled on the floor and furniture around the room. Andy dusted himself off and removed his jacket before sitting down at his computer. He put on his glasses and turned on his computer.

He was still breathing heavily from the exertion of his escape but at least he was safe. He stared at his computer screen but his thoughts were still with his pursuer in the other world.

Shay kissed her boyfriend Josh goodnight and watched him walk back to his car. He started the engine and was soon out of sight. Shay opened the door and stepped inside the house. She closed the door behind her and leaned against it.

In a moment she would go upstairs to bed, but for now, she just wanted to be still in the world and wanted the world to be still too. There were so many thoughts in her mind and she desperately longed for her mother. She had always been able to talk freely with her mother who had always been there for her. Shay sat down on the stairs and sighed, deep in thought.

Shay’s mother, Rhian, had always seemed to know the answers to her problems. She had always had time to listen and seemed to have an unfathomable depth of knowledge when it came to her questions and perceived problems.

She glanced to her left to the study. The door was closed as usual. Her father seemed to try to shut out the world since her mother had disappeared. In the days and months that followed her disappearance, he had become increasingly distant.

Shay knew her father loved her mother more than she imagined possible. But since her mother had disappeared, her father seemed to be losing touch with reality more and more. He became increasingly distant and less communicative. Almost catatonic at times. Shay would speak to him and tell him long stories that she thought he would enjoy only to realize that he had not heard a word.

Her father was here in body only. His mind was elsewhere. Almost constantly. Shay often needed to repeat herself when speaking with him or asking him questions.

He closed himself in the study more and more for longer and longer periods until it seemed that the study had become his sole place of abode in their home. At times when she had looked for her father, she had found his bedroom as tidy as the maid left it after her last cleaning.

Shay was sad for her father but did not know what to do or say to help him anymore. After all, she was only eighteen and he was in his forties. She had tried to reach out to him but with no success. When she looked into his eyes it was as if she were looking into the eyes of a dead man. They were cold and expressionless. Vacant. It felt like there was no comprehension or recognition of any sort when her father looked back at her.

She had thought of saying something to someone but had decided against it. She did not know who she could trust outside the family.

Her father, Andy Trent, was a world-famous author of fantasy novels. Shay shared her father’s fascination with the fantasy realm and had read all his books. She was his number one fan in so many ways. She was amazed at his ability to bring the fantasy realm to life so vividly that the reader felt like they were in the world he created when they read his books.

Shay knew that everyone would share that comment regardless of the book they read but the experience from reading her father’s books was so much more intense. And so many reviews said the same thing.

Andy’s writing inspired her to write fantasy novels. She had yet to complete one and always found herself comparing her writing to that of her father’s which only served to make her feel that her writing talent paled in comparison to his. This then had the opposite effect of inspiring her and she would put her writing aside for a while. This was the main cause of her not making progress. But she knew she only had herself to blame.

Right now, writing books was the least of her concerns. Shay did not know what to do. She desperately longed to speak with her father the way she always had. But when she tried to talk to him about his books she seldom received more than an unintelligible grunt in reply.

She yearned to speak with her mother again too but had no idea what had happened to her.

Her mother Rhian and her father had been so in love. She longed and hoped that one day she would have a marriage like her parents. It was so perfect in every way. They adored each other and the way they responded to each other was as if they lived inside each other’s minds.

Shay often wondered if they were the reason she could not seem to keep a boyfriend very long. Shay wondered if she expected her boyfriends to live up to the magical image she had in her mind of a relationship equivalent to, or better than that of her parents. She had not yet found someone like that and even at eighteen was beginning to wonder if she ever would.

Her mother had cautioned her against comparing her relationships to that of her parents. “Be yourself. That’s one of the most important things in life. Love yourself for who you are and others will do the same,” her mother used to say.

She had lived according to that principle and found it served her well thus far. She did not change for anyone.

But tonight as she kissed Josh goodbye she knew the joy and excitement of being in a relationship with that special someone was gone. Again. Try as she might, she could not understand at what point things had changed. She could not even say what had changed.

It usually started with an uneasy feeling inside which, over time, became stronger and stronger until she could no longer deny that she was no longer in love with her boyfriend, and then she would move on.

But tonight came as a shock. She had recognized the start of that same feeling shortly after she met Josh that evening and by the end of the evening, her emotions had moved to the point of knowing it was over. And Josh had done nothing differently. He had done everything which had attracted her to him in the first place. He had simply been himself. And yet, she knew it was over.

Shay thought that the trigger had to be subconscious. There was something she held so dearly in her parent’s relationship and it was that which she needed to see, feel and experience in her relationship for her to believe that whoever would eventually sweep her off her feet, would be the one.

And after her mother had disappeared and her father had become increasingly distant, that frame of reference, albeit subconsciously, had been removed. Permanently. At this thought, she recognized a new fear within her. Would she now never find the ideal relationship?

With that frame of reference forever gone, would she ever realize what the quality was in her parent’s relationship against which she measured her interaction with every boyfriend? Would all her relationships die as quickly as tonight or even quicker?

Was she now doomed to a life of solitude without a partner she could ever love?

The thoughts scared her. God, she missed her mother. It was six months now and nothing. She missed her father too – figuratively speaking.

Her mobile phone vibrated. She glanced at the screen. It was Josh sending his usual sweet messages before going to bed. Normally his message would have made her happy but tonight a coldness gripped her heart and she was amazed at how detached she was from any emotion relating to the message and Josh. Surprising herself again, she typed a reply to his message.

“Sorry, Josh. I can’t see you anymore. I’ll explain tomorrow.” Without hesitation, she pressed “Send”. Previously she would never have broken up by text message but she just did not see the point in prolonging the bad news. Life was too short.

As expected, her phone rang almost immediately. She switched it off and sat alone, deep in thought.

Her mother had disappeared without a trace. At first, she had wondered if her father knew anything but in time she had put that thought aside especially as he had retreated further and further into himself and his world of fantasy. He was badly affected by her mother’s disappearance too.

Rhian had taken nothing when she disappeared. There were no clothes gone, no jewelry, nothing which Rhian had held dear to her. It was as if she had just gotten up and walked out of the house. She had not even taken her wallet, credit cards, or identification.

They had called the police and an investigation had been launched. The initial suspicion had been that she had been kidnapped and that her kidnappers would make contact and demand a ransom. When this had not happened, Andy had become the primary suspect but no evidence of foul play was found. The press had of course made the most of the story. Andy’s refusal to speak to the press had resulted in them making assumptions and publishing ridiculous theories some of which implied that her mother had been murdered.

Rhian’s disappearance had cost Shay friends too but she didn’t care. Only her true friends stood by her and that was what mattered. But under the brunt of the press scrutiny, Shay had started to shy away from being seen in public until the reports died down and the press found more interesting stories to keep them busy.

Financially, they needed nothing. Being as successful as he was, her father had amassed a fortune from his book sales which he had invested well. The story about Rhian’s disappearance boosted sales of his books temporarily as well as demand for public appearances and interviews. But her father had not agreed to any public appearances and gradually the public interest died away and book sales began to reduce as well. Even so, they did not need more money.

Shay was a younger version of her mother. Her full black hair was long and down to just below her shoulders. She had the brightest smile ever with dimples that lit up her face, even more, when she smiled while making her smile appear bigger too.

Her big hazel eyes always smiled even when she wasn’t smiling. She was forever calm and peace seemed to follow her wherever she went. She lived every day to do something for someone else no matter how small while expecting nothing in return.

She had learned her attitudes to life and others from her mother mostly and some from her father. It was these qualities that gave her independence and left her free to be who she was and share what she wanted to of herself with others. Others envied her calmness and independence and viewed it as a strength. It was a quality that drew others to her for advice, support, and friendship.

But now she felt her life beginning to crumble as she had watched her father’s life crumbling before her. She wondered if her mother had been the glue that had held them together. Had she ever really been independent or was she more dependent on her mother than she ever imagined?

As she sat on the stairs she looked over to the closed door of her father’s study. The light was on in the study as always. Her father was most likely in there. Shay had no idea what he might be doing at this late hour or every other night for that matter.

She felt sad when she thought of what her mother’s disappearance had done to him. She wished she could help him but did not know how anymore. It was as if he had cut himself off from her and everyone.