Lucas and Daisy

I don't remember falling asleep, but when I open my eyes the bus has already stopped. I look around and find no one but the old lady behind my seat. The road is empty and there are no guards at the gate where they usually check for IDs and documents before people border crossing. So I thought that maybe we were at Saint Marry stop until the old lady stands up and the bus driver says from his seat, "thank you for visiting Suburbia, goodbye!" as he chuckles. There is something wrong with the way he laughs, and it sounds creepy.

Looking at the way both remaining people on this bus stare at each other and then at me, I guess this is them telling me I have reached my destination. So I step out of the vehicle and stand beside this grandma as the bus turns around and drives back in the direction of the city.

The old lady starts to walk towards the empty gate, as I follow her trespassing, I catch a glimpse of the tunnel. There is an absolute dark in front of me, and I can't feel the wind from inside it. I start imagining scary mythical creatures appearing out of this black hole. If I find myself in some sort of fantasy land, I will be so thrilled I might forget that I am on a run and that I left my family behind.

"Come with me," says the old lady who keeps walking deeper inside. She's almost a mile away from me, but I can still hear her voice.

I am scared to move forward, but I don't know what else to do or where else to go... and surely, I can't go back! Maybe I should go around the tunnel to get to the other side.

"Don't fret, you can't go around it, little girl!" The same voice says again but this time further from where I stand. My eyes widen from the direction it came from because I thought the old lady has already gone. Wait, did she know what I was just thinking? Was I thinking it or saying it out loud? or maybe she's a psychic who can read minds.

"Come with me," she says again.

"Why should I follow you?" I finally say. My voice is almost shaky.

"Why shouldn't you?" she says, returning my question. "You know you can't go back to the city because it is 12 hours away by bus, and the available bus only comes once a day. Unless you want to wait in the forest all night-"

I can always walk...

"Of course, you can use your strong feet," she says again. She definitely can read my mind! "But it will take you days to reach the nearest rest area. That is if you can survive the hunger, and don't forget about taking wrong turns. It's madness out there!"

As much as I hate to admit it, she actually has a point. I've taken so many wrong turns in my life before, look where it's gotten me now!

"Wait," I take a look back for the last time, making sure there's no one behind me. "Are you Wanda's-" before I can finish my sentence, she shushes me so hard I can tell spits spurting out of her wrinkly lips.

"Catch up with me or I'll leave you behind," she sounds farther away now. How is she so fast for someone so old?

I start sprinting blindly because it's dark inside the tunnel. Why is it that nobody even bothers to set up any lighting here? Also, how is this grandma can see better in the dark than me?

I'm starting to lose my sense of direction after running for a while. "Granny?" I call out to her, searching for a clue how far I am from her at this point.

"I'm not your grandma!" she replies sarcastically, she's near as the echo of her voice sounds louder. "Keep running! You'll find me soon-" but before she can say anything else, I accidentally bump onto her.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry! I couldn't stop my feet-" her small body collapses beside me, and I feel so guilty.

"You're such a hassle," she grunts as she's trying to stand back up, refusing my help. "I'm sorry for what I'm about to do, but it's going to be easier to deal with you..."

"What do you mean?"

A finger flicks my neck several times, making me cough as cold air flows inside my body. My lungs are suddenly full of oxygen, and a burnt sensation stings my chest.

"Grandma, I can't breathe-" my head suddenly feels so light now.

"Dang it," she cusses slowly. "Sorry, that was the wrong technique!"

I almost fall back to the ground when another pinching sensation squeezes my windpipes. My eyesight starts to become blurry, and my body becomes so heavy and weak at the same time. It's like having asthma and then suddenly a tub is being pushed down your throat into your lungs to pump in oxygen. When the oxygen rushes to your brain, you start to feel dizzy. Then you feel like you're being stung by small needles all over your body from the inside! That's what it feels like right now.

"Why are you resisting fainting?" This old lady keeps poking my neck with her index fingers, and every time she touches me, I become even dizzier. But I don't want to fight her back for doing something I don't even understand... or should I even do that? So I just let my body roll over to the ground once again until absolute darkness takes over my consciousness.

***

"Ava," Liam's voice is so close to my ear.

"I know you still can hear me," he continues. "I'm sorry, but please don't ever try to look for me!" his voice is trailing off.

Wait, Liam, don't go!

I can't see him, my eyes won't open!

Liam...

A burst of warm light hits me, and I'm glad I didn't wake up to that evening sky because I wouldn't want to see Liam go. When I open my eyes, I find myself lying down on a sofa, inside someone's cottage. It's warm and smells like chicken soup.

"Hey Ava, you're awake!"

I quickly sit up, but my head hurts as I do so. "Fuck..."

"Slow down!" a gentle hand touches my shoulder, and I turn around to see who it is.

My eyes cannot believe what they are seeing right now. "Lucas?" My heart flutters, and I practically jump up from the sofa.

Lucas is still sitting there, scanning me head-to-toe. "Sit down, you don't have to be so dramatic!"

"What? Are you kidding me?" I feel weird as if I'm not even awake like I am trapped in a lucid dream. But then a sudden realization hits me, "wait, am I dead?"

"You think this is the afterlife?"

I probably look like a fool to him, but there is no other explanation for everything that is going on. My life just suddenly took a turn for the worst. First, I had to run away from home. Then, I followed an unknown old lady to a place I'm not familiar with. Lastly, I'm looking at the person who puts me in this situation because he took off several years ago... and everyone thought he was already six feet under the ground for disappearing without a trace!

"I don't know, Lucas! You tell me-"

He's changed from the last time I saw him 7 years ago. Thin facial hair grows subtly around his jawlines like he forgot to shave for two weeks, and he styles his long hair in a messy man bun. His body had always been good, but he is so much taller now, and I can see a little reflection of Liam in him. They have the same kind of smile, and those green eyes are the exact copy of each other.

The thought of Liam electrocutes me, and a spark of hope grows in my chest. Is it possible that Liam is here too?

Lucas gives me a smile before getting up from the sofa. "Well if you think so, then welcome to Hell! Now that you're awake, you have to eat something!" He turns around, but I don't follow him if that's what he wants.

"Are you sure you're Lucas?"

He sighs heavily, "yes, it's me!" he says while walking towards me. He takes my hand before putting it on his chest, and I can feel his heartbeat. "See? I'm not a ghost!"

"But you were gone!"

"And I'm here now," he clearly wants to stop wherever this conversation is going as he leads me to the kitchen, where an old lady is busy walking around between the stove and the counter.

"This is Daisy," Lucas says, pointing at the familiar figure. "This is her cottage, and she's kind enough to let me live here."

Lucas disappears behind the counter and comes back to the table several minutes later with two bowls of chicken soup. There is also garlic bread on the table, and three glasses of cold strawberry milk.

"Eat this before you pass out again!" Lucas sits down on the chair across from me as Daisy joins in beside him.

Daisy is the old lady from the bus who dragged me inside the tunnel. I don't remember how I got here. The last thing I remember was that I was running after her in the darkness, and she did this jujitsu-like movement before I fainted.

When I slurp the smoky broth from my spoon, I can feel warmth streaming down my throat to my now happy maw. It tastes good, and salty just the way I like it.

"How did I get here? What happened?" as I stare at them both suspiciously.

"You passed out," says Daisy as if it wasn't her intention to make me lose consciousness. "So I had to call Lucas to carry you here. He was waiting not that far from us, but you were a pain in the ass. So, I had to do what I had to do!" she shrugs her slouching shoulders and goes back to eating.

She's a little mischievous for her age, I feel like it's inappropriate. I thought she reminded me of my grandma, but not anymore. Instead, she's more like Lucas if I think about it.

The young Lucas 7 years ago, and not the one who's staring at me now.

What happened to him in the past 7 years?