Seven Infinities Away From Home

TWO

The downstairs cuckoo clock called in the late night hours with its tinkling melody. Blinking a couple times to register what was going on, Hazel leapt out of bed and threw her phone in her sweatshirt pocket. Her mother still waited in the living room for her to return.

"You can't be going outside now," she sighed, "you'll freeze!"

"I'll be fine, I've got a coat!"

"Why are you even going out anyway?"

"I uh-" Hazel stuttered, "I just thought it might be a good night to see the stars."

Tunnuk glanced out the window at the overcast skies, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I'm heading to bed if you need anything. Just make sure you turn the lights off before you come up, alright?"

With a slight grimace, Hazel gave a thumbs up and continued to prepare for the cold winter's night. She threw on a thick coat and horribly bright colored boots before opening the front door.

Heavy clouds still obscured the sky with no hope of ever disappearing. Perhaps her mother was right. She spoke no words then, but she knew the thoughts that had gone through her mind.

It was too overcast.

As soon as that thought passed through her mind, a single star shone through. The clouds were moving away from the house as if it were built to repel them. That one star became two, became three, became hundreds until the whole night sky twinkled with light more vibrant and beautiful than she had ever seen in her life. In the center of all of it was the brightest star in the sky, larger than the others and bright as the moon. It had a greenish hue, very slight and barely noticeable, but still there beyond its glow. In a way, it almost seemed like two lights rather than one from its skewed shape, being merged together from the immeasurable distance.

She cautiously sat on the unstable stone wall of the garden with a sigh. A chill snaked down her spine from the building breeze.

"Now, how in the world am I supposed to 'find myself?'" she muttered, crossing her arms close.

Glancing back at that star, it was quite obvious that it was in fact two, seeming to grow in size and separation bit by bit until it stopped completely. Hazel tilted her head with a frown.

And then came the leaf.

From the twin green stars in the sky, it fell; one full of light and greener than the grass in a perfect fairy tale. It reeked of perfection unlike anything else, like far-too-skinny models plastered all over magazines.

It soared at her at full speed like a missile, faster than she thought possible. Hazel ducked as it flew over her head, but as she stood back up again, she once again saw it hurtling towards her at full speed.

Hazel's heart pounded like a drum in her chest as she twisted and turned and sprinted in her way to return to safety.

She was almost at the front door. Only a few steps to go... and it hit. Square in the middle of her forehead, burning like hot coals. Her limbs were paralyzed, she could barely let out any sound other than an initial yelp of surprise.

Desperately she dug her nails into the leaf, but it wouldn't budge. It was almost like plastic, but somehow feeling just like a healthy leaf straight off the branch. As she moved to pull her arms away, she found that where her hands had touched the leaf were stuck.

Hazel's tears were ice against the unbearable burning traveling through her veins. If she could have made a sound, it would have been a scream that would make hell freeze.

Her eyes widened, her heart racing faster and faster as that same bright green light began to engulf her body. She could feel herself leave the ground and a searing headache, but that was all she could sense before dizziness took over. Darkness took over her sight. She'd fallen unconscious.