What The Wildflowers Know

Chapter 12

"Rise and shine, Cello!" Kvetina yelled into his ear. He groaned and rolled over, mumbling, "It's too early to wake up, let's go later."

Kvetina rolled her eyes. "Alright then. I'll go ahead first, and you can be breakfast for the bears." Honestly, Kvetina was just as scared of bears as her brother, but logic ruled her mind and it most certainly told her, there were no bears in those woods.

"No!" Cahello rolled off his bed and onto the floor. "I'm coming. Just give me five minutes."

Kvetina left.

Exactly five minutes later, she shoved open his door to find Cahello fully dressed and packed. The only problem was that he was asleep on the floor. Kvetina sighed and crept downstairs. She returned with something, careful not to make any noise.

"YAH!" Cahello screamed into the pillow his sister had placed, into his mouth to muffle the noise. Ice cold water dripped down his face.

Kvetina sat beside him with a smirk. "Awake now?"

Cahello nodded.

They finally left the house, 10 minutes later than expected.

But, Kvetina reasoned, it was only 5:40. No reason to worry.

They crossed the dandelion field that led to the woods, which would also lead them to Tomsville. Sneaking into the trees, Cahello shuddered at the cold breeze. "Look at this!" Kvetina murmured suddenly. Cello turned on his flashlight, and to his amazement a tiny footpath appeared.

"Well, what do we do now?" he asked. Kvetina looked up, hesitancy and excitement in her eyes. "Let's try it." Cahello took the lead.

All his life, he had lived in the village where everyone knew everyone, and there was no such thing as private business. But this girl had snuck into his life, and changed his perspective. Suddenly the cozy comfort of home was suffocating, and it was refreshing, no more than that- epiphanic to realize there was a world out there.

Taking one last look at their home behind them, Cahello's doubts and worries fell off and he felt light as ever. Nothing was holding him down.

This was a freeing moment.

The girl and boy locked eyes with each other, and together they descended upon the path that would give them all they needed right now. An adventure.

For the rest of the early morning, the pair walked. They crossed bridges, wound around trees, and still kept walking. Tomsville was no longer their destination, they had no destination at all. Light dawned, birds flitted, and as everything around Cahello and Kvetina woke up, they found themselves traveling along an endless road. 

Anything could happen, there could be no ending and no direction. But yet they still walked. There were no forks in the path, no deceiving arrows, nothing- until they heard footsteps that were not theirs.

"Kvetina? D'you hear that?" Cahello frowned. 

His sister stopped walking, and it became very clear to her that yes indeed footsteps were echoing through the trees, and that they were both completely helpless.

She tensed. "Come on." She turned and ran off the path for the first time, wincing at the leaves crackling under their feet.

Ducking behind a huge tree trunk, the two peeked out.

Suddenly the beautiful shades of green were gone, replaced by shadows in which bears, snakes, and murderers lurked.

They heard the feet come closer and closer to their hideout, and soon a man with blond hair wearing jeans, strode forward. He was alone, and Cahello and Kvetina both felt a sense of unease about him.

Both were waiting for him to pass by, but instead he paused just a few feet away from the two and sat down.

Exchanging worried looks, the teens stared as the man pulled out a long, sinister-looking rope and a few dollars. He whistled while he scattered the money around the ground, and twisted the rope into a noose.

A cold shiver ran down Cahello's spine. What is he doing?

Beside him, Kvetina's eyes widened. He frowned at her scrunched up face, and stared curiously as she flailed her arms in front of him.