Sorcerer's hill

2

It was a dreamless night for Keira. Even though her mind was already awake, her eyelids remained closed. She turned around, and the stripes of sunshine hit her face just when she dared to look. Her eyes squinted, and she moaned.

Still lying down, she stretched her hands and feet. Only after that did she slowly rise from the bed. It was most unusual for her to fall asleep so fast. She wasn't used to this kind of sleeping – if one could call it that way.

Her sleeping habit usually involved hours of turning around, standing up or drinking water to distract herself from realizing how little rest she was getting.

She had no idea what time it was - and for the first time in her life - she didn't care. She didn't even try to reach for her phone to check. However, today she felt pleasantly motivated and refreshed.

First of all, she would have some breakfast, ask Mrs Rivers about Rosehold (again) and then go to the place herself. She was curious about what she'd find. Radiology, physics and chemistry weren't her favourite topics to write about. Luckily for her, she was just supposed to gather something like a touristic review of the place - how it looks, how she feels and if there's anything different. Maybe she could take some examples of plants with her for closer examination. Her findings would be combined with the scientific data, making an impressionable article. Not that she'd have the most essential part, but still. Being a part of something like this has been her goal for a while now.

The window remained open for the whole night. The view was breathtaking. The houses on the other side of the street looked brighter than during the dark, and just slightly above them, she could see the forest surrounding the whole village. Rosehold had to lie somewhere behind it.

Keira was dressed in a minute. Jeans and a simple shirt with short sleeves. She brushed her hair into a ponytail and was good to go. What was she going to do? She felt excitement wash all over her. Her plan was to find out as much about Rosehold as she could. With her rarely-giving-up attitude, it wouldn't be so hard.

As she locked the door to her room, Keira couldn't help but smell the fantastic food served downstairs. A familiar salty scent filled her nostrils. Her mouth was filled with saliva at the thought of scrambled eggs.

As she stepped down to the main dining area, she discovered it was much more occupied than yesterday. What was worse, she immediately became the centre of attention. Everybody looked at her.

She smiled and waved her hand awkwardly. "Hello."

There was no response. Only some laughter from the back. Keira ignored it. As she tried not to trip when walking to the exact same stool she was sitting on yesterday, the innkeeper appeared behind the bar. "Good morning, Mrs Rivers."

"Good morning, Ms Lester." The lady chirped. "Anything to eat?"

"Yes, please," Keira answered as she placed her hand on the counter, waiting patiently.

She looked around the room once more and, to her relief, found out she wasn't that interesting anymore.

The tables were almost all full. The people sitting there were of all ages, from thirty to eighty. They all looked like one big happy community. One of them just called a response to someone over the whole room. The other one laughed and toasted him with what looked like a beer. Keira smiled to herself. At least she wasn't the only one not afraid to drink early in the morning. But not today. Tomorrow, perhaps, she'll have something to celebrate. Maybe a new, exciting story.

"Can I also have a coffee? I'm going to walk a lot today." She asked Mrs Rivers.

The lady didn't answer but poured the black liquid into a cup and passed her milk. Keira smiled at her and said thanks. It was a very relaxing morning.