Lost in Everland - The Bougainvillea Garden

Chapter 2: Felice!

It was almost at dusk when I woke up again.

The sun was hiding behind the tall pine trees, the skies were painted in a very calming and soothing shade of orange. It was almost magical.

I scrambled down the stairs lazily.

I was gonna head out to the lake to catch some crickets because they make this weird sound during the evenings, I wanted to see how they do it up close, and they only come out at this time of the day.

"Felice!", I called. 

No answer, that's unusual. 

Felice always comes to me as soon as I call his name, maybe he's still too full from eating all those waffles. 

"Mom, have you seen Felice?", I asked as I entered the kitchen.

"No honey. Why? wasn't he over there by the carpet?", mom pointed to the carpet with a wrench, she was gathering her tools to fix the backyard gate I assumed. She's probably busy.

"Nevermind, I'll go look for him in the backyard maybe he went out for a walk.", I said as I left the house.

"Felice!", I called. Again, no answer. He wasn't in the backyard.

It was odd that Felice would go off on his own because none of us had ever gone into the woods or anywhere far from home without each other.

I called for Felice again. He might have gone into the woods chasing a rabbit or something, highly unlikely but he's a dog anyway so it was worth a shot.

I slowly approached the dark pine trees, a shiver ran down my spine that gave me goosebumps on my skin. I brushed it off but the tall pine trees that seemed to grow forever were a bit too overwhelming for me.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of crackling leaves behind me. The eerie feeling of the woods took over me as I turned around slowly.

"Felice, are you there?", my voice cracked as I frantically tried to figure out what that strange noise was. I was scared and excited at the same time and I hoped to god it was Felice. 

The leaves of the bush brushed in an unnatural way. There was something in there. My heart was pounding in my chest, I could almost hear my heartbeat, my hands were sweating and the hair on my hands stood on its edges. I froze in place trying to figure out if there was a threat.

"Arrrggh", I screamed as something jumped out of the bush onto my leg. 

I sighed when I realized that I was scared for nothing, it was just a squirrel.

But that was enough to make me go back home. I was worried about Felice and by the looks of it, so were mom and dad. We talked about it for a minute and agreed to go look for him tomorrow morning. 

Felice had never run off like this, and neither had he been out there by himself.  Thinking of this made my stomach twist in knots. Was he in trouble, was he injured, I thought to myself as I stared at the empty ceiling. I had gotten so carried away by my thoughts that I had fallen asleep before I knew it.

*the next day*

We got some food and water and set off to the woods. Mom and dad were trailing behind calling for Felice while I scoured the forest floor for any leads. 

"Hey mom, I'm gonna go see if I can find him at the cave tree", I said. 

"Ok honey but be careful", mom said. "Here, take some sandwiches and water with you, you might need them you know... and stay away from those forest mushrooms!", dad said with a smile and gave me a small bag of food. 

"Be back before lunch", mom said as I waved them both goodbye.

The cave tree was our favorite hangout, it was a giant tree that was hollow on the inside because there used to be a spring that carved out a part of the tree, big enough for a dog and a boy to make themselves comfortable in. 

We loved the peace and quiet of the place, we could hear all the birds and animals and the sound of the wind from the inside. It was like listening to a magnificent choir of nature. 

I skipped over some big rocks and waved a bunch of big leaves out of my way to finally arrive at the cave tree. It towered over me, the crown of the tree was lit up with the sunlight refracting off the tender green leaves. A truly beautiful sight.

For a brief moment I was reminded of our time here, I hoped to see Felice as I slowly leaned inside the tree only to be disappointed by the empty mat of forest leaves.

I thought I'd just look for him for a bit more. I wandered across the woods but I was soon unfamiliar with the surroundings. I felt like the ground was changing, the trees, the atmosphere was changing, and before I knew it I had no idea where I was. 

The small heart-shaped leaves were facing East so I calculated that I wasn't too far from home. 

I must be on the other side of the lake, I've never been here so it seemed unfamiliar but the fauna was similar to those we find near large bodies of water so I calmed myself and continued to go deeper into the forest. 

I brushed off a few forest leaves to end up in a place which I can only describe as... magical.

I was baffled by the sight of hundreds and thousands of brightly bloomed blossoms, the sweet smell of flowers enlightened me as it gently took over my sense of smell. There were so many kinds of extraordinary flowers and plants, bougainvillea in particular seemed to be almost everywhere. 

The bougainvillea garden. 

After hours of trekking the woods, every inch of my being was fatigued, my ankles were aching, my head was throbbing, I felt weary and drained. 

The bougainvillea garden had a very calming and relaxing atmosphere, the ground was entirely a thick layer of flowers and grass and it felt very soft to my feet. 

So, I decided to lay down for a minute. My eyes felt heavy and I drifted into a mild haze as they shut on me, along with the light of the world, and my consciousness.

After what felt like an hour or two, I was awakened by the cold and wet feeling on my cheek. "Felice stop!", I said without even thinking about it. And as I opened my eyes, I saw...

A dragon. 

*I will be having my mid-term exams in another 4 days so I won't be posting for some time but as always any feedback on my work is highly appreciated. Stay safe, don't forget to breathe!