Stellar

Chapter 3

The haze dispersed revealing the familiar sight of Tarley Wood and Petra was met by a quietly sobbing Ruby.

Ruby sat on the bench with Milo at her feet, plagued by the thought that she had lost her sister. She had spent the half an hour Petra was missing searching frantically for her, but she was gone. Nowhere to be found. She had only taken a moment to collect her thoughts but as soon as she paused, the tears began, and they didn't stop.

The tears trailed down Ruby's face, falling on her lap, creating darker spots on the fabric of her faded black jeans. She let out a choked sob, eyes too clouded with tears to notice Petra stood right in front of her.

Petra's heart broke at the sight of her twin. She just wanted to show Ruby what she found. She chewed on the nail of her right thumb; a frown appeared on her face as she thought about being the reason for Ruby's tears.

Petra sighed and slowly walked over to her sister, causing Milo to sniff around her excitedly due to the new smells she had picked up. She put a caring hand on Ruby's shoulder, calling out her name soothingly to gain her attention. Ruby instantly recognised the voice. Looking up at her sister, she quickly wiped away her tears, soaking the sleeve of her hoodie in the process. Her watery eyes looked up towards the sky as she let out a shaky breath.

"You're here?" Ruby asked, voice just above a whisper. Petra gave her a reassuring smile as she nodded slowly. Ruby's eyes narrowed as they looked at her sister. Her whole demeanour changed in an instant. The tears stopped falling as fast, her slumped posture straightened, and she looked at Petra with fire in her eyes.

"Where the hell were you?!" Ruby yelled; fists clenched in her lap. Petra flinched, taken aback by her sister's sudden outburst.

Petra thought for a second, half in shock and half trying to figure out how to answer Ruby's question. The likelihood of Ruby believing the truth was slim, she was very logical. She didn't believe in things like magic, ghosts or even fate. In her head, there's an explanation for everything.

When they were younger, Ruby even went to the lengths of trying to figure out how Father Christmas travelled around the world in one night because in her world Magic doesn't exist. The more Petra thought about it, the less likely she was to believe her story.

She stood in front of her expectant twin, eyes trailing up to the left, trying to think of a credible story. Petra refocused her gaze to meet a still glaring Ruby, who was waiting for an answer. Petra made her decision.

"I went to the cabin we saw earlier." Petra lied as she reached up and played with the lobe of her right ear.

Ruby's arms crossed over her stomach as she flung her right leg over her left. Her foot impatiently tapping in the air.

Ruby's usual cheery voice turned monotone as she informed Petra that she had seen right through her. "You're lying."

But what did she expect? Ruby could read Petra like a book. "Your ear..." Ruby imitated her sister, reminding Petra of her tell. She always fiddled with her ear when she lied, and Ruby rarely missed it.

Why Petra thought she could get away with lying in the first place was a mystery to her. She would have to tell her the truth of where she had been and hope that Ruby would believe at least some of it.

Petra took a deep breath, looked down at her feet and told her everything. The whole thing. Including the gateway, Silva Hollow and Kai. Petra rattled through all of the details, pacing in front of Ruby as she did.

Ruby's head followed her movements as if she was following a ball at a tennis match. Left then right then left again. Watching as her twin became more and more animated. Petra started off opening her arms wide to explain the giant trees followed by an imitation of the market owners using magic and then waving her arms erratically to show the guards chasing her and Kai.