Stellar

Chapter 6

 The twins arrived at the bench and lamp to find Kai seated, waiting for them. Smiling when he saw them, he stood up carefully. Petra guessed he was also a bit stiff from the fight against the wind as he grimaced every time he moved.

Kai offered his elbow to Petra. She looked at her sister, not sure what to do. Ruby appeared to be no help as she just shrugged at her. Petra opted to just copy and showed her elbow back to Kai. He lightly bumped her elbow and then did the same to Ruby.

"Oh, this is how we say hello in the hollow," Kai explained, noticing the blank expressions on the twin's faces. Ruby and Petra both said "ahh" in unison and giggled.

The leaves rustled. All three of them went silent, muscles tensed as they felt the presence of a light wind hit their faces.

"Umm, can we do this in the hollow? I don't really want to get stuck in that windstorm again." Kai suggested. Petra let out a sigh of relief. She also didn't want to relive that again. So, they walked through the gateway and back to Silva Hollow.

Rather than take them straight to the centre of the town, Kai led the twins up a small street paved with uneven stones. Bits of moss and grass stuck up between the cracks. Log cabins were scattered along both sides, but it was remarkably quiet. It felt like nobody had lived here for years. Petra felt a shiver up her spine as they walked towards the end of the street. She turned to take the path that led further into the town, but Kai veered off left and into a different part of the forest.

Judging by the tight grip she had on Petra's arm, Ruby was feeling anxious over the situation. Petra gave her a few reassuring pats on her hand as they walked alongside a gleaming pool of water.

The water shimmered, catching a few rays of the bright moonlight. Trees overhung the edge of the water, some dipping into the pink-hued water. At the back of the lake, a waterfall cascaded down from the cliff behind, reflecting rainbows into the light. People were lounging around on the grassy verges surrounding the and children splashed around in the water. Petra thought it looked like a secret grotto, well a not-so-secret grotto judging from the amount of people who were there.

They followed a small stream running from the lake and took a sharp right at the crescent-shaped rock. They continued the steady pace Kai had set, weaving through the trees until they reached where he was looking for. A secluded spot surrounded by a bubble of leafy trees.

It was difficult to see anything other than the different shades of green and purple blending together. The night had drawn in by the time they had got there, but the world still seemed bright. The small stream that disappeared in amongst the trees caught glimmers of the few rays of moonlight seeping through the leaves. Blue and purple flowers were dotted on the ground, with the ones in the middle having been trampled on. They were all in full bloom even though it was dark like they thrived in the moonlight. They seemed to reflect the shimmering light making everything have a bluish-purple tone.

Petra breathed in deeply, a faint scent of flowers tickled her. Scrunching up her nose to relieve the tickle earning a puzzled look from Ruby.

"That's the lunflowers." Kai said, "they can tickle your nose at first but when you get used to them... they smell like home." Kai picked one of the nearby flowers and sniffed it. A contented sigh and shy smile adorned his face. He lent back on a nearby tree before sliding down until he was sat amongst the fallen leaves. The girls joined him, sitting on the floor, trying not to squash any of the flowers in the process.