Birds Of A Feather

Chapter 5

Monday, September 30th

"Good morning," He says to me as he takes a seat next to Rosie. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah, I slept alright—you?"

"I slept pretty well," he says.

"You sure?" I asked, "You were tossing and turning all night—seemed like you couldn't find comfort."

"Yeah, I was just a bit cold is all."

Looking out into the water I noticed something was shining through so I leaned in a bit to see. It was a necklace.

"Go get it!" said Rosie.

"Are you crazy?" asked Ezrah. "It's colder than the arctic in there!"

I looked out and looked back at him. "You only live once right?" and with that, I leaped into the water to fetch the necklace. It was a silver, heart-shaped locket. Inside was a photo of a little brown-haired girl with her mom and dad. They looked so happy to be together. I decided to keep the locket. I looked back to shore and before I knew it, Ezrah and Rosie were already running into the water.

"Cowabunga!" yelled Rosie and we all started messing around in the river. Ezrah carried Rosie on his shoulders and chased me around until they caught up and splashed water at me.

After a while, we packed up and started to head home. I hitched a ride with Ezrah since he offered to drop me off, and I was freezing from the river. 

It was around 9:00 am when we got to the B&B. I couldn't believe how tired I was. I decided I was going to shower and take a nap but when I went inside, it smelled like pancakes and hot chocolate. There was no way I would pass up such a sweet breakfast. I headed to the dining area, which was as cozy as a squirrel's nest. The tables are large and round and made out of wood. Big windows were looking out into the garden and the lights were rustic; wooden, cage chandeliers that hang over each table. There are 6 wooden lounge chairs with gray leather for each table and the menus are placed vertically in front of each chair.

"Well hey, there sweetheart," said an old voice from beside me. "My name's Esmeralda, but my friends call me Esme. Can I get you something to eat?"

"Yes please," I said, "Some of those delicious-smelling pancakes and a cup of hot chocolate."

"Coming right up honey, go ahead and have a seat wherever you like," she said. "What's your name sweetie?" 

"Autumn, my name is Autumn."

"Well then Autumn, I'll be right back with your pancakes."

Grandpa Jack was right. It seems like everyone here is as kind as they make them. I took a seat at the table in the center of the dining room and a couple of seconds later, Esme comes back with a plate full of pancakes.

"Here you go," she says.

"Mmm smells amazing," I said. "By the way, I was at Lucy's the other night and she told me to remind you to pick up the pies for the Renaissance Faire."

"Oh yes, thank you dear I had almost forgotten." 

"You're welcome."

After some time, I finished my pancakes and headed up to my room. At this point, I was so sleepy and full that my eyes couldn't hold on for much longer, so I instantly went into the bathroom and showered before I changed my mind. The shampoo smelled like strawberries and so did the conditioner. It was like aromatherapy and it was so soothing that I fell asleep as soon as I got under the covers, just like the first time I came.

It was so different here than back home. I had so much trouble falling asleep at home from all the stress of having a minimum wage job and rent to pay. Now that I'm making money a lot easier, I feel so much freer. It was like someone flipped a switch on my life and it all became okay again, just like back when I was younger. When she was still there—Violette.