Anna Peregrine--A Map of Days

Chapter Three

It was dawn when I came back to Jacob's house, exhausted from flying around all night. When I came to the door, I saw a blanket laying outside the door.

Damn it, Mum, you still love me.

Whenever I would escape for a flight at home or go to see Abe, there would always be a blanket outside of the door for me to wrap around myself for when I arrived. No one knew about it except Mum, so I knew it was her.

Once I shifted and wrapped the blanket around me, I quietly knocked on the door. It opened within a minute, revealing my mother who had a tearstained face, and her eyes were welling up with tears. She hadn't slept all night. I was an awful daughter.

She pulled me inside the house quietly, closing the door behind me before picking up one of the pairs of sweatpants I had bought and a dark blue tank top and putting them in my hands.

I went to the downstairs bathroom and changed before coming out and going upstairs to the master bedroom to find the covers already pulled back for me, and my mother.

Ironically, we both sniffled at the same time, upset about the previous night's events. I got into the bed, sliding under the covers before she pulled them over me, tucking me in the way she did when I was a child.

My mother kissed my forehead before whispering, her voice trembling, "I love you, Li--Anna."

"Just call me it," I said, starting to cry.

She walked around to the other side of the bed before climbing into it, sitting down next to me so she could wrap her arms around me.

"I'm an awful daughter, I know I am," I said in tears.

"Shh, you're nothing of the sort. You're just a spitfire," she said quietly. "I just need to help you get adjusted to things. You understand."

I nodded, even though I didn't want to change one bit. Mum kissed the top of my head, "Get some sleep. I can only imagine how exhausted you are."

She slowly let go of me. I let my head sink into one of the pillows before rolling onto the side that faced the door. We could hear the sounds of the others slowly waking up from down the hall.

"I love you, my little falcon," Mum said quietly, looking back at me.

"I love you too, Mummy."

The both of us smiled, allowing the fight to be in the past, but not really forgotten. She went to leave again before looking back at me, "Anna?"

"Yes?"

"I forgive you, you know."

I nodded before falling asleep.

* * * * *

I was asleep for the majority of the day until Olive pulled me out of bed, rushing me down to the backyard where the others were waiting. There was a snap of electricity in the air that made my hair go up, frightening me for a moment. There was a bright flash inside the shed before we heard my mother's voice say, "Here we are."

She came out of the shed, "Ahh, yes, I prefer this weather. Sorry I'm late."

"Only by thirty seconds," Horace said.

"Mr. Portman, Anna, you look confused," Mum said.

"I was just dragged out of my bed, so yeah, I am confused," I replied.

"I'm not super clear on what just happened," Jacob said. "Or where you were. Or . . . anything?" "That," Mum pointed to the shed, "is a loop."

Jacob looked at it, "There was a loop in my backyard?" "There is now. I made it this afternoon."