Written in the stars

11.

Ayla

My eyes opened slowly, in time to watch the setting sun out of the bedroom window. Yellow and orange clouds danced across my vision and I lay there quietly, as they changed to pink, then faded to grey. I listened to the creaks and groans of the old wooden cabin. Then I tuned my hearing to the other rooms.

Cassandra still hummed softly as she cooked, her voice filling the otherwise quiet evening. Nakoma still sighed way too loudly and for no reason at all. She didn't even realise she was doing it.

Years had passed since I had last been at the cabin, although it felt like nothing had changed. The cabin was warm. It felt like home. It was the only home I had every known. This was the only family I could remember.

I pushed the blankets back and climbed slowly out of bed. I stretched gingerly. I still felt weak, and I was starving, but my body no longer felt quite as bruised, battered and broken. I was dressed, and my skin was clean. I smiled to myself, feeling loved for the first time in a long time. It felt good to be taken care of again, when all I had known for the past two years was to be listed after, but never loved.

I walked quietly out of the bedroom, the floorboards creaking beneath me as I entered the main living room.

"You're up," Nakoma smiled, coming to me and engulfing me in a hug. My eyes stung with tears. I had missed her.

"How long was I out?"

"Almost two days," Cassandra replied. "We pretty much kept you under with the wolfsbane, to give your body time to recover."

I nodded, I did feel better for it. Nakoma took me by the shoulders and gently directed me to the dining table. It was a small, round rustic wooden table with three handmade wooden chairs. Even after my sudden disappearance and prolonged absence, it still had the third chair. Always empty, but always ready to be filled, hopefully awaiting my return.

"Here, Ayla. Eat." Cassandra said, offering me a plate of hearty soup and freshly baked bread. She stroked my hair and  then took a seat across from me, watching me in silence, concern plastered across her face.

I ate without hesitation. They ate quietly beside me as I wolfed down the food, then Casandra refilled my bowl and I licked that bowl clean too. I felt like a new person with home cooked food in my stomach.

"Where have you been?" Cassandra finally asked.

"Everywhere," I replied honestly. "Most recently I was north of the border."

"What?" Cassandra asked, her voice filled with fear. "Why? It's dangerous up there."

"I didn't really mean to go there. I was just walking. I found this river and followed it as far as I could. There was this gorgeous waterfall in the middle of the forest and I spent days there. Next thing I knew, I was in a town, bordering the forest. It just kind of appeared out of no where." I looked at Nakoma. "I drank alcohol," I told her and she grinned from ear to ear.

"It wasn't my first time," I informed Cassandra, who gave a short growl of disapprovement.

"I met boys," I continued on, and Nakoma's eyebrows raised with intrigue as I answered her a knowing smile. "Many boys." I grinned wickedly, but my mind lingered on just one. Tall, dark and insanely handsome. The one with the sinful tongue and the-

"Did you find a mate?" Cassandra asked, cutting into my thoughts. Her voice was controlled, but I could sense she felt slightly tense.

"Oh no," I said, shaking my head with a small laugh. "No, I won't take a mate. Why have just one when I can have them all?"