The Terrible Twelve

Chapter 22: The Deer And The Fox Take A Walk

            "Where are you going little lady?" Callum had happened to walking past the entrance when he noticed Isabel sneaking out of the front door.

            "I'm just going for a walk." Isabel answered. She looked up at the full moon and turned back to Callum, "Would you like to join me?" She had a small inviting smile on her face.

            "Sure I'd love to. I haven't been on a walk in awhile." Callum had planned on watching a recorded football game on the television but this seemed a lot more interesting.

            "Really? You should. They're extremely relaxing. I've been taking them for forever, even back when I was human."

            "Really?" Callum offered her a hand as she stepped down the church steps.

            "Oh yea. I loved taking walks in Mexico. The air was always hot and muggy during the day, but at night it was cool and calm. You could hear all types of nocturnal animals waking up which is ironic because that used to be my favorite part." She laughed.

            Callum smiled at her story, "You know as long as I've known you I don't think I've ever heard you talk about your childhood or even your life as a human."

            "Yea my brother doesn't like to hear it." Isabel smiled sadly, "It's a terribly sad story although we did have an amazing childhood. Our family was close and we loved each other very much." Isabel looked up at the moon. It was the same moon that she had fled from Spanish rule under.

            "You had an older brother didn't you?" Callum asked as they rounded a corner and headed towards a park.

            Isabel's smile brightened, "We did. His name was Alexander and he was about five years older than us."

            "What happened to him?"

            "He was a solider and when the Spaniards came to take over our village, he fought with our parents while we hid in the surrounding forest with the rest of the children. We weren't adults yet and were nowhere near adept in fighting to help the cause so we looked after the little ones of our village."

            "I never knew that." Callum admitted.

            "And you've known me for how long?" Isabel quipped. "No it's ok. Like I said, we don't talk about it a lot."

            "I think you should." Callum said. "I know I don't talk about my past a lot and I've found that over the years I've forgotten things that I wish I hadn't."

            "Like what?" Isabel was interested. She'd never really taken the time to sit down and talk with Callum. She realized that as long as they'd lived together, she didn't really know about his childhood either."

            "Just simple stuff really, like what my mother looked like. We lived in the lower class of Paris and we couldn't afford the luxury of pictures."

            "I'm so sorry." That was the one thing that Isabel kept very close to her, the memory of her family. She was older than Callum but she knew that eventually there would be a day when she would forget her mother's face as well.

            "Its ok, I remember other stuff about her. Like her voice on a rainy afternoon, or the feeling of her tucking me into sleep." Callum smiled and he walked along the sidewalk. "I remember the stuff that matters like how much she loved me and how much she did for me to grow up around people that could help me move forward in life."