𝐀 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝

chapter 20: Story Time! (Amy/Lily)

We were all back in the car. Gone was the playful presence that we had before, Gone was all the smiles, gone was all the games. Alice was driving and Emmet, me, and Lily were in the back seats. Lily was staring out the window, her eyes glassed over. Emmet sat next to her, their hands almost touching.
       I didn’t know exactly what happened but whatever happened made Lily cry a lot. She didn’t talk about it at all, she seemed like she wanted to leave it all behind. We were all concerned for her, especially Emmet. He was hugging her and letting her cry on him. Just being there for her. He seems so protective of her, like he would do anything for her. I have never seen him like this. I like it. It also seems like Lily is comforted by his presence. Of course she is comforted by all of us but for some reason Emmet and her have some sort of bond. Maybe it was because of what happened in the woods and Emmet was the first one to be there.
     Alice finally broke the silence, “We’re almost there.”
     We were still on the highway just getting off. Lily was resting her head on her hand by the window. It looked like she was asleep. That is good, she needs rest. With her asleep we can finally talk about what happened.
      I hate to have to bring this up but no one else is going to so I have to. “Soooo, does anyone know what happened?” I ask.
      Emmet and Alice acted like they didn’t hear me until a few minutes later Emmet said, still looking away from me “I was so close to her. I saw her talking to someone. A boy, our age. He had messy brown hair and a black jacket on. They were both crying, looking like they were leaving each other, Forever. Then all of a sudden the boy’s eye’s turned sharp and cruel, his tone turned like that too. I was too far away to hear most of it but I think he said something like “I’m sorry.” Then he started to run into the forest, Lily followed him. I followed them both. Lily was crying so hard.” His voice broke when he said this. “Then he left her. Just left her. Why would he just leave her in that state? You guys saw her. He couldn’t have just left her.” He said angrily.
      “Calm down Emmet.” Alice says in a soloing voice.
      “No, if I ever see that guy again he is going to pay for that.”
      No one said anything after that. I could feel Emmet breathing hard in his anger. But after a while he calmed down, turning his breathing into a steady rhythm.
       Who was that boy Emmet was talking about? Could it have been a guy from her past? Was he hurting her? Ex-boyfriend? The possibilities are endless and I have a feeling that we aren’t going to get an answer from Lily.

   ****
POV: Lily

        Someone jarred me awake. I feel a hand on my shoulder and a fimlar voice that I can’t place. Uggg, it’s too early in the morning for this.
         “Lily, wake up. We’re here.”He says in a warm voice inviting me back into the world.
         I open my eyes and see a boy with short black hair, sea green eyes, and the cutest smile ever.  I look behind him and see a cottage with ivy climbing up the house. Surrounded by green grass and patches of Foxglove, delphinium, phlox and every flower you can think of. The sun was shining and the birds were chirping, this seemed like the perfect day. The cottage looks so old but at the same time comfortable and cozy. It was so beautiful. It almost made me think we were back in the Enchanted Lands.
         Wait, I have never seen this before. We aren’t in the Enchanted Lands, I am in a lost world. Then it’s like I was hit in the head with all of these memories, Amy, Alice, and Emmet. Wren leaving me in the forest, Emmet hugging me and letting me cry on him. Thinking about that moment makes me frown. I don’t blame him for leaving me. He said he was still my best friend. I don’t know what to believe. My heart yearns for that to be right, but on the other hand my brain is like that’s just what he would say so that he can get me to come back. But he still had the lucky charm I gave him, “So you can carry a bit of my luck with you.” He also might have brought it because he knows that will convince me. He was wrong. “I promise you, I didn’t pretend everything. We used to share everything with each other, things that we couldn’t even share with our family. Every experience, every hope and dream, every feeling. That is a bond you can never break. I am still your best friend. Please Lily, we need- I need you back.”
      I keep on playing that line in my head over and over again. He was right. We used to share everything with each other. And now I might never see him again. I don’t know how I feel about that.
       “Ummm, Lily?” Emmet says, bringing me back to the present. “Are you ok?”
      “Ya, I’m fine.” I say, I turn to look at him, “Thank you.”
      “For what?”
      “Not leaving me.” I say boldly looking into his eyes. “And for coming to look for me.”
       He snorts, “you've been around us for this whole trip, and you thought we would leave you? Wow, you just don’t know us at all.” He says, teasing.
       I smile.
       “Well, we should go inside. Looks like Alice and Amy already went in.”
       I look around. He was right, there was no Alice and Amy.
       “Ya, I guess we should.”
       We make our way down the long driveway.
       “So how are you feeling?”
       I think for a minute. I think it’s time for me to be real honest with him.
       “Honestly, I’m kind of nervous.”
       “Really? Why? I thought you would be excited to see if there is someone else from the Enchanted Lands.”
       “Yes, but the thing is, what if they are not from the Enchanted Lands, then will be back to square one.”
       “Well, then we’ll deal with that. But have some hope, don’t doubt everything.”
        “If you doubt everything and it doesn’t go right you won’t be disappointed.”
         Emmet turns to me and looks at me with confusion. “Where did you hear that from?”
          “Me, I just learned it from life. Finding out my parents are not my real parents and my best friend was not my best friend.” My voice caches that last part. “Anyway, you can’t expect everything to go right.”
          “Ok, I get that. Not everything in life can go right but when you came here you found us and that got better. For me hope is the only thing that gets us through.”
          I don’t know what to say to that. So I don’t. We finally reach the door and Emmet knocks.
          “Coming, coming,” says a woman's voice muffled by the door.
          The door opens to reveal a woman who looked like was in her mid 60’s. She had wavy brown hair that was starting to get a bit white at the roots, hazel eyes that had a little sparkle, and the warmest smile. I swear I recognize her from somewhere but I can’t have seen her.
           “Hi, welcome, I am Lyra.” She took out her hand to shake. Thank goodness I know how to do that now.
           “I’m Lily,”
           “Nice to meet you.” She looks back into the house and calls, “Amy this must be the rest of your friends.”
            I hear footsteps running up to the front door and Amy appears.
            “Hey, guys, sorry I left you but I wanted to check in before we all went in.”
            “It’s fine Amy,” says Emmet.
            “Come in.” Says Lyra. She steps away from the door to let us in. Wow, the outside might look old but the inside is not old at all. There’s a window right beside the door showing the beautiful yard. Under the window is a couch where Alice and what looks like Lyra’s son is sitting. In front of the couch is a wall with the T.V on it. In front of us is the dining room with a wall displacing all of their fancy plates. Around the corner is the kitchen. It’s not as big as the houses in the Enchanted Lands houses but it’s still really cozy.
            We walk over to Alice and Lyra’s son.
            “This is my son,” Lyra says in a proud tone, “Sam.”
             He stands up to shake my hand and Emmet’s. I take it. He has a strong grip, which I expect with all of his muscles. He looks like he is about 30 or so, with short black curly hair, a round face, and the same eyes as his mom.
            “Hi, I am Lily.”
            “Welcome.” He says kindly.
            “Sam was just visiting us when Amy said if it was ok for you guys to come down. I was like this couldn’t have been easier. Come, sit down. You must be tired from all of that traveling.”
              Emmet sneaks a glance at me with one of those teasing smiles. I love that smile. I roll my eyes back at him. He laughs quietly but covers it up with a cough. That makes me laugh too. It hurts my stomach to keep it in. It’s like we have an inside joke or something. I love that.
             “Do you guys want anything? We have tea or coffee.” Asks Lyra.
              Amy pipes right up, “you know I love tea.”
              Lyra chuckles, “I know you do.”
              “I’ll have some coffee,” Alice says
              “Me too,” Emmet says.
              “Do you want anything my dear?”Lyra says, sweetly to me.
              “No, thanks.” I answer back quietly.
              “Ok, Sam, could you get all that?”
              Sam throws his hands in the air. “Me? Mom, why me?”
              “Because you are not a guest and plus your mom is getting a bit old.” Lyra says, with a smile.
               Sam sighs, “ok, I will be back.”
               Sam walks off to the kitchen grumbling about “getting tea when this is not even my house.” Lyra leans to us talking in a whisper like she was sharing a secret.
               “Ok, so, obviously you are not here to visit-“
               “What, no,” ptffff, “I wanted to see you. It’s been way too long.” Amy interruptes.
               Lyra gave her a look like really?
              Amy sighs, realizing there was no point. “Remember when I was a little kid and you used to tell us stories about this fairy tale land.”
              “Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?” She asks, confused.
              “I have always loved those stories. They were my favorite. They always fascinated me how a girl found a portal to another world. When I was little I wished I could do that.”
              Lyra smiled, it looked like she was proud of her-self. But that story sounded exactly how I came to this world.
              “Can you please tell us that story? I miss it so much.”
              Lyra blushes and pushes back. “Oh, no, that’s just a story. A story for children.”
              “Well, sometimes we can all be children. Even if we know it or not. Please,” Amy puts her hands together in a begging motion.
              After a moment Lyra finally yielded, “All right.” Lyra says, looking happy even though she was against telling the story.
              We all lean in close. Emmet’s shoulder touches mine, I don’t pull away and he doesn’t either. Out of the corner of my eye I could see he was blushing and I was pretty sure I was too.
              Lyra clears her throat, “once upon a time there was a girl, a girl who lived in a normal house, had a normal family, and had a normal life. Until one day she left a cold chill in the back of her house. She went looking for what was causing the chill and found a room that was never there before and in that room was a purple floating circle swirled with what looked like space. It always changes, you never know what is happening in there. The girl didn’t know what the circle was. It looked like it led to nothing.”
             That is exactly what the portal looks like. They are from the Enchanted Lands!
             “But she was somehow drawn to it. Like there was a string pulling her in. So she did the thing that most people would not do. She stepped in.” She paused for dramatic affect.
             Everyone gasped.
             “This circle she found, she later discovered, was called a portal. The room transformed, like a painter painting a canvas. She was standing in a clearing in the forest with tall mysterious trees with a bright fresh green as leaves. The sky was so blue you could look at it forever. Birds and animals everywhere you could hear them chirping and playing around. In the distance just above the trees you could see a beautiful castle made of the richest things you could find. All pink, blue, green. She was in awe, feeling like she could just sit there forever and stare at the beautiful new world.” Lyra was waving her hands in the air slowly like she was imagining what it looked like.
             “Let me guess, this land is called the Enchanted Lands.” I say, kind of in a harsh tone.
             She turns to look at me and her face falls. “H-o-www di di yo ou.” 
             “Let’s just say she knows a lot about this so-called “fairy tale land.”Amy says.
             “Ya, I’m kind of from the Enchanted Lands and we think you might be too?”
             Lyra’s mouth drops open in surprise. “You're not alone.”

A/N: I love that cottage