Timeweaver

Strange Encounters

Tabitha woke up with the most pleasant feeling - if you call an awful migraine, dirt in your shoes, and twigs scratching at your arms and legs pleasant. She was still on the forest floor. Tabitha was about to sit up when she heard a quiet breath, and it wasn't hers. Somebody or something else was close by, possibly watching her. She tried to appear still asleep, but the somebody or something else had noticed her wake up.

"Oh, good, you're finally awake," said a voice directly above her. It wasn't a menacing voice. It was the kind of voice that made you think of your grandmother, warm and inviting. Tabitha gave up on trying to look unconscious and opened her eyes. She gave a start when she saw a pair of eyes staring straight into hers. They were a strange color, a very pale blue like that of those big jugs of water they have at offices. Ah, water, Tabitha thought, swallowing and wincing at how dry her throat was. It felt like sandpaper.

The eyes were surrounded by a wrinkled face that matched the grandmotherly voice. And that face was surrounded by a large, curly mass of white-blonde hair. Tabitha sat up slowly, clutching her head as she did so. Her vision went fuzzy for a moment until she was sitting completely upright. After it had cleared again, she could see the older woman was dressed in a multitude of clashing animal prints. There were cheetah spots, zebra stripes, giraffe spots, and many more colorful prints that Tabitha had never seen before in her life. The woman picked up her full, brown snakeskin bag and, with a smile, extended her wrinkled, spotted hand. Tabitha stared at it, not sure whether to trust this stranger, no matter how friendly she seemed.

"Don't be shy," the woman said. "My name is Lyssandra, but you can call me Lyss."

Tabitha reached out her hand to shake Lyss's, much more hesitant than she had been sticking her hand through the portal. "I'm Tabitha." She was surprised at how casual her voice sounded, as if she were only meeting her math teacher for the first time instead of this strange woman in this strange place.

"There you go," Lyssandra said cheerfully. She had learned from previous experiences not to reveal that she already knew people's names. "Now Tabitha, why don't you come with me, and we'll get you a change of clothes and something for that bump." Tabitha glanced down at her ripped T-shirt and jeans. They were covered in glittering dirt and leaves. She reached up and felt the large knot growing on her forehead.

Her mom had always told her not to talk to strangers. Whose mom hasn't? But her mom had enforced it even more because there were people out there who wanted to take advantage of a celebrity couple's wealth by holding their only child for ransom. Then again, this lady most likely didn't know who Tabitha was, being from this foreign world. Tabitha eventually decided it was safer to go with Lyssandra than be left alone to deal with whatever had taken away Catalina.

Oh no! She had forgotten all about Cat. Tabitha, who had begun walking with Lyss, stopped in her tracks and began scanning the trees as if she could pinpoint Catalina's location through the tangled mess of golden tree limbs.

"What is it?" Lyss turned around, and expression of concern on her face.

"My friend. She was taken away by, by..." Tabitha didn't actually know what had taken her best friend. "I have to find her," she concluded, stepping towards the dense section of trees where she had seen Cat's legs disappear, determined to at least do a quick scan of the nearby woods, so she could at least say she had tried to find her friend.

Lyss grabbed her arm and gently but firmly pulled her away from the reflective trees. "I wouldn't go in there, not in your condition. Once you start feeling better, I'll help you look for her. Let's just hope it's not too late." Lyss said the last part quietly to herself, but Tabitha heard her anyway. Tabitha fought the urge to free herself from the older woman's fragile grip and dash deeper into the forest calling her friend's name. Inside, Tabitha knew Lyss was right. There was nothing she could do at the moment.