At Dawn, in the Forest

Chapter 11

Dawn sat as stiff as a wooden plank on the couch of the living room of the packhouse. She started at the floor intensely. She tried to come up with anything to say when or if her family would be standing right there, on the spot she is looking at. She had no idea what to say after being kidnapped for over nine years. What did a person say? She was incredibly nervous.

It was when Dawn heard a car coming up and voices outside she got out of her trance. For no apparent reason, she stood up. Her heartbeat beat faster and faster. She could feel it through her chest, almost as if her heart would jump out. The voices shifted from outside to the front door to close to the living room.

This is it, Dawn thought. Any moment now and her family would walk around the corner, seeing her. Seeing her standing in another packhouse, in a grand living room that was still too small for Dawn. There wouldn't be enough space for her emotions and fears. There wouldn't be enough room for all of them, she would have to stand too close to them, her family, she desperately wanted to see over the last nine years, but right then wanted to run away from.

Her heartbeat got louder as the footsteps neared.

Everything went in slow motion.

First Dawn saw Mateo, then followed by a man she assumed to be her father. It was hard to tell, the only thing that gave away that he was indeed her father was his scent. Her eyes watered. The scent, it gave her a sense of coming home. Then Aiden, Larisa, and her mother. She knew that was Rue next to Larisa. The thick brown locks, the green eyes, the pointy nose, rosy cheeks, everything was still the same as nine years ago. Then Caspian, Finn, and... somebody new. Dawn didn't recognize the child that was holding Finn's hand. It gave her an odd feeling.

And then everything went fast.

Dawn was engulfed in a big hug from her mother and her father followed suit. It felt suffocating. She couldn't breathe. She felt paralyzed. When they finally had let her go, her two brothers embraced her. It was with less force than from her parents, still it felt uncomfortable. Dawn didn't know how to react, she kept standing there, even when they had let go of her.

"Oh, thank the Moon Goddess, thank her indeed," Rue had embraced her daughter again. "Darling, how about we give her some space?" Dawn's father opted. Still she had no idea what his name was, and slowly she came to the realization why she had forgotten about her father so quickly.

The realization was heartbreaking. He had a strong resemblance with Dr. Willow. He had light blue eyes as well, but in a slightly warmer tone. He had also darker hair on his head that slowly faded in a lighter colour to his beard, even his facial features were quite similar. The two biggest differences were that her father didn't have a protruding stomach and was more muscular.

Rue wiped her tears away and signaled the child to come to her, holding her hand. "We want you to meet someone. This is your younger brother, Elias. Say hello, Elias." The two siblings looked at each other wearily. They were completely strangers to one another and Dawn couldn't help but feel resentment towards him. Why, she didn't know.

Elias said a small hello but quickly found refuge behind his mother. Dawn couldn't respond. The words didn't want to roll over her tongue. Her voice stuck in her throat. She looked at Aiden for help who in return nodded toward Larisa.

"How about we all sit down? I will get some beverages and snacks," Larisa announced. Everybody followed her suggestion and Dawn was finally able to sit back down. They all looked at her, making her more nervous than she already was.

"I-I can't believe you are sitting in front of us, look how much you have grown..." Rue was the only one who could talk. "You are now... it must be twenty-one right? Oh my goodness, we have missed so much," And she kept talking. Dawn still didn't know how to respond than to look stoic at the ground and from time to time she let her eyes wondering over her family members and Aiden.