Haven

                                                                      18 y.o

Right to the curved tree. Over the mossy rock. Straight ahead. Keep walking. Under the fallen tree trunk. Keep walking. Faster. Run. Faster. I felt something in my foot. Yes I think it hurts. Keep running. So much mud. Shit. It's dark. A cloud. It's hiding the moon. No no no no. I can't see anything. Breath. I fell. Carry on. Breath. I can't see anything. Breath. I can't breath. Breath. My heartbeats. So loud. Lights. City lights. The village. It's here. It's close. Keep running. Dots. I see dots in the lights. Breath. Something hurts in my chest. My lungs. Breath. Say it. Shout it. Scream it. « Please... ». So much dots. The first house. So close. « Please... ». Say it. I can't breath. I think there's someone. Maybe it's a dot. « I... ». I can't breath. I can't see. Someone is shouting. I laydown. No. I fell. I hear steps. Maybe it's my heartbeats. No someone is touching me.

« Miss Lovell  » someone said. Such a gentle voice.

« What happened ? » the voice said. Makes me want to sleep.

« I... » I tried to articulate. What was I supposed to say again ?

«  It's okay my dear » Her voice like a lullaby. Her smell like pine trees. So comforting.

« I did it » The words hurt. My throat. My lungs. Everything burned. « I did it ». It hurt.

« What my dear ? What ? » The voice murmured. Or screamed. I wasn't sure.

« I killed him » It hurt. « I killed my father ». It hurts.

                                                                        ***

                                                                     11 y.o

Pink cheeks. Golden skin. Viper was all eyes on her prey, waiting to strike. Two feet away from her, the little creature passed from flower to flower, collecting the prettiest petals. The little girl kept a firm grip on her handmade box of wood and moss. She'd also spend hours choosing the prettiest flowers to decorate her little faerie house. She waited for the small thing to be absorbed by its careful selection.The faerie stoped before a bush of white peonies, wondering which flower would better suits its needs. Now. Viper jumped from her hiding place onto the creature. But it was too smart. Too fast. Knew too well the weight of each flower, each leave, each blade of grass. Even the air seemed to help it as it ran threw the vegetation. Viper tried to keep up. She wouldn't miss it again. Yet, she knew she had blown her chance. If she ever had one. But the girl had to believe she had. She wouldn't give up. Viper had spend the eleven years of her existence admiring faeries. Wondering if she could ever become friends with them. She had to have one. The creature was no where to be seen but Viper kept on running until she caught a pan of her white gown on a rose's thorn. The fabric was torn. Mom is going to kill me.

"That was pitiful"

Viper started and turned to the direction where the words had been spoken.

A young boy around her age, chestnut hair, deep brown eyes was standing there. She never saw him in the village, and she knew everyone from Teram. She took two steps back. The border to faeries' lands was near. If he wasn't from Teram, there was only one place he could have come from.

Viper tried to save face but she knew her eyes were too wide to keep her growing fear from showing.

The boy had no particular expressions. Perhaps a bit of curiosity.