THE ORCHID MOUNTAINS

CHAPTER 2 : A Return

A Return

"You're back-" Mrs. Rayes whispered, her voice trembling as she embraced the man at the door.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she clung to him, emotions flooding her heart after so many years.

"Mother!"

It was Sammy-her son, who had left the town seeking a life beyond harvesting Lunar Orchids until he withered away or mysteriously vanished like the others.

He had always been the rebellious one, a constant source of Mr. Rayes' disappointment. Years ago, when he left for the city, his father hadn't stopped him. The bond between them had been strained-more duty than love.

"Sammy's here, Sarai!" Mrs. Rayes shouted, unable to contain her excitement.

Even Sarai, who had grown accustomed to the cold and desolate town, found it hard to believe that her brother, who had once despised this frozen wasteland, was truly standing before them.

During dinner, Sarai finally voiced the question that had been gnawing at her since his arrival. "Why are you here, Sammy?"

Mrs. Rayes shot her a glare, her hand slapping the table with the spoon, signaling her disapproval of Sarai's bluntness.

Sammy, ever the playful older brother, chomped on a corn cob, deliberately prolonging the suspense.

"Well-" he slurped his soup, drawing out the moment just to tease her.

"Oh, Sammy," Sarai huffed, demanding an answer, her impatience growing.

"Well-I'm here to take you with me," he finally declared, his voice filled with a reckless enthusiasm, unbothered by how his declaration might affect the two women before him.

"The city?" Sarai whispered, her eyes flicking to their mother, who maintained a calm, unreadable expression. Mrs. Rayes had mastered that stoic mask, one Sarai had come to adopt herself.

"Yes! I've got an apartment, a job, a car-everything," Sammy listed off proudly, as if checking off boxes on a life he had built far from the icy grip of Frostvale. "We'll get out of this hellhole-"

"Samuel Rayes, you're out of line," Mrs. Rayes interrupted, her voice carrying the weight of years spent tethered to this desolate place. "How could you say such things?"

He wasn't wrong, though. It was a hellhole. The same cycles of despair and mystery, repeating endlessly with no hope of escape. But Mrs. Rayes was bound to this town by something deeper than logic, something Sammy had never understood.

"I'm not here to argue, Mom. I did all of this for you and Sarai," he said, his voice softening as he revealed the true depth of his feelings.

"But-"

The dinner dragged on, tension lingering in the air. But by the end, Sarai had her answer.

They were leaving. Sammy knew his mother's weakness-her love for her children-and he had played it to his advantage.

Sarai packed her bags that night, her belongings sparse: a few clothes and her sketches.

Her art was her escape, a way to capture the world she couldn't express in words-the soft snow, the lovely lilies, the magnificent mountains, and the vibrant valleys. And then there were the nightmares. Always the nightmares. She dreamt of a boy, a boy so familiar, yet distant, haunting her sleep.

"Ah, who's this?" Sammy teased, snatching away one of her sketches. "Looks like a boy you had a crush on!"

Sarai rolled her eyes and continued packing.