Zing! (Complete)

Chapter 2: The talk

Elisabeth ran through the forest faster than she ever thought she could until she came to the cliff she had almost fell off at age 10. She spotted a climbing rope slipping over the edge of the cliff. Dropping the basket, she grabbed the rope and dug her heels in. "Oomph." The person on the other end stopped free falling and hung there like an unwound yo-yo. With all her might, Lis started to pull the person up until a hand appeared over the ledge. She scooted forward, keeping the rope tight as she did, until she could grab the hand. He's lighter than he looks.

The hand belonged to a young man, a few years younger in looks than Lis, with a lot of red, curly hair. The man wore an orange long sleeve shirt under a yellow soccer jersey, beige shorts, and blue and green sneakers. "Thanks, dude."

Elisabeth looked at this boy like he was crazy. She had just saved this guys life! "If I hadn't been taking the long way home then no one would have heard you! I just saved your life and all you can say is 'Thanks, dude!'"

"Sorry, dude. No one has ever had to save me before."

"Whatever. Come with me. I know a place where you can rest and eat." Lis picked up her basket and started so walk down the small unused path that led out o the forest and to the main path. "What is your name?"

"Jonathan Calley. Most people call me Johnny." He responded sounding distracted. "You?"

"I am Elisabeth Kaddy. Everyone calls me Lis."

"Cool. Can I call you Lizzy?"

Lis stopped for a moment. "Sure but I'm surprised you even want to talk to me. I don't exactly fit in here."

"You're the most awesome person I've ever met! They just don't understand."

My god, this guy get me! "Thanks... I guess..." Lis starts walking again. "Come on. I have meat and fruit to get back to the inn."

They walked quickly down the path to the inn. When they got to the inn Lis put her apron on and took Johnny's order. "What do you want?

"Ham sandwich and water, please." He said in the most sophisticated voice he could.

Is he making fun of me for being a waitress? Lis wrote the order down and took it to Mr. Lane. Lis then sat across the table from Johnny since no one else was there. "So... Why are you in Transylvania?"

"I like to travel. In fact I just came from an old burnt castle called Castle Lebeau. Those are some cool ruins with a pretty awesome legend around it." The bell went off that said Johnny's order was ready.

Lis got up with a sigh and got the sandwich and water. She handed him the sandwich and water before sitting back down. "You're so lucky. So you travel all the time, then? You must meet a lot of people."

"Yeah. You meet a lot of people when you travel. Never meet anyone like you before though. Do you travel?"

"Not really." She lied. She left the country every ten years and headed to some other continent for forty years so her everlasting youth wouldn't be so noticeable. "I lost most of the will to explore when I almost fell off the same cliff you ended up free falling from today. Only I was in the dark with broken glasses and I was ten."

"You mean the cliff on the edge of the haunted forest?" Lis jumped as Mr. Lane spoke.

Seeing where this conversation was going Lis grabbed a cloth and a bucket of cleaning water and started to spot mop the floor. Man, he tracked a lot of dirt in here. Her thought process was interrupted by the sound of a grown man crying. He must be telling Johnny about the people who have never come back from the old forest. Lis moved on to the tables.

CLICK! Jonathan's phone camera snapped a picture of Mr. Lane crying. Johnny then turned to Lis and took a picture of her smiling as she cleaned the table beside his. "Cool, man! You're glowing purple in this picture!"

Oh no! At least I show up... "Yeah... that happens sometimes. It's the paleness of my skin. You only really notice it in pictures."

"Awesome. So Lizzy do you want to go explore the old forest with me?"

This shocked not only Lis but also Mr. and Mrs. Lane. Lis recovered faster than Mr. and Mrs. Lane. "I-I guess," she stuttered. Looking to Mr. and Mrs. Lane for a proper answer, or excuse, she said, "I-If it's okay with you guys."

Mr. Lane just sobbed harder and Mrs. Lane just nodded.

"Great. I'll be back in ten minutes." Lis ran upstairs to get ready.

She tied the long sleeve over shirt around her waist. "Mom! Dad! Guess what just happened!" Her mom and dad took a seat on Elisabeth's bed. "Johnny invited me to go explore the forest with him. Where is my travel pack?"

"Closet, dear." Elisabeth's mom stood and grabbed her daughter's shoulders, stopping Lis in her tracks. "Sweetie, we love you. I hope you find your zing soon though. Another ten years and we'll be forced to crossover to another side unless we reincarnate before that. We won't be coming on this trip with you. We'll come if you call for us. But only if you really need us." She then hugged her daughter.

Lis didn't know how to respond. Her mind was flooded with questions. Why didn't they tell me this before? Is she talking about Johnny or someone else? What is a 'zing'? Lis wasn't sure where to start so she said the most prominent question in her mind. "What's a 'zing'?"

"We never told her about the zing!" Elisabeth's dad jumped up and sat his daughter on the bed. "Zing means to fall instantly in love. It means that you, and your zing, are in love, and have that special 'spark'. No matter what you only zing once in your life, and when you do, you'll know instantly. Do you understand?" Lis didn't reply. "We'll leave you to think. It's a pretty big deal and a lot to take in so we'll give you time." Elisabeth's mother and father left and went back to the graveyard.

"Well that was... intense...? I think...?" Lis said slowly, still confused.

She got up and took her travel bag out of the closet. She put in a few shirts, pants, and other clothing items. A little spooked, Lis continued packing. Her mind was perfectly blank. She automatically packed her bag. She had packed and moved so many times that it had become muscle memory. Lots of bug spray and sunscreen, a jacket, the few things she had in the mini fridge that acted as her night stand, some older shoes, a black dress, a red dress, plenty of batteries, and a flash light, all went into the pack. Being immortal could be a major pain in the side. She was no longer numb to the world and instead her brain was working overtime so that she couldn't focus on anything. Looking to see that she had everything she noticed the little bottle of stuff her dad had given her. She picked it up and put it back into the box her dad had given it to her in. She then put it into her pack and headed back down stairs, her pack on her back.

Mr. Lane had stopped crying and was shaking Johnny's hand. "Good luck."

Lis hugged Mr. and Mrs. Lane, who had both started crying now, and headed towards the door. "You coming, Johnny?"