Puddles

Chapter 7: A Wild Sister Hunt +

 Brian woke up first. Caleb stirred, opened his eyes, and immediately scoured his surroundings. Vicky was nowhere in sight.

I hope she didn't get lost, thought Brian.

Great. Now Mom's gonna blame me, was Caleb's selfish thought. But he joined his brother in shouting for his sister. Vicky was so little; she couldn't have gone far. 

Right?

~ ~ ~ ~

Snap! Vicky turned around, frightened at the crack of a twig. Was someone watching her? Maybe the monsters under her bed had followed her. But nothing was there. A few stirred leaves floated silently to the carpeted forest, rustling against their fellows. Ok, Vicky. Pull yourself together. Its just your imagination, just hearing things..... find Erin soon. Vicky kept walking, more often tripping, but her legs were so tired. She just wanted to sit down on that little rock over there. Nice and shady. Just a few minutes. No, keep walking. The more you rest, the farther away she gets.

But what about the boys? Brian and Caleb would certainly be looking for her now.

They'll find you. Keep going. Left foot, right, left, right...Each leg seemd to come down heavier than the last, falling heavily with the setting sun. The light seemed to tint everything pink. Or was that simply her mind playing games again?

 A small hut with no door and one window appeared to jump into her path. Vicky blinked rapidly, driving the blurriness from her gaze. Hoping to see another person, she walked up the small steps and into the house. A small fire, which gave off a surprisingly large amount of heat, burned directly in front of the door. A simple table and one chair stood solemnly beside the fire, their shadows dancing spitefully on the plain oaken wall. A man materialized out of the darkness, strode quickly over to Vicky, and grabbed her arm. A worn hand pushed her roughly into a chair. Vicky stood back up just as quickly and took a hesitant step backward.

"It's not nice to push people. You should know that."

"Sit, sit!" The man ignored her reprimand and instead approached her with his hands nearly reaching the low ceiling. "Please. We have a great deal to discuss." The man stared pleadingly at Vicky. She nodded slowly, shocked as she realized this person wanted company as badly as she did. "So, wh-"

"I shouldn't tell you that; you're a stranger." Vicky unconsciously put as much spittle into that last word as she could muster.

"Actually," the stranger drew out the word like molasses, eyeing her confusedly, "I meant to ask you what your favorite flower is, this one," he whipped out a sunny flower, "or that one," pointing to a wilting silvery-blue one wilting in a jar on the table.

Vicky sat dumbfounded in her chair, still attempting to comprehend his question. "You want me to..."

"Yes, please. You must understand, of course, the utmost importance of this decision."

"Well, if it is truly an emergency, I suppose I would choose......" Vicky tilted her head slightly, pondering the two plants. "If the blue one weren't so.....dead, I would choose it. Do you have a healthier one?"

"No," came the concise, almost cheerful answer.

"In that case, I still choose the blue one."

"And why, pray tell, do you choose a dead plant rather than a living, beautiful flower, something that will certainly impress guests?"

"Its your party, first of all, and I believe the flower brings something of its own to the atmosphere, a nice antique feel to things. Old doesn't mean ugly, sir."

The man sighed heavily, and returned the sunny one to its hidden compartment somewhere behind him. Vicky watched the replacement with curiosity, still puzzled as to the vital importance of her choice. "Sir, if we've finished this business, I need to ask-"

"Would you like to come to the party then?"

"Ummm.... no, but if you-"

"But you must understand, only a select few are coming. This is a special opportunity!"

Only then did Vicky notice the odd look in the man's eyes, like someone struggling to do something, but without the ability to do so. Vicky tried to cover her hesitation with a question. "How many people were invited?"

"One."

"And how many are coming?"

"One, if you accept."

"I see." The little girl slouched in her chair. It dawned on her that this man was absolutely bonkers, and would most likely be of no help to her. "Well, it has been nice, but I must decline your invitation, sir. I.....have another appointment."

The hurt look in his eyes had no effect on the hardened heart of the girl in the purple dress. Vicky would find Erin, even if she had to march all the way to Russia. "Yes, well, I'm looking for...someone."

"Oh, how exciting; a hunt!"

"Now, I wouldn't call it a hunt. More like a search."

Vicky had his full attention. "For whom?"

How much did she want to tell this man who seemed to materialize out of the darkness? But he looked nice enough, despite his rugged clothing. And that also meant he might be able to help Vicky in her quest. In storybooks, raggedy clothes is a sign of an adventurous person. "And everyone knows adventurousness means experience." Erin used to say odd things like that at quite random times; Vicky treasured the queer phrases.

"My sister. And, now my brothers, unless they didn't fall in...." Vicky trailed off in her own strange thoughts.

"Pardon?"

"Frankly, I don't know. It WAS a puddle. But then... Oh never mind. What matters now is finding all of them."

"Of course. Maybe you can come next year."

"Yes, well I must be going." Vicky pushed back her chair and made for the door, head held high.

"Wait!"

Vicky halted.

"You'll need...help."

"Can you give it?"

"Perhaps. If you give something in return."

"Of course. Anything! Whatever you want. As long as we find my siblings."

"Your top piece."

"Excuse me?" Vicky looked up. "Ohhhhh. You mean my hat. Well....."

"You said-"

"Of course. Here you are." Vicky handed her Raiders cap to the tall man, who's hair she now noticed was coal black and curly. The man adjusted the small hat, placed it on his poof of hair, and then nodded approvingly.

"Yes. Yes, this will do. Alright then, let us be off!"

"Have you already packed?"

"My dear, adventure is never far off. One must always be prepared. Shall we?" In half a step he was by the fire. He turned holding a short staff of sturdy oak. "You'll need this."

"Thank you. Would you like me to carry anything?"

"Quite alright. I don't carry much." And with that, he was out the door and onto a different path that led into thicker woods.

"Sir?" the girl called out after several moments, hurrying to catch up with those long strides.

Without turning around the man called back, "Yes ma'am."

"What shall I call you? You do have a name, right? People still have names here?"

A stray ray of golden light filtering through the tree tops smiled on the man's young face. He closed his deep sea green eyes and he seemed to absorb the dying sun. "I suppose most people do have names, as a general rule. Do I? I am not entirely sure. Although I must say I have always admired the name 'Damian.'

"It has a nice ring to it."

"Yes. Yes it does." 

And with that, the delusional duo set off in search of the missing.