Illinois [#wattys2016 Writer's Debut]

Chapter Nine

I awoke from my slumber to find myself back in my room as my head starts to ache slightly. This ache is such a nostalgic feeling. That feeling has gone a little numb since I arrived here in Sona.

I looked over to my window covered by the curtain. A little speck of light seeped through and it was bright enough to illuminate my room.

And in the far corner where a couch was placed slept a very tired Will. I almost jumped thinking it was a dead body. I walked over to him and inspected him.

He fell asleep as he was trying to write something in a small journal. His pencil was on the floor and his journal was near his abdomen. I swept the hair that was covering his face away and he looked as innocent as a child, snoring peacefully through the night.

I walked back to my bed, now remaining in a sitting position rather than going back to sleep. I wonder how mom and Cole are doing without me and all that. What about school? How many chapters and tests have I been missing?

To say this was stressful was an understatement. Every day in Sona was so swift, it didn't feel like I was missing anything.

I started to question myself ; why am I still here? I don't even know where my dad is and I'm not even sure if he's in Sona. What if I don't find him here and end up regretting my choices of staying?

I need something to tell me that I need to be here. Something other than my hunch.

If I go back to Earth and show my face to my mom, she will definitely not let me go back, or go anywhere out of anyone's watch for that matter. And if that's the plot, what if Dad was really not back at home? No one will go out there looking for him.

I decided to go outside and have a breather. I shuffled to my feet and walked towards to the double doors as I heard another shuffling from Will's corner.

He's up in a sitting position, rubbing his eyes. He bent down to get his pencil and put his little journal in his pocket. He then looks up at me with a confused look.

"Where are you going? You know it's," he looked over to the clock on the wall, "5 in the morning. And after our training and your little 'hike' from yesterday, I expect you to get a little more sleep."

"Yeah. I don't know. I just woke up and I can't go back to sleep, I'm worried about how things are going back at Earth. I thought I should get my mind of it and go for a walk instead, you know? To clear my head and all that."

Will's sleepy face turned into a sympathetic one. "Let's intensify our training, I'll find an archer to teach you and we'll go on a search the next day. How does that sound?"

I smiled at him. "Well, it's better than doing nothing, I guess."

"Great. See you at seven and we'll start our weilding practice."

I nodded and thanked him then reached for the door handle and started to walk to the garden I've never seen before, taking a small dagger Dustin had given me a few days ago.

There were glass double doors that led to the seemingly evergreen garden. I pushed them open and was shocked to find how light-weight they were. The smell of the morning fog greeted me and it was really relaxing.

The garden was really big and I followed one of the paths that supposedly weaves throughout the whole garden. Turns out that the garden was outlined by a wall and the path was spaced from it. A small bird fountain was located right in front of the entrance and surrounding it was something that looks like tulips.

I continued walking to find neatly planted flowers, all different species and colors. The diversity was makung everything look more enchanting then it already is. The morning fog kept everything translucent, showing just the right amount of beauty.