Paper Wings

-Seven-

Valerie begins to climb the steps as I slowly make my way down.

"Adelaide, Harvey's making potato's tonight. Is that okay with you?" She asks.

I nod and force a smile. "Sounds great, thanks," I say quietly.

I squeeze past her to the living room. "Would you like to meet Harvey?" Valerie says.

"Sure."

"Harvey!" She calls without any ill intention; probably the kindest yell I've ever heard.

He emerges from the kitchen with a wide grin, showing off a set of gleaming teeth. He has dark hair that rests just above his ears. His eyes are green, like his mother's. The resemblance shocks me. They could almost look like sister and brother.
He's holding a cooking spoon, so he was clearly in the middle of something when Valerie called him.

"Hey, Mom," he says. "Who's this?"

"This is Adelaide," she replies.

"Ah, so this is Adelaide." He reaches out with his empty hand and shakes mine. His handshake is firm, but gentle, like Chelsea's. I catch myself looking away and I try not to let the tears fall. I force myself to turn back around.

"Nice to meet you," I say quietly.

"You, too," he replies as he heads back to the kitchen.

Valerie looks at me. "If you want, you can go explore the farm. There's quite a lot you have yet to see."

"Alright, thank you," I tell her as I almost sprint out the door.

Once I'm outside I look around. To my left the horses still graze peacefully. On my right there's a small trail that leads into the woods. I decide to follow it.

The trail is just cleared off dirt, but it's easy enough to follow as I make my way from the farm. The trees surrounding me are mostly oak and pine, but I see some birch and maple scattered every couple feet.

I reach a clearing with a huge rock at the edge of it.
It looks easily climbable, and the pine tree next to give it gives plenty of shade. Before I second guess myself, I find my legs taking me to the boulder and swiftly climbing up.

When I'm at the top I slowly turn around. From this height, I can see the whole forest and farm with one angle. I can even see a serene river in the distance. I thought the place was beautiful earlier, but this makes the whole experience magnify. Right now, I can't think of anything more beautiful than this sight right here.

"Adelaide!" It's Valerie's voice. I can see her on the porch from here. "We have dinner ready!" She looks like an ant from the top of the rock. I climb down the side of the rock and run back to the old farmhouse. I decide to keep the rock view to myself, just for now. I'm not ready to share it with anyone, not quite yet.