The Fall Of Eden

Chapter 1- Be careful what you wish for

I am a dreamer, a roofless thinker. Ever since I was a little girl, I believed. I believed that this world holds more than the eyes can see. I believed in deep emotions, especially love, which I discovered was the biggest mystery of all.

I couldn't wait to grow up and meet someone who would give me the ever-elusive butterflies in my stomach. I was longing for that pull, that electric feeling that would make me gravitate toward another person, where I would mindlessly drift and give all I had. Some say I wore my heart on my sleeve. But what did I know? A girl dreams of finding her Prince Charming because all those fairytales told her that's what princesses get. Funny, isn't it?

I grew up, and the world looked different. I saw relationships break up, people give up, trust disappear, and magic cease to exist. I learned that what we see is what we get. To me, people seemed confused. Grown-ups didn't have all the answers, and as for Prince Charming, well, he wasn't so charming after all. It was like looking for a drop in a pool of water: Boys came, boys went, and so did disappointment.

I just couldn't wrap my head around why things were as they were. Maybe most of my childish thoughts were gone, but my curiosity never went away. I wanted to understand. I wanted to know the world and why things happened the way they did.

"I have to stop thinking so much." I sighed. I was standing in front of a fountain in a park. It was the middle of the night, and I was celebrating my brithday with a half-filled bottle of Jack. What's a girl to do? I had left the party, left my friends, and came here in my overly tipsy state.

The night had a certain clarity and a peaceful feeling to it. I looked up to the fountain, whose water burst upwards from the concrete in a healthy stream before gravity pushed it back down to the depths of reality. I raised my bottle to the fountaing. "Cheers!" I took another swig of the whiskey, scrunching up my face as the liquid burned down my throat.

Why do I drink this stuff? God only knows. Actually, I heard he's more of a wine guy, so maybe not.

That thought made me giggle. I am a funny drunk. I laughed louder. "Funny." I kept laughing to myself, which made me sway from side to side. Not the whiskey I'd already imbibed, but the laughing. I tripped on my feet and was nearly on the ground when I looked down.

"Ooh! A coin! My precious." I picked up the coin and studied its design. Honestly, I saw two coins in my hand, but it gave me an idea!

I glanced at the fountain again, a goofy smile spreading across my face as I thought about all those silly movies with fountains in them. I held the coin close to my heart, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath."I wish to know all the deepest secrets in the world, discover myself, and find Magic. Yes, I wish for Magic, and if a unicorn isn't too much to ask for, I wouldn't mind one of those either."

I threw the coin. It plopped as it hit he water, sinking straight to the bottom. The water seemed to caress the coin, holding it lovingly in a cocooning embrace. Oh, what the hell! I took another swig of the liquor and had one foot hovering over the edge of the fountain when someone clearing their throat behind me caused me to pause.

Surprised and shocked, I whipped around, clutching the bottle to my chest for dear life. My eyes went wide and my mouth dropped open.

"As much as I've enjoyed the show so far, I don't think that getting into the fountain would be the best idea. You'd not only get wet and probably freeze, but it's common knowledge that drunk people like yourself piss in them-unless that was your plan? In that case, I don't judge." His confident smirk was disarming, to say the least, and I stood there, like the idiot that I am, not knowing what to do with myself.

"Not that I was planning on doing anything inappropriate in that fountain," I mumbled, trying to gather my thoughts. His dark hair, blue eyes, full lips, and tall stature weren't what made my thoughts scatter. It was his smugness that made me even more unsteady in my inebriation, as if he knew something nobody else did. I blurted, "Are you one of those creepy dudes who sneak up on people and watch?"

I slapped myself mentally. I needed to stop drinking. He didn't look creepy at all. If anything, he looked sincere. Smug, but sincere. Hot and mysterious, but sincere.

He laughed, and I finally relaxed, letting my foot drop back to the ground. I tried to at least look a tad decent and maybe recover some of my lost dignity.

"No, I'm one of those 'dudes' that want to keep pretty girls like you from making stupid drunken choices. Unless they do me, but that's a different story." He winked. "I'm no unicorn, sorry to disappoint. Tonight you can call me your hero-or Blake. Of course, I prefer Hero, but it's up to you." He tilted his head, offering a lopsided smile.

"Excuse me, but stopping a girl-a.k.a. me-from climbing into a fountain can hardly be classified as the act of a hero, so Blake it is. I'm Scarlet." I decided it was only polite to introduce myself.

"Scarlet." He gave me an approving look. "It suits you. So tell me, Scarlet, is this some hobby of yours?" He waved his hands around, gesturing to the situation.

"Pfffffft...no." My face burned as I wondered if I'd overemphasized the word "no." I shrugged. "I just felt like coming here tonight."

It was all I could manage to explain. We stood facing each other. There was something about this guy that was a bit weird, but exciting. It made me instantly like him. I was curious. I wanted to know more about him.

Luckily I remembered that it's not normal to ask strangers to divulge their entire life story within 4 minutes of first meeting them. Instead, I settled for a simpler question. "What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

He leveled his intense gaze at me for several moments before answering. "I'm on my way to a meeting."

I frowned. He was messing with me. Who would hold a meeting this late-what was it, two? Three in the morning?

As if reading my mind, he looked at his watch. "I'm running a little late. I have to go. It was nice meeting you, Scarlet. Take care on your way home." A sexy smile tugged at the corners of his lips, like he was flirting, but his eyes were truthful and sincere. They meant every word.

He was already walking away from me when my brain finally sent a signal to my mouth, and in a rush I blurted, "OK, bye."

He'd been gone for several minutes, but I was still standing dumbstruck beside that stupid fountain with that stupid bottle in my hand. I decided I'd been silly enough for one night. It was time to go home.

I left the park and was walking on a slippery mud path, which was not easy in my tipsy state. But it was a shortcut to my house, so why not? I was halfway home before I remembered to check my phone. Knowing my friends were probably a bit worried since I'd left the party without actually telling anyone, I decided to text them to reassure them that I am okay.

Suddenly, I heard a sound coming from a nearby building-an abandoned house-turned-monastery they remodeled a couple of months back. The sound seemed like a sort of singing or chanting, but I wasn't sure. Curious, I decided to take a closer look.

I walked up to the house. One of the main doors was slightly ajar, just enough for me to peek inside. The place was dark, but candles were lit inside. I saw six people standing in a circle. They were dressed in black robes, like something a monk would wear. I couldn't see their faces as their heads were bent down in what looked like deep concentration. They were chanting in a different language. Latin? Hebrew? I didn't know. I'd barely passed my English exams.

The people inside snapped their heads up as they lifted their arms into the air while continuously making a humming-like sound. Startled, I fell into the door, then jumped back, pulling the door with me. All eyes turned toward me as I stood in the doorway, stunned.

I gasped, realizing that I had forgotten to breathe. How could I? I found myself staring into the same eyes I had looked into earlier by the fountain.

Blake.

His gaze bored into mine. Surprise crossed his face, followed by intensity. Neither of us said anything. I finally did the only logical thing I could think of. I ran home.

© Copyright by FallenAngel128

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Thanks to TinHoverCarInIce for the proofreading of this chapter! You're absolutely brilliant!