In The Tower

Chapter 6

(1 Week Left)

I look away from my calendar to look at Ash. He's lounging on the bed, waiting for me to get ready so we can go eat breakfast. He doesn't seem to be needing me at the moment, so I glance back at today's date. I mentally go back over what has been going on these past few weeks. Five weeks ago I flew again. Three weeks ago I met Theo. Two weeks ago I actually learned Theo's name.

I guess a lot can happen a lot in two weeks, let alone five. I can't even fathom what I would've done if I hadn't met Theo. He's become so much to me in so short a time. He's my only link to the outside world. Gross, my thoughts are getting all sappy.

Back to the calendar, there's only one week left until my 21st birthday. It's somewhat bittersweet: another year alive, but also another year in this tower. No gifts will be given to me; only Ash, me, and maybe Theo will celebrate. I haven't even told him when my birthday is. Should I tell him? Oops, my thoughts slipped back to Theo again.

"Hey, Ash?" I call behind me.

He perks up and looks at me. "What?"

"You ready to go eat?"

~~~~~

"Hurry up, Ash. I'm ready to go!" I shout down to him.

"I'm coming! My fur's all messed up!" he yells back, probably still sitting on my bed. I sit down and lean against the attic wall. All I want is to be able to go and see Theo. Also fly. Is that too much to ask?

I let my eyes wander around the room to pass the time. Boxes are stacked along the walls again. It took two days to move everything back up here and organize it. However, two boxes didn't make it back up to the attic. The two boxes I packed full of memories instead got set in a corner of my room. Tears threaten to fill my eyes, so I quickly leave those thoughts behind.

Most of the boxes after that first day were meaningless, except for some of my families things, so there wasn't anything really interesting happening. I did find some old books, though, that I put in the library. They look interesting, but I probably won't read them for a while.

"I'm here!" Ash pants once he reaches me. I ignore him and climb up into the roof. He scrambles after me. "Hey! You're the one that wanted to go. Don't ignore me!"

"Come on, Ash. Let's go!" I say while picking him up.

He struggles a bit and shouts at me, "Watch it! I just fixed my fur!" I giggle at him and start to lift off the ground. I don't hesitate in flying out to our grove. Theo's probably already waiting. He's always there early, even though he knows I can't leave before dark.

Ash is always quiet on the flights over there, mainly because he can't really be heard up here anyway. I savor it, as I know it won't last when we reach the ground. He doesn't always come to see Theo with me, but when he does, he's always extra annoying.

Speaking of the ground, I find myself needing to land, as our stop is almost directly below us now. I could just circle around and land normally, but that won't be any fun. So instead, I grip Ash tighter and fold in my wings. He lets out a loud scream as we plummet towards the dirt. I cut my dive shorter than usual so that he doesn't get too scared. Then I land softly on my feet and set him on the ground.

"Why, Serena? Why do you want to kill me? I enjoy life. I do not wish to die," Ash complains in a melodramatic tone.

"Shut your mouth; you're fine," I tell him as I walk into the trees in front of us. I hear Ash follow me, but I don't pay him any mind. My mind is focused on getting to Theo.

I reach the final few trees until the clearing and slow down. He's visible at this point, standing in the middle of the clearing. But he looks... Stressed. And worried.