5:45 PM,
Thursday,
23rd November 1989,
Interstate Highway,
St Casper City,
Babylonia, Novus Stellar
She looked at her watch. It was a quarter to 6 PM.
"Phew, finally I'm on the right route. Turducken and beers! Here I come!"
She was finally on her way out of the city. Traffic was already building up by the time she left her office. Her prayers had been answered when her editor decided to go with the '100 years old witch' story. She had been writing for as long as she can remember. From essay competitions in her school days to winning short stories competitions, Felicity was on her way to writing successful novels. But as fate would have it, it wasn't that easy to get your work published. Other than that, she was yet to find her true calling in writing something that would truly stand out from the rest.
"I want something different. I want to be different," thought Felicity.
It wouldn't be surprising that her favorite authors would include the likes of Stephen King and Ray Bradbury. She wasn't much of a 'Sweet Valley High' fan.
"Just because you're a girl, doesn't mean you're into mushy stuff. At least not all time." Felicity would usually laugh whenever she recalled that thought.
One of her work entitled, "The Lost Insignia", caught the attention of the editor at the "Diorama" magazine. They were looking for a writer for a new column called "Creepy Spaghetti". As funny as it sounds, it was a family magazine after all and the new column was meant for kids. Her job was to carefully select submitted 'ghost' stories before editing it for proper presentation. Some of them would call, especially those who were not keen on writing. As easy as that may sound, her editor was not an easy man to please or even to deal with but the compensation was rather good even though she had to move all the way out to St Casper City. She was in a desperate need for a job and until something better comes along, this was all she had. As random thoughts were floating through her mind, she forgot to turn on the radio.
"No wonder it felt like I just drove through a graveyard." It wouldn't be surprising for her to have a dark sense of humor as well and laughing at her own jokes while she was at it.
"Sweet dreams are made of this..Who am I to disagree?..I travel the world...And the seven seas..Everybody's looking for something."
She wasn't really paying at attention to the song being played on the radio as she was at the road. She was trying to make sure that she was still on the right track. It had been at least 2 years since she missed her Thanksgiving dinner due to her work. As much as she hated it, she had to show some dedication to her boss. She wasn't about to become jobless again. Slowly but surely, she saw a sign coming up on the side of the road.
"Route 79, oh yeah."
She was almost celebrating like a racer that just won a race. Both sides of the road were covered in either plains of trees. As darkness fell on the road towards Eden, she turned on her headlamps. Karen, her best friend since high school who also happened to be working and living in St Casper City, would usually accompany her home but ever since she got married, it was a solo trip for Felicity from there onwards. There were a couple of stops on her 2.5 hours journey to Eden but she really wanted to make it there by 8.30 PM, just in time for the celebration. She checked her watch again.
"6.45 PM. Ok."
If anything, she was more afraid of getting sleepy throughout the trip. She can only hope that the coffee she had earlier was enough to keep her awake and sane. The trip was rather smooth with barely any traffic from both directions. The thoughts of home cooked meal and alcoholic beverages filled her mind when suddenly, she saw something by the side of the road.
"What the hell.."
Felicity was thinking twice before she decided to slow down and eventually stopped. She immediately turned her head around and checking both front and side mirrors as well. She could have sworn she saw someone or something by the side of the road.
"Did I just saw someone in a robe by the road?" thought Felicity while trying to make sense of the situation.
Aside from the fact that she just saw a figure wearing a full on druid-like robe on the side of the road, there was nothing there when she turned around. Only a dusty and lonely stretch of road going in either directions. She checked again. Still, nothing.
"And to think I haven't had my beers. Oh well, it's better than being sleepy I guess."
Her attention returned to the road ahead as the car began to move forward again. She can't help but think about what she might have seen about less than a mile back.
