The One He's Not

Taking on the Town & Unexpected Visitors

Taking on the Town & Unexpected Visitors

KAT

Aubrey and I walked down the worn down dirt path of the Lowlands and all I could think about was what have I gotten myself into?

After we had finished breakfast that morning, Aubrey demanded that I showered and I strongly agreed with her. She lent me one of her few dresses in which she had sewn herself (I'd say, that's amazing handiwork for someone who looks like she's about to pop) and then after I was cleansed from the inch layer of dirt that had built up on my skin, Aubrey and I ventured out into her front garden to pick some fresh flowers for her kitchen table.

Noel and Dean had left to get fire wood, but soon came back while Aubrey and I were still outside. Dean just smiled and waves at us while Noel, being the mysterious character that he is, just stared at me. At first, he wore his usual scowl, but then his lips melted into something more: A smile. And it was decent and sincere.

Not wanting to be rude, I smiled back at him, thinking nothing of it, until I thought to myself, Asshole Noel, smiling at me? It must be a dream.

I then laughed to myself about how ironic my thought really was.

Following Noel and I's weird exchange, Aubrey and I started to head towards the closest (and only) village that was in the area. On this walk, Aubrey had explained to me that the village was a place where most people lived and also sold their merchandise like produce, which was very rare in these parts, and other resources like cloth and cotton. We had been walking for five minutes until my internal worry broke the silence.

"Won't people in the village look at me funny?" I asked, while kicking a pile of dirt on the edge of the worn down path. "They'll obviously know I'm not from around here."

Aubrey waved a lazy hand at me while gently rubbing her belly. "It's going to be fine. Everyone in the square will be busy getting ready for the town festival anyways."

I nodded my head warily and looked down at my feet. I had no clue what this festival was that Aubrey was talking about, but thank goodness that she seemed to read my mind because I knew I wouldn't have the guts to ask.

"Every year, the people around our area have this festival in the village square. Think of it as a party, but on a lower budget," Aubrey joked. "It is an annual festival that we have to celebrate life and another year lived. When you think about it, it's kind of a downer, but it's nice when everyone can get together and celebrate."

"Isn't that just like New Years?" I questioned.

Aubrey laughed. "Well, you could say that, but the day of the festival is actually an important date. It's the day that we found the portals to your side and also the day we found out that teleporting even exists. I guess you could think of it as a 'second New Years' if you really wanted to."

I laughed with her and nodded my head.

Personally, I felt that Aubrey's way of life was so different from mine that we could have been from two different planets; universes even. In my world, I woke up and had a gourmet breakfast while here in the Lowlands, they just had whatever they could find. In the Lowlands, they celebrated life while in Payne's Landing, life was wasted away by looking at antique curtains and over the top wedding cakes for unwanted weddings. Everything is Payne's Landing practically screamed 'look at me, look at me' while here in the Lowlands, one look at the stars or the forests made you just want to breathe in and say nothing at all.

While I was here, limping around on these worn away crutches, all I wanted to do was stare at a tree or do something as simple as sit down and relax. Back at home, I was never allowed to do such things because I always had so many other things and people to worry about. Relaxing wasn't even an option.