Life and other Disasters

11. The third sister

The white lady looked curiously at Ava as if she was a small animal, waiting for Ava to answer her question.

The mist surrounded the women. Ava wanted to trust the stranger, but something was unnerving about her. Not that anything or anyone who she had encountered here was normal, she thought to herself.  

Ava stared back at the woman, looked at her pale face. Ava remembered something Beth had said, that there were more beings like her. The only similarity Ava could spot between Beth and the pale woman was the lantern. This woman looked like Beth, like a snowflake resembled a cinder. Ava remembered Beth's warmness and how she had watched over her when they walked through the mist. This white woman looked at Ava like she was a medical experiment, an anomaly, or worse. The woman stared at her as if Ava shouldn't be here. 

Even the lantern was different from Beth's; its light was a pale ice-cold glow and could barely enlighten their surroundings. Ava had to get closer to the woman to be in the protective circle of light.

Ava felt her cheeks turn red as the woman was taking her in, raising an eyebrow, still waiting for her answer to her question.

Finally, Ava took a breath. "I'm Ava," she said, barely audible.

The woman hummed to acknowledge Ava's answer, nodding as if Ava had just confirmed what she already knew.

"Are you here all alone?" she asked, still not introducing herself. 

"Did she forget?" Ava wondered, "or didn't she care at all?"

Ava hesitated. Was she going, to tell the truth, or would she pretend David was still around? Maybe the last option was saver, pretending that she wasn't all by herself out here, that someone was looking out for her. That the old lady shouldn't be thinking about hurting her, because David would come and save her for whatever ill intend the lady had.

The eyes of the woman were of the palest blue Ava had ever seen - the blue of ice, of glaciers, of midwinter frost. They made her feel unnerved as if this woman would right see through her and her lies, and she wasn't one to mess with. She didn't dare to lie.

Ava nodded slowly. It was the truth. In the end, she was all alone.

"But there was someone else." The woman's bold statement took Ava by surprise. She squinted her eyes, looking at Ava as if the truth was written on her skin. "Where is he now?"

How did she know about David? Ava felt all defiant and wanted to answer the woman that if she already knew there had been someone else, she probably knew as well where he was right now. What was her business with her friend, anyway? 

"It's dangerous to be alone out here," the woman said. A warning lay in her words, and where Ava had felt protective about David at first, another feeling crept in.

What if the woman was their only hope out here? What if she just wanted to save them both?

She was about to give the woman an answer, but before she could say anything, a sound in the mist interrupted her. It was the sound of a thousand leaves rustling that filled the air. Something moved in fast on the two women, and without thinking twice, Ava grabbed the woman's arm.

The rustling became louder and louder until it wasn't rustling anymore. Ava looked around and saw a grey shadow coming from above, moving in on them. A figure landed on the woman's shoulder. Two yellow eyes stared right into Ava's, the animal opened its beak and let out a long yell.

A giant bird had landed on the woman's shoulder. It was a white owl, slowly turning its head, staring straight at Ava with its yellow eyes. It was an impressive animal, far bigger than Ava had ever seen, but to be true, she had only seen owls in zoos. This bird was a wild animal, although it had landed out of its free will on the woman's shoulder.