Life and other Disasters

12. The waterfall

 Something brushed Ava's face.  She waved her hand, to stop whatever was touching her. 

"Just a little bit longer, mom," she said, turning over one more time, trying to catch some more sleep.

Her mom didn't stop, and the tickling continued.

Annoyed Ava tried to wipe it away, but her mother didn't want to leave her alone. She opened her eyes, ready to give her mother a grumpy reply, but when the room came back into focus she didn't stare into her mother's face. 

Her mother didn't have yellow eyes and a sharp beak. Before she got over her first shock, the owl screeched right in her face. 

"Goodmorning to you too, Eggs," she said when her heart was beating its regular beat again. "Can I call you Eggs by the way?"

The owl pecked at her face as a reply.

"Okay, Eggy it is then, I guess." she said, as the owl cocked its head in approval.

She raised from her sleeping spot, stretched her limbs. To her surprise, she felt rested. Her bed for the night had only been a bench, and she was surprised she didn't have sore muscles.

The hut where she had to spend the night wasn't big, and there was no sign of Es. She was all alone, except for the owl, but she wasn't sure how happy she was with that. The owl appeared to be even grumpier than she was, urging her to get out of her make-shift bed, pecking her with its beak to make her move faster.

'Alright, alright," she said under her breath. "I'm moving already, you can stop hurting me."

Eggy stepped back, cocked its head and stared at her. Its eyes trying to pierce her soul, or at least, that's how it felt when she tried to straighten her clothes and make something out of her morning hair.

An old rickety table was decked with food, a basic breakfast. A simple home-baked bread, a flask of water, a small lump of butter, and some hard cheese, waiting for her to eat. It didn't have the fancy looks of the breakfast she had yesterday, with everything apples could provide, but it looked healthy and delicious and Ava took a small bite of the bread. It wasn't fresh, nor warm, but it was still good. It was everything she needed. She ate with concentration, not letting the owl rush her. That would be a waste of a good meal, she decided.

The breakfast couldn't have been more different than what she normally ate in the morning. She  would shove some candy bar in her face while drinking one of the sugar bombs they sell as coffee while running from one job to another.

With a pang of guilt, she remembered David, her only obligation in this world. Where would he be? He didn't have food at all, they all ate it yesterday, or did he have some left in his pocket? 

Sunlight was filtered through splints in the wood. It looked like the mist had cleared again and that it was a perfect day for a hike.

For a minute, Ava thought of walking back to the inn, where it was safe, where she knew she had a place to stay. There was no way that she would spend another night in the cabin. She never expected the tower to be this far away. 

"Where's Es?" she asked Eggy, feeling silly for talking to the owl, but she didn't know what to do else. The owl didn't say anything back, only a screech to urge her to eat faster. The bird hopped from one leg to another, as if he was anxious, as if he wanted her to start walking again.

"Aren't you supposed to sleep right now?" Ava started the conversation once more, remembering owls were nocturnal birds, hunting by night, sleeping by day.

"Who," the owl said.

"You," Ava answered, silently laughing at her silly joke. The owl didn't seem to find this funny at all, made a half jump, flapping its wings. It obviously had enough of her dallying around and it wanted her to move out of the cabin, pecking at the door several times. And so she finally did.

Sunbeams pierced her eyes. Eggy flapped incessantly around her head and every time she stood still, she could hear the animal almost sigh. It would dive down, its claws outstretched as if he wanted to drag her to wherever she had to go. 

Eggy didn't give her much rest. He coed to her, urging her to move a bit faster. On her right hand, she could see the tower. It was closer than ever, beckoning her to come. On the opposite side lay a dark forest, with a path that was more a track of mud. It was unappealing, but it would take her back to Liz and her inn.

She turned left to take the path back to where she came from, go back to the inn. Eggy didn't agree; he flapped his wings wildly, making it impossible to walk around him. Ava tried, but the owl picked her once or twice and when she finally turned around to continue her journey, he calmed down instantly.

The water of the river slosh against the banks. Weeping willows bowed over the water surface. The other side of the river was obscured by the mist and a shiver ran down her spine when she saw it. Was it still that early, she wondered, or was the land on the other side different than where she walked now? Eggy didn't give her much time to think about it and in his impatient fashion he urged her on.

The water of the river was wild but clear. Curiously Ava bowed over the stream, wondering if she could spot any fish.  She could she water plants flowing on the bottom but got the scare of her life when she saw a body floating through their green tendrils. The face of the person was as white as a sheet and when Ava stuck out her hand to help the person out, it grabbed her hand and tried to pull her under. Ava managed to wring her hand free. After that Ava stayed away from the river as far as possible.

In the distance she saw a ferryman, steering his boat to the other side of the river. He was accompanied by a wild barking dog. Ava had to rub her eyes because she thought the dog had three heads.

When she reached the cabin of the ferryman, there was a sign placed at the door. It read "done for today, come back tomorrow". Ava sighed, but Eggy was restless, trying to get moving again. Ava had thought Eggy wanted her to go to the ferryman and was surprised he still wanted her to get moving.

She walked on and the river became wilder and wilder until it finally fell down in a big waterfall. It was beautiful and Ava was in awe of the forces of nature. Rainbows were everywhere, small water drops creating a veil of mist. When she looked down, she saw a small figure, standing on a rock ready to dive in. 

She recognised immediately who it was: David.

The water was a lot calmer where he wanted to jump in, but Ava hadn't forgotten the scare she got earlier by the monster in the water. 

"David, wait!"Ava yelled, "don't jump!"

David didn't turn around, as if he hadn't heard her. Slowly he bowed his knees. She had only seconds to warn him.

"David," she tried one last time, but she already knew what the problem was. Her voice got drowned by the sound of the waterfall. She could scream all she wanted, scream on the top of her lungs, leaving her lungs and throat in pain, but David still didn't hear her. With the bitter taste of defeat, she realised he never would, not with the waterfall roaring with all its force. 

With a graceful jump David dove into the water. 

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