Path to Starry Pool (MAJOR EDITING)

Chapter Fourteen: The Tree

A week had passed since that day. Astoria had grown very quiet, and her thoughts consumed her. She was following Chin-Hae's advice, always being in the back and never in the center. She stayed low, never demanding attention. School had become a hit and run. It was go to classes, only talk if necessary, and avoid all people. It had become extremely lonely, but for Astoria, it wasn't much different than before.

Astoria sat on a thick tree branch. It was her favorite spot to be, up in a tree close to the Ice Creek. Her legs dangled in the air, and she sighed. She opened her mouth and closed it around the small lollipop in her hand, and looked behind her. IceCreek looked much bigger than when she had first moved into the town. Her eyes dropped to the grass below her.

She looked back up at the sky and gritted her teeth. It was pale, as the sun slowly sank below the horizon. Astoria wanted to see how Sara was feeling, but she felt that she really wasn't needed there. Astoria felt trapped in a pit of guilt. It's my fault that Sara is hurt, Astoria thought, watching the clouds as they drifted across the sky.

"What are you thinking about?" Astoria jumped a mile and looked around herself quickly.

She looked down below, and Chin-Hae was standing in the grass, his hands folded into his jean pockets. She relaxed her shoulders, letting out an airy sigh.

"Nothing," Astoria answered, removing the lollipop from her mouth. "What are you doing here?"

"I was getting something that Sara wants," Chin-Hae replied, looking up at Astoria with attentive eyes. "And you're here because...?"

Astoria began to slowly climb down the tree. "I don't know. I get bored."

Astoria dropped down from the tree and stood up. Chin-Hae paced toward her briskly, pulling the collar of his turtleneck sweater up as the air grown colder by the passing minutes. They stood for a few moments in silence, then Chin-Hae spoke again.

"It's like Sara always says..." The words rolled off of his tongue, as if he had said the same phrase many times. "There is a reason to everything, no matter the time, temperature, or weather. So tell me, why are you by the creek? Are you worried about something?"

Astoria gazed down at the lollipop in her hand. She didn't know how or whether to reply. She simply didn't seem to accept the fact that she was thinking about everything she wanted, her burden, the whole new world she was living in. She felt like a new person. Astoria's eyes slowly drifted upwards, then rested on Chin-Hae's face.

Astoria spoke truthfully, only a bit of the truth, but the most she could offer to a person with more knowledge than her. "I'm... worried about Sara. How has she been doing?"

Chin-Hae inhaled light, looking away from Astoria's heavy gaze. He looked much more tired than before, Astoria noticed, the usual bright glimmer in his eyes dull. Sara, He thought. I don't know what to say. She's... just...

Chin-Hae blew out a steady breath, and looked back up at Astoria. "Sara isn't feeling very well. She caught a cold, but she has been recovering well. She is quite confused though, and she only leaves her room for meals. She really wants answers, but I can't just tell anything."

Astoria's breath hitched. "Then why not just get it off your chest and tell me?"

"No," replied Chin-Hae, his dark gaze drifting upwards. "Someone may be watching. Someone who has to eliminate anyone who learns about what I know. You want to know the reason I'm not eliminated, Astoria?"

"Why?" Astoria asked, eager for more information.

"That's the thing," Chin-Hae shook his head, tapping his foot in frustration. "I cannot say, or you'll be eliminated."