Rachel Riott (Preview)

Chapter 7

Ella continued down the street during the early morning hours. The sun overcame the mountains and illuminated the world with a golden shine. Turning around a corner, Ella stumbled upon a farmers market. It wasn't something she was used to seeing, let alone being a part of, but then again, she didn't know what she was used to anymore. Everything had been handed to her for so long. Without a second thought, she decided to wander in, as her eyes started window shopping. All the vendors were still setting up as she approached one tent that sold twisted metal jewelry.

Throughout her life, Ella was always a fan of handcrafted metal, mainly keeping an eye out for skulls or cryptic-looking symbols. She approached the table and looked through the displayed items, not even paying attention to the people running it. Looking closer, Ella pulled the sunglasses off her face and put one of the frame's arms down her shirt before picking out a couple of interesting necklaces and a unique bracelet. Then, suddenly, a voice filled her ears.

"Good morning, miss." The voice echoed from a young boy, who had caught her by surprise as she turned to look at him.

"Good morning," Ella said as cheerfully as possible, yet her voice shook since she wasn't good with kids. The silence between words allowed Ella to pick out two more things until the little boy spoke again.

"You have pretty hair; I like the black." He said as Ella awkwardly laughed to herself.

"I like the black too. Is it your favourite colour?" Ella asked, now trying her best to be friendly, as the boy shook his head.

"Nope, I like pink like that." He answered while now pointing directly at Ella.

Following the boy's finger, she looked at what he was pointing at and noticed her bra strap hanging out of her tank top. Sure enough, it was neon pink. Looking down at the ground, Ella started to blush from partial embarrassment while taking a deep breath before turning her attention back to the kid.

"Well, that's also my other favourite colour," She replied.

"You're very nice, ma'am. You should-"

"Thomas, who are you talking to?" The voice of an older woman around Ella's age interrupted the little boy. Then the second that followed, the woman stepped into the small tent with another box of jewelry in her hands.

"I'm talking to this nice lady. Her name is...umm, what's your name again?" He asked as Ella looked at his mother.

"My name's Ella, but you can call me El," she told them. In typical little kid fashion, he repeated it to his mother even though Ella was sure she had heard her.

Surprisingly, the woman hadn't even looked at Ella yet as she prepared her next display. It was another sign that this was a small town. Everyone likely knew each other or at least trusted one another, and she probably thought Ella was just another local. However, when the boy said Ella's nickname was El, it triggered something in the mother. She instantly stopped working on the display rack and spoke under her breath.

"I used to be best friends and roommates with a girl named El until one day, she suddenly disappeared." The lady replied while looking up from her work to face Ella. Upon seeing her face, Ella knew this person was also examining her. Something about her caused Ella's heart to skip a beat.

"Alli?" Ella asked with a questioning tone as the woman looked at her with the same dumbfounded stare.

"El?" She replied, and it was like they had been teleported back to the days when they were in school.

Ella couldn't stop her heart from thumping in her chest as she tried to shake off the sense of awe. It was hard to do since Alli's eyes were locked with Ella's, and years of repressed memories invaded Ella's head. All the old memories of what transpired started consuming any free space in her mind. Reminding her how much she once cherished her friendship with Allison until she broke her heart. With that being said, Ella's mouth started talking before her brain could tell her to stop.