Don't tell me bye bye (mystery/ thriller)

Chapter 13

I tuck my hands into my pockets as I wait for Rose at the opening of the woods. Each time the wind blows, the leaves on the tree tops seem to hush down on me, telling me to keep quiet. But I can't keep quiet, not after last night. I hardly saw Rose today but caught some time with her at lunch, and she suggested we meet here after school.

I peer at the clock on Big Betsy, then look up as I hear footsteps approaching. Rose is bounding towards me, waving her hand.

"You came!"

I frown at her. "Of course I came. I asked you if we could meet up. Why would I not come?"

"I don't know. I thought you'd want to avoid the woods after what happened with the horse."

I open my mouth to reply, but now she's reminded me of the horse, a little trail of goosebumps prickle along my arms, and I lose my voice. I'd managed to convince myself to pretend the incident had never happened, but with the bee as well? At least Namjoon was with me for the horse, so I know I didn't imagine it. I look at the plaster on the end of my finger and wonder if there is still a bloody mess underneath it.

"So why meet here then? Why couldn't we meet at Jimin's? Or at your house?" I ask her.

A smile so wide it's in danger of breaking out of her cheeks spreads across Rose's face, until she bites her lip and clasps her hands under her chin. She's almost dancing on the spot, and I can't help but smile as well.

"I want to show you something."

***

We must be more than half way through the woods now, and I'd be happy if we didn't come out the other side. The tree branches wave down at us, cheering us further along our path, scattering us with leaves and the occasional feather each time the wind hums through the woods. I feel like Rose and I are the only people on earth, surrounded by these brown giants, our very own protection from whatever's out there.

Pale light blinks through the trees and the river rushes along the bank as we get closer to the other side of the woods, so I'm not surprised when Rose signals our almost arrival.

"We're nearly there. You probably remember this part of Seoul from your first night here."

"The night someone tried to kill themselves in front of me?" I say, bobbing my head up and down. "Yeah, I think I remember that."

"It's just down here, in the opposite direction of the bridge where Tae was." Rose ignores my sarcasm and points down the river, but all I can see are more trees and a small wooden footbridge.

"I can't see where we're going," I say squinting across the river.

She grabs my wrist and pulls me towards the river. "Come on; you'll see it in a minute."

I keep looking down the river as we walk, until I finally see what Rose is pulling me towards. A building on the other side of the river, opposite the footbridge, but so well hidden that if Rose hadn't been with me I would have carried on walking and never known it was there.

Beams of wood criss cross the red brick, and a few tiny windows wink at me as they catch the reflection of the last of the day's sun. From the way it's positioned at the side of the river with part of its structure directly over the water I know exactly what it is. It's a watermill, obscured by willow trees lining the riverbank, hunching over the water like they're trying to creep up on their own reflections. It's really pretty, and as a white swan glides past with only its mirror image for company, I wish that I had my drawing stuff with me so I could plonk myself down, right here, and sketch this beautiful moment that only we get to see.