Wake Me

Chapter Eleven

Dani remained folded over, fearing if she were to look up, she'd see glowing red eyes again.

"Are you hurt?" She heard a strangely familiar voice break the silence between her sniffles and whimpers.

Cautiously, she raised her head and opened her tear-filled eyes. The stranger, who'd lost his white dog, was standing a few feet from her. He lowered himself into a squatting position; beholding her with his pale sky-blue eyes.

"You're just scared." He whispered.

"Mister, I think your dog is seriously hurt. He saved my life from a—a scary, black wolf-like beast. I could be wrong, but he could be dead. And I'm sorry that I was too scared to follow after him." She managed to say between sobs.

Without breaking his eyes locked onto hers, his head slowly canted to the side, "You've seen my white dog and now you've seen a black beast?"

She wiped her nose on her coat sleeve before nodding. "Yeah."

He stood while looking over each shoulder before whistling.

Dani's eyes quickly filled with fresh tears, "He—he won't come to you cause he's probably dead. I'm so...sorry!" She sobbed harder.

"Stand up. Let me see if you've been scathed."

She slowly stood; legs shaking and weak kneed. He motioned for her to spin around as he examined her for any physical harm, but then took a few steps away.

"Where are you going?" She asked, pointing in the opposite direction, "You're dog went that way."

"What are you doing here?"

Again, she wiped her nose with her sleeve, wishing she'd brought tissues. "I came to visit my mother." She answered, nodding toward her headstone.

His eyes narrowed before looking at her with much trepidation, "You've come seeking the dead among the living?"

Her head pulled back, knowing she'd heard something very similar in the Bible. "Who are you?"

His pale blue eyes sparkled as he offered a friendly grin, "I am a passerby, such as yourself."

Dani slipped on her backpack, "Well, I'll be leaving now. And I am very sorry about your dog. I told you he wouldn't come when you whistled." She stepped past him when he grabbed her hand.

"You haven't finished your story yet, or have you?" His incredibly warm hand instantly removed the chill her fingers had felt since her arrival.

The anxiety she was feeling during their conversation immediately left her. She felt at peace and no matter how awkward it was to hold a strangers hand, she felt as though he understood her.

"I haven't finished my story."

He spun her around, allowing her to stop beside her mother's headstone. "Then stay. Finish. There's no where else you need to be at this time." She sat down as he released her hand, feeling the crisp air steel his warmth from her fingers. "I...am...curious."

Looking up, she found him eyeing her as though she held the mysteries of the universe in her eyes. "About what?"

"Why you chose to come here? You could go anywhere, do anything, and yet, here you are."

She pulled off her backpack and opened the small pocket on the front. Then, she pulled out a locket and opened it. Holding it up in the air by the chain, he took the locket and inspected the small picture contained inside. "I don't remember my mother, other than in photo's. I don't even know what her voice sounds like. Sometimes, I come here thinking she will be here, but all I ever find is her headstone."