Eternity

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

Earth

"Hope" is the thing with feathers --

That perches in the soul --

And sings the tune without the words --

And never stops -- at all

Emily Dickinson

I woke up to the afternoon sun in my face. I sat up and looked at my clock. 1:53 P.M. Wow-I slept really late. It couldn’t be helped now.

I looked out at the forest through my window, determination and a plan on my mind. The dreams from last night remained vivid in my mind, but I still couldn’t make any sense of it. So instead of muddling over it all day, I decided I would just run straight into the action and hope for the best. So, I was going to Eternity. But I had a little bit of a problem.

It was the middle of the day. How the heck was I supposed to slip away in the middle of the day without Grandma Liv noticing? I ran a hand through my hair as I slid out of bed and climbed into a pair of shorts and a band t-shirt. I pulled on my favorite Converse and slung my bag over my shoulder before jogging down the stairs, each step creaking.

The phone rang in the kitchen as a walked in and I picked it up, holding it between my ear and my shoulder. “Hello?”

“Hey!” Finley’s voice came over the line, happy and loud. I winced a little and wrapped my hand around the receiver, holding it farther from my ear.

“Hey Fin! What’s up?”

“I was wondering if you wanted to do something today. Maybe go check out some places in town?” Crap. My stomach fluttered as I thought. I didn’t want to lie, but I had to if I wanted to have more time to get Bluze. I looked out to where Grandma Liv was weeding the garden and something popped into my head.

“Actually, I was supposed to spend some time with my grandma today. You know, family bonding and all that stuff.” I laughed nervously and crossed my fingers.

“Oh okay, that’s alright. Rain check?” Disappointment was clear in his voice and it made me feel really guilty, but there was nothing I could do.

“Of course! Looking forward to it,” I bit my lip as we said goodbye and hung up. I sighed and left through the backdoor, hopping down the wooden staircase.

“Look who is up!” Grandma Liv called and daintily brushed off her dirt covered hands. I smiled at her as I crossed the lawn to the garden.

“Morning,” I said. She laughed.

“More like afternoon,” I grinned at her.

“I’m going over to Finley’s house for awhile. We’re going to see a movie later tonight so don’t wait up for me, okay?” My second lie today. I was on a roll-not that that was a good thing.

“A movie? What kind?” Crap. Again.

“Umm…it’s an action flick. Finley picked it.” That’s lie number three.

“Okay, well have fun. Don’t stay out too late.” She looked a little wary but went back to weeding. “See you later dear.”

I waved a started off down the path in the woods when her back was turned. I slipped through the trees as sunlight shone through the leaves. I felt so different when I entered the forest, like this was where I belonged; walking this beaten path to Eternity.

I sighed with relief when I saw the enchanting well, the vines curling tightly around the weathered stone. But I froze when I remembered something. I had never been here during the day and gotten to Eternity-would the well still be the same? I crept up to the edge, peeked in and sighed, twirling my hair around my finger. The water was dark and murky, not crystalline blue like before. I placed my hands on the cool stone and looked closer at the water. The water began to churn and glow, the blue going from nearly black to the twinkle of my mother’s eyes.