Through the Veil

III - A Sunday Morning

I was already busy, tucked away in the heart of my home in the kitchen, carefully spooning out the very last of the apricot jam from the frosted jar onto my miserably-burnt piece of toast - until I heard a rattling at the window which definitely wasn't the rain. Looking out of the corner of my eye whilst I bit into the charred bread, a face plastered with eagerness popped into view. 

"Val! Let's go on a trek!" I rolled my eyes, it was Effie.

Now really wasn't the time for one of her ludicrous, so-called "adventures".  Father had just left for the Sunday market, leaving me with the regular list of chores that I hadn't even touched since waking from my ever-so-peaceful slumber.

I pivoted to face another direction so that my kitchen window, decorated with my hand-picked wildflowers with Effie's barely visible face behind them, wasn't in view. I stood there for a moment, admiring the array of magnets stuck on the fridge, waiting for her to realise not everyone had the same energy she did on a Sunday morning.

"Come on! Gabriel might be coming this time - and I brought snacks!"

I took another bite of toast.

"Please, Val?" the rattling on the window only got harder. I was surprised she hadn't cracked it at that point.

Effie Lilahs could read me if I were a closed book covered in paper-wrapping. I released a heavy sigh and dropped the remains of the now-cold toast on the counter. Without having to shout anything back to her through the abused window, I crossed the kitchen slabs and slipped on my blue-velvet coat that hung on its own by the front door. Before I could even fix on the last ivory button and open the door myself, some strange, unexplainable force had already done that for me and dragged me out into the rain.

"Effie, I have to be home by midday okay, that's the deal." I mumbled, still chewing on the last bit of toast glued in my mouth, "I can't let my father down, you know he's been feeling unwell and I can't stand having him feel disappointed in me for not doi-"

"Okay, Val! I've got you, alright? We'll be back way, way before twelve." She argued her case, knowing full well that what she had planned would definitely stretch much further than noon. "I was just so excited to see you today and you know, you can't keep yourself locked up all the time - you'll get that vitamin D deficiency or something or other, from the sun! You need to come out!"

She had a firm grip on my arm at this point, dragging me with inhuman force down the lane that led to the North of the island. Looking up at the grey clouds, tinted with heavy overcast, any ease from a vitamin D deficiency didn't look possible.

I stumbled behind her, noticing that I hadn't even dressed accordingly for the weather - my father would've gone ballistic if he saw what I was wearing today. Ripped shorts and a blue long-sleeved shirt which read "MoonChild'' was definitely invincible to the pouring rain. My coat and hood being my only defence against the downpour. She turned to analyse me, eyeing my outfit up with a look of concern. "You could've dressed a bit better you know, you're going to get frozen."

"It's not like you gave me much time to change" I argued back irritated, but at the same time understanding - this was Effie of course. Her life was basically one big 24/7 whim with no room for thought.

"Oops! My bad, sorry I was just so excited I didn't even think about that!" She giggled and dragged me on.

We had already discovered our favourite places in Earlpond; the Logs at Marie falls were our favourite. Three oak trees had somehow managed to fall and align themselves perfectly, forming some kind of semi-circle which faced the creek and soft-flowing waterfalls.
For some reason, the Logs always felt so much quieter than anywhere else there; it's as if sound refused  to travel in that minute forest clearing.