Magic Land: The Lost Princess (On Hold Until January)

Chapter 7

The following week, Imogene received a phone call from Alyssa. She hadn't expected her to call so soon, but she was glad she did.

"Hey girl. How's it going?" Alyssa asked when Imogene answered the phone.

"It's going good for the most part. Thanks for calling." Imogene responded.

"No problem. I was glad to run into you the other day, but we didn't get a chance to talk for long. We should catch up. Can we meet for lunch this afternoon?" Alyssa asked.

"Of course. I would love that. How about one o' clock at Richie's Coffee House in town?" Imogene asked. "That's where I work, and today's my day off."

She could hear the smile in Alyssa's voice. "Sounds good. I'll see you then." She replied before hanging up.

••••••

As planned, Alyssa came to Richie's Coffee House at one in the afternoon. There weren't many customers in the shop as the lunch hour rush has now died down. Imogene selected a seat in the corner booth where she and Alyssa sat down to lunch.

"I was really so happy when I ran into you the other day. I really wanted us to reconnect again." Alyssa confessed when they both had finished eating.

"Me too." Imogene admitted.

Alyssa smiled. "So tell me. What have you been up to since you left the orphanage?"

Imogene then told her about going to college at nineteen to pursue a business degree. That was one year after leaving the orphanage. When he graduated, six months later, she started working at Richie's Coffee House, where she has been for a year and a half. There wasn't much to talk about herself because her life was boring and she wasn't a person to go out. Alyssa also talked about herself. What she did in college was about meeting her husband and her work as an accountant. She also talked about her daughter, Mia, who sounds like a delight.

They talked for a long time about any and everything. Talking to Alyssa reminded Imogene of when they were in the orphanage together. Just like now, they would talk, share experiences, and secrets.  It was very easy to talk to her. Just then, Aaron came from the back room to the counter. Imogene was just seeing him because when she got here, he was in the back room having lunch. Aaron spotted her, and he smiled and waved at her. She returned his smile and waved.

"Who is that?" Alyssa asked, bringing Imogene's attention back to her.

"That is my friend, Aaron." She responded.

Alyssa lifted her eyebrows and smiled teasingly. "He's cute."

"Alyssa, you're married." Imogene said, taken aback by Alyssa's words.

Alyssa laughed. "I wasn't saying this for me. I was saying it to you."

Imogene's eyes went wide with shock when she caught on to what Alyssa was insinuating. "What?" She asked, but her voice sound cracked and strange, so she cleared her throat and added. "He's my friend."

Alyssa laughed some more. "Okay, okay, I was only joking." She said.

Imogene shook her head and laughed as well. She then turned her attention back to Aaron and found him watching her. He smiled again when he noticed her looking his way. She smiled back and then dropped her gaze, feeling heat rise to her cheeks as she remembered what Alyssa said. Even though she was joking about she and Aaron, she was right. He is cute.

After an hour and a half of swapping stories, laughing and catching up, it was time for them to leave. Imogene said goodbye to Alyssa, and they parted ways.

It was three o' clock when Imogene reached home. She had done some cleaning this morning before Alyssa had called her, so she didn't have anything to do now. She then decided to make some hot chocolate and just relax with a book. She headed to the kitchen and set the kettle on the stove. She took down the jar of chocolate from the cupboard and placed it on the kitchen counter. She then headed to the next side of the counter to get a tea cup. She opened the cupboard and reached for a tea cup.

As she took up the cup, it slipped from her hands. As the cup made its way to the floor, a small gasp escaped her lips. She stretched her hand to the cup in hopes of catching it, even though she knew it was impossible. As soon as she did this, the cup that was now an inch from the floor stopped and hovered.

Shocked by what she was seeing, Imogene dropped her outstretched hand and stepped back in surprise. The cup then hit the floor with a clang, but it didn't break because it was close to the ground. Imogene stood shocked, still watching the cup for a few seconds before shaking her head in disbelief of what just happened.

What the hell is going on? Imogene thought to herself. She knew for a fact that she didn't just imagine it. No, she knew what she saw. Yes, she was tired and stressed out lately, but this was no hallucination. She knew something was definitely wrong, and it scared the hell out of her.

Suddenly, she heard the doorbell ring, which caused her to jump a little in surprise. Calm down, Imogene. It is just the doorbell. She scolded herself. This whole ordeal was getting to her. She needed to pull herself together. She took a deep breath to calm herself before walking to the door.

When Imogene opened the door, she didn't see anyone. Confused, she looked up and down the street, but it was empty. The only people she saw were far in the distance. Whoever rang the doorbell couldn't have reached that far. She was about to close the door when a piece of paper laying on the door mat caught her attention. She stood looking at the notebook paper for a while, knowing that whoever rang the doorbell must have put in there. She was beginning to feel uneasy, but she quickly picked up the paper and closed the door.

She quickly read the content of the note. When she read the note, she furrowed her eyebrows, feeling confused and skeptical. What she read left her with more questions than ever. Could this be the real thing? She looked at the paper again and thought for a while. The note was very strange. It read:

If you want to find out about you and about your parents, meet me at Grovesland Park in ten minutes.