Emerald Green Eyes

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

John and I headed out; I had put on a hoodie for a bit of warmth, because although it was summer, there was a fresh breeze blowing. He took me to the castle first, people nodded to him as they walked past, one man started to speak, “John is Alpha, I mean is Sean back?” John nodded and gave him a knowing look, what is Alpha, who is Alpha?

The castle was beautiful, but it was the grounds I really wanted to see, we headed down towards the lake, John told me the history of it, he kept the small talk going, I was glad because it meant I didn’t have to think or remember. The lake was stunning, huge

John asked me, “Do you like fishing?”

I looked at him, “I don’t know I’ve never fished before!”

Well we can do something about that this summer.

He showed me the golf course, I told him I hadn’t played before either he said he would organise lessons for me.

Next he took me into the woodland, it was beautiful, and for some reason it made me feel whole, the rustling of the leaves, the gentle breeze, I could literally feel my soul soar, I felt at peace and whole.

“This is so beautiful!” I whispered, “So peaceful!”

He smiled, “This is one of my favourite places to, I like to run and hunt here, we will do that together soon as well!”

“I’m not very fit, and I’m not sure I want to kill and hunt innocent little bunnies, maybe a jog.”

He laughed, “We’ll see, I think I will get you to run soon, very soon, and we will see about the hunting!”

We walked on me taking photos of leaves, trees, animals, I heard a rustling and turned and thought I saw a shadow some more rustling and then out came a huge brown wolf, I screamed, John scowled at the wolf and  it ran off.

“Was, was that a a a a a wolf? I stammered.

He looked at me, “Yes we have wolves here, but they won’t hurt you, just don’t go into the forest on your own.”

I looked at him, “Is this where mum met the big black wolf? The one with Green eyes like mine and yours?”

He smiled, “Yes, and I’ll make sure you meet him someday soon!”

We headed back to the house for dinner, I told dad, Hannah and Rosin all about the wolf, dad looked at John, it was as if they were communicating, he gave a little smile, I looked at the two of them and said, “John promised me he would let me see the black wolf, the one in my painting soon.”

Dad looked up, “Soon I promise, let’s give you time to settle in first.”

The next week went on well, I liked Hannah, my brother and sister, they were so kind and John was very protective. My stuff arrived on the Wednesday, some was unpacked and my painting gear and my canvases were put into storage dad said he wanted to build a small place for me where I could have my space to paint and develop my photographs.

Despite everything, I found myself comfortable with my new family.

About two weeks later dad at breakfast we were sitting down having yet another huge meal, they could certainly pack it away; dad looked at me and said, “I have a surprise for you, after breakfast I want you to come with me, I want to show you something!”

I looked at him giving him a brief smile, maybe I was meeting the black wolf today, which was so important to me, it was a link to mum, “OK, I’ll be ready in 5 minutes, do I need to wear anything special?”

“No just your jeans and something warm!”

He, Hannah, Rosin and John were all waiting for me, “Are you all coming?” they all smiled a yes, Rosin held my hand, dad held Hannah’s and John lead the way, into the forest.

We walked along the path for about 5 minutes, and there in a clearing stood a small log cabin, dad gave me a key, this is your space, a place where you can be creative, I looked at him, took the key and opened the door, inside was a large room, with all my boxes of art materials plus some more from dad, a small fireplace with small stove in it stood at one end and taking pride of place over the mantel piece was my painting of mum and the black wolf. A small sink with a cupboard underneath was in the corner, a kettle on the counter top and a few mugs hanging on hooks above it, one small door led to a tiny bathroom. I looked around tears trickled down my face, “This is so perfect, thank you.”

“There is more, it’s just a suggestion, you make the final decision,” he led me out a small back door, there was small bench there and beside it a cherry blossom tree in a pot, “I thought if you wanted to, this might be a nice place to bury your mum’s ashes, with a cherry beside them, that way when you want to visit her, or want to have time to talk to her, she is here for you.”

I felt myself welling up a small sob escaped me, Rosin looked at me, “We didn’t mean to make you unhappy.”

“No, I’m not, well I am a bit, it’s just perfect!” I gave dad a hug, then Hannah, finally Rosin and John, “Thank you all so much, this is perfect, I have missed my art, thank you!”

They left me there to explore my new space, I opened up all my boxes, set up my paints, hung some more of my photos, put out canvases, set up my laptop and printer ready for my camera, made myself a hot chocolate and sat on the small sofa in the corner surveying my studio, all that was missing was music, I found my docking station, popped my iPod on it and listened to Adele as I finished setting things up. The last thing I did before heading back to the house was look out the door at my little bench, I sat on it, looked up the moon, and said “I miss you mum, I love you, but I know you’re watching me!”