by Jack Parker
Lia turned her attention back to the window. She could still see a stretch of green, a fleeting blur, wash across her vision –trees. There wasn't anything else, unless you counted the fields which fell behind the trees and encompassed half of the landscape. Lia creased her forehead and squinted. There were animals in the fields, too. Was he taking her to some sort of farm?
The car stopped abruptly. Cal kicked open the door and stepped out. Lia followed.
He took a deep breath and held out his arms. "We're here," he announced with a flourish.
He was stood before a stretch of thick, dark trees that arched over a long cut of clear land; Lia presumed it was used as a path.
She wrinkled her nose. "This is it?"
He made his way towards the cut and ducked beneath the trees, then emerged through the other end.
"No," he replied. "There's more further ahead. Just follow me."
Lia sighed. "I have no other choice."
She ducked beneath the branches and made her way onto the path. Trees towered above them, their branches shadowing the dusty, brown surface of the wood. Sunlight cut through their branches and sent ripples of light cascading over their feet. The air was clear, cool, and so unlike that of which they were accustomed to within the city.
Cal continued to walk silently for a few minutes, Lia in tow. She surveyed her surroundings; it was all so pretty and relaxing. After a few minutes, Cal stopped abruptly. Lia followed suit. He strayed from the path and cut through some of the trees along the side, ducking under their branches. She followed him hastily, the wood lightly scratching her skin.
They walked through the trees for a few minutes until they reached a large clearing. In the middle of the clearing was a small, neat house encircled by a few well kept trees. Their appearance differed from those which were in the wood –they looked tamer. Cal made his way to the house, indicating for Lia to follow.
They reached the door and he knocked, once, then stood casually on the doorstep, his hands dug into his pockets. The door was slid open after a few minutes, meekly.
An old man stepped out. His eyes widened. "Cal?"
Cal grinned lopsidedly. "I'm in the area so I thought I'd say hi."
The man blinked. "You're not just going to say 'hi', young man. Come inside and have something to eat. It's been far too long." His voice was fierce, demanding.
He was slightly hunched, Lia noticed, but she could tell by the way that he held himself that he had once held a more straight, rigid posture and it was due to his age. His hands looked rough, rough from doing a lot of hard work? And he seemed fierce yet mild.
Cal shook his head. "I really can't." He cocked his head in Lia's direction. "She can't be back too late. Her friends are expecting her."
Lia blinked. How did he know? Jude or Leigh had probably mentioned it to him, or Emilie. Emilie usually knew these things before anyone else did.
The man turned his gaze towards her, as if noticing her for the first time. "Hello."
Lia shuffled her feet awkwardly. "Hi."
Cal intervened. "How have you been recently?"
The man smiled lightly. "Forget about me. How are Leelam and Elaine? I haven't seen them in so many years."
Something passed through Cal's expression, something she couldn't quite read, before he smiled quickly. "They're fine. Leelam's getting married in a few months." There was a finality in his tone of voice.
The man seemed to notice it. "Oh. That's nice. But you're not leaving without coming in for a little while." The demanding tone had returned.
Cal shook his head again, more fiercely. "We really can't."
The man sighed in defeat. "I've known you far too long not to understand when no means no. But you better come back again some time. There's a lot we need to talk about." There was something hidden in his words.
Cal seemed to catch it. "I know." He sounded wistful. What were they talking about? Cal turned away, then smiled. "I'll see you some other time, Andy."
The old man nodded mildly, then closed the door. Cal began to walk back towards the trees, his pace quick. It was as if he was trying to get away from there as soon as possible.
Lia caught up with him. It would be best to leave questions for later. They continued across the path for a few more minutes, before Cal decided to cut through the woods again.
"Where are we going this time?" Her legs were beginning to hurt from all of the walking.
A smile quirked on the edge of his lips; his pace was still fast. "Tired?"
What was the point in lying? "Yes."
He clicked his tongue. "Patience is a virtue."
"And the truth is salvation."
"Did you come up with that one yourself?" He sounded amused.
Lia creased her forehead. "I don't know."
Trees scratched against her elbows, over the scratches that she already had from going to the man's house. Twigs crunched beneath her feet and more than once did she nearly trip and fall flat on her face in the mud.
Finally, after what seemed like aeons, they reached what Lia presumed was their destination.
Her eyes widened.
A large bank stretched out before them, surrounded by thick hills which encircled its small interior. A moderate sized waterfall fell down from the side of one of the hills and crashed down into a thick pool of water at its feet. The water wasn't completely clear –it was tinged a faint brown from the rocks and mud- yet it had an earthy beauty about it, one that Lia could not begin to describe.
"We're here," Cal stated.
She blinked. "Pretty…"
He laughed at her lack of response. "It is, isn't it? But we can't stay long." He made his way towards the edge of the bank, beside the pool, and sat down.
Lia joined him. "Why not?"
He looked up at the sky. "It's getting dark. We'll need to be heading back soon."
She sighed. "Yeah."
Cal pulled off his shoes, then dipped his bare feet into the water. Lia did the same, circling her bare feet in the water and watching the ripples as they cascaded across its surface. It made her feet feel cold, cold and numb, yet she loved it. Her feet looked paler beneath the water, cleaner, purer. She lifted up her toes and watched as water dripped down onto the grass and tinged it a dark green.
"Wouldn't you love to live in a place like this," she sighed. "Somewhere pretty and quiet, without a care in the world?"
Cal shrugged, then cast his gaze towards the sky. "It would be nice," he replied. "But –"
"But what?"
He seemed to be considering his words. "Eventually you would get tired of it, then you'd want to go back to city life. And then you'd get tired of city life and want to come back here."
Lia blinked. The words just seemed to come."People are never satisfied with what they have –"
"–And they fail to notice that there is beauty everywhere they look. It's just, they grow so accustomed to it that it becomes an every day thing." He looked up again and cocked his head to the side. "You can have so much, be surrounded by so much happiness, yet still find something to moan about."
Lia bit her lip. "And you don't realize how much you had until it's gone."
"But by then it's too late."
"Because," she considered her words for a moment, "once it's gone, it'll never come back."
He nodded. "And you spend your whole life regretting it."
He met her gaze. She tilted her head to the side and smiled. There was an understanding in his gaze. It made her feel more comfortable.
Cal stood up and offered her his hand. He motioned towards the sky. "It's beginning to get dark."
Lia took his hand and allowed him to pull her up. His fingers were warm. She brushed some grass off of her clothes. "Let's go then."
Cal dug his hands into his pockets and cast his gaze towards the sky. Sunlight shone over his features and bathed him in a faint, white glow. He turned to face her, a few bangs falling into his eyes. She felt her breath catch in her throat.
She creased her forehead. "As long as it doesn't take too long."
"It won't." He didn't wait for a reply, but made his way back towards the trees.
Lia sighed. She hated all of his short cuts. They were painful. But she had no other option so, with no further hesitation, she followed him into the wood.
* * *
The figure quickened its pace; a few beams of light cascaded onto the path, sending a faint glow over the tarmac.
It could hear its footsteps. They were heavy, loud. The sky was an inky black, a few stars cluttered over its surface.
And the footsteps were getting louder.
It was not alone.
The bag felt heavy, slippery, between its palms. There was laughter now, a faint laughter in the distance. It turned the corner, then stopped.
A dead end.
It pivoted, ready to turn back. But it was too late.
A harsh scream echoed through the night, then silence.
The sun had set; the sky was shrouded in a blanket of darkness, darkness which coiled over its surface, wrapped over the edges and encompassed it in a chilly warmth. The car grunted against the tarmac, then stopped.
Cal pushed open the door, allowing the cool air to wash into the vehicle and send a temporary shudder jolting through Lia's spine.
Lia followed him out of the car, then surveyed her surroundings. A wood lay before them, cut through by a jagged path. "You sure like woods, don't you?"
Cal locked the car, then leaned against its exterior his hands dug into his pockets. "Do you know where we are?"
Lia looked around. "Should I?"
He cast his gaze towards the trees. "Think back."
She blinked. "I don't remember."
Cal shrugged, then pushed himself off of the car. He sauntered towards the path and turned to check if she was following. "Come on."
"Where are we, though?"
He cocked his head to the side, lazily. "You'll remember soon enough." He entered the wood.
She ran after him until she was by his side. "You can't do this for the second time. You have to tell me."
Cal smirked. "I don't have to do anything."
Lia really hated it when he smirked. "I really hate it when you smirk."
"You've told me before."
"Then why do you keep doing it?" she groaned.
He shrugged. "Habit."
He had gone ahead again. Lia quickened her pace until she was level with him, then cast her gaze over her surroundings. Lines of trees met her vision, thick, tall, wild trees stretching out towards the sky and dancing slowly beneath the light wind. Cal was right; she had been here before. But she didn't remember when.
She felt Cal's hand clasp her own, suddenly. He pulled her towards him and brought his lips to her ear. "Listen," he whispered.
Cal let go and stepped forward. She stopped and closed her eyes.
And then she heard it.
The rumbling.
Lia's eyes shot open. Cal had gone further ahead. She ran after him and entered the clearing overlooking the top of the hill. A town stretched out beneath her, its hundreds of lights flickering on and off in the distance.
Cal was stood on the edge of the hill, arms folded. "Remember now?"
She nodded slowly and joined him by the edge, then gazed down at the landscape as it stretched beneath her. "It's where we went on the first mission when the car broke down." She creased her forehead. "But I don't understand. Why have you brought us here of all places?"
He cocked his head to the side and, before she could say anything, he took her hand and pulled her towards the edge of the hill.
Lia blinked. "What –"
Cal put a finger to her lips. "Wait."
And then she realized what he was about to do. "Cal, no."
He grinned lopsidedly. "Embrace it; accept it, and only then will you move forward."
His words from last night echoed in her mind. She turned to face him; he looked confident, a light smile quirking on the edge of his features.
And then he pulled them both over the edge.
Lia closed her eyes, the harsh wind biting against her cheeks. She let out a scream. The grass rubbed against her back, the friction heating up her skin. Her stomach felt as if it had jumped into her throat. His grip on her hand was tight. Lia could hear his laughter as it echoed over the hill.
Her eyes shot open. Everything was blurring past her at an awesome speed and all she could hear was Cal's laughter.
Embrace it; accept it, and only then will you move forward.
This was actually fun; scary but fun. Lia let out a shriek of laughter as they fell headlong into a thick pool of mud which stretched out beneath the hill. She rolled off in the opposite direction to Cal, then lay there panting.
He propped himself up on one elbow, the mud seeping through his clothes. "Fun, wasn't it?"
Lia stretched her arms above her head. She felt so dirty. "Brilliant," she commented wryly.
Cal ran his fingers through the mud. "Shall we get out of here now?"
She bit her lip. "Actually –" She scrambled towards him, then seated herself beside him. "I think it's quite relaxing here, don't you?"
He leaned back, clawing his hands into the mud and stretching his legs. "Exhilarating."
"Mind-blowing," she challenged.
"Breathtaking."
"Heart-wrenching."
"Zestful," he tossed flippantly.
Lia raised an eyebrow. "Zestful?"
"It means interesting, full of flavor," he explained.
"I know what it means." She rolled her eyes. "I just think that it was pathetic."
Cal arched an eyebrow and turned to face her. "Oh really?"
"Really."
"You're calling me pathetic?"
She tilted her head to the side. "And what if I am?"
"I think–" He feigned deep concentration for a moment, then continued, "–I'm going to have to ignore you."
Lia creased her forehead. "Ignore me?"
"Because I know how much it just kills you not to talk to me."
She sighed. "Whatever you say, oh great one."
Lia cast her gaze towards him. He cocked his head to the side. Half of his face was shadowed, a few stray bangs falling into his face. Their eyes met. His eyes were green, clear and green. A few slivers of moonlight danced across his face, mixing with his irises and giving them an ethereal glow.
Cal's expression softened. He edged forward and brought a hand to her cheek, brushing it lightly with her thumb.
"You had some mud on your face," he said, his voice was soft, a whisper.
His hand stayed there for a moment. He cupped her cheek in his palm. Lia tilted her head to the side, allowing his fingers to brush against her cheek, lightly. His hand was so warm. He edged nearer so that they were only a few inches away, then brushed some hair behind her ear.
Lia smiled. "More mud?" she whispered.
He cocked his head to the side and brought his hand down from her cheek, allowing it to slide over her shoulder and towards her hand. Cal took her hand, intertwining it with his own. He brought it to his lips and kissed her knuckles lightly.
"There's too much to brush away," he commented lightly.
Before she could reply, he pulled her forward, gently, and wrapped his arms around her waist. He dug his head into her hair and pulled her towards him. "Comfortable?"
Lia leaned back against his chest and sighed. It was warm, relaxing. His hands tickled at her stomach as his fingers brushed over her waist. "I guess it'll do."
She cast her gaze towards the sky, her eyes resting on the hundreds of stars cluttering over its surface. "They're really pretty," she sighed.
"They are."
She looked up again. "Have you noticed how the prettiest things are always those that you can't touch?"
Cal cast his gaze towards the stars. He se
emed to be in deep concentration for a moment."But if you touched them," he began. "You would get burnt."
She tilted her head to the side. "If it's only for a moment, then the pain's worth it."
"But then, how would you overcome it?"