Parallel

by Shana Chartier

  “I agree to your terms. I will take you to the nearest witch I know, Espera. She is very good at what she does and should be able to help you. But then I get my apple! Deal?”

  “Deal,” Ava said, patting George on his flank. He accepted her caress grudgingly. When he didn’t move, Ava asked, “So, where do we go?”

  “Nowhere, for now. I don’t like to travel at night. Make camp, and I will take you to Espera in the morning. I’m going to eat grass.”

  George stalked off into the woods and disappeared. Ava heard him noisily chomping the ground some distance away. She looked at Avalon.

  “You okay?” she asked. Avalon seemed so fragile, which was sad. Ava wanted her to be a little more…well, resilient. Avalon nodded.

  “This is much more of an adventure than I bargained for. I’ve never left home in my whole life!”

  Ava stared.

  “But…you were so quick to help me, to take me out to seek the witch. I just assumed this was something you might have been used to.”

  Avalon shrugged.

  “Nope. I’ve lived quietly with my uncle, doing the proper reading and helping around the house and such, but I’ve never been one for adventure. But you’re so capable, Ava. I wonder that we’re so different, when we’re supposed to be the same.”

  “Nature versus nurture, I guess,” Ava mumbled. It still seemed strange.

  “Well I for one couldn’t be happier with the difference. Now, please make yourself comfortable, Lady Avalon, while I make us a fire and look for some food to eat,” Hunter said as he rose and began collecting dry wood and tinder for a campfire. He paused when he got to Ava.

  “Ahem, um, thank you for negotiating with the unicorn. And for leading the way out, back there. Maybe you’re not so bad after all,” he said, glancing up shyly at her. Ava rewarded him with a small smirk, and grasped his outstretched, spit-free hand.

  “That young woman over there is some variation of me, Hunter. If you hurt her, I will turn you into a firefly and squash you.”

  Hunter stared back at her, solemn.

  “Understood,” he said, before heading off into woods turned indigo and pink by the setting sun. Ava joined Avalon on the soft grass and hugged her knees. There was nothing worse than free time—all she could do now was think, and that was never a good thing. She glanced sideways at Avalon.

  “So…who knew unicorns were such jerks, am I right?”

  Avalon chuckled. She gazed out in the direction Hunter had gone, but said nothing.

  “So what is it between you two, anyway? You’ve been looking at him like he’s the best thing since sliced bread all day.”

  “What’s so great about sliced bread?” Avalon asked, then shook her head. “Ah, never mind. We don’t have much time to go over the differences of our worlds. The truth is, I’ve never traveled, Ava. I’ve never wanted to. I like being at home. But there has always been a part of me that wondered, what if? What if I just went out into the world, and saw what it was about? I mean, we just met a unicorn who completely changed our perception of what he is. What else don’t we know? As for Hunter, well…” Even in the growing dusk, her blush was visible. “He’s the first man I’ve ever met outside of my village. I’ve never known anyone like him.”

  Ava remembered when she had first laid eyes on Mason.

  She was the new kid, as all military brats are, over and over again. She sat in the back of the class, per usual, and tried to look invisible. She’d gotten used to moving around, not getting too close to people. But this time was different. Her dad had decided to retire early so she could stay at one high school all four years. He’d made enough money to do so, and then some—he was an excellent investor. Mason plopped down next to her, and he immediately took off his hat and slid it onto her carefully prepared first-day-of-school hair. She jumped.

  “What are you doing?!” she hissed. Mason smiled, his blonde hair cut short, removing any risk of hat hair.

  “Well, that’s my hat, so now that it’s on you, you’re no longer the new kid,” he’d said, melting her heart. She’d laughed.

  “That doesn’t make any sense,” she’d said. Mason grinned.

  “Life rarely does.”

  Ava turned to Avalon and gave her a hug.

  “Thank you for helping me. For being brave and stepping outside of your comfort zone. The world can be a strange place. I don’t know where I would be right now if you hadn’t taken me in.” To her surprise, Ava’s eyes burned with tears. She was finally processing all that had happened, and a tidal wave of repressed fear, anger, and stress washed over her, leaving her exhausted. Avalon held her tight and wiped a tear away with gentle fingers when she pulled back.

  “Thanks for letting me have my first adventure. Without you, I wouldn’t know if I had it in me, but now, seeing your version of me, I know I’m a lot sturdier than I ever believed.”

  Hunter came back with the firewood and built up a roaring campfire. No one mentioned that he hadn’t brought back any meat, and Avalon and Ava shared their cold meat pies and apples with him as they warmed themselves by the flames. Ava noticed Hunter scooting closer to Avalon, but said nothing. Instead, she decided to do some digging.

  “So, Hunter, how long has your mom been sick?”

  Hunter’s expression closed immediately; his shoulders tensed. Avalon gently reached for his hand, and held it. He glanced down at her, giving her a weak smile before allowing his shoulders to relax. He stared into the fire.

  “My father and brother both died five years ago. They were killed in an accident—my family business is actually in the timber industry. They were loggers. But in that trade, when a tree falls the wrong way, or when someone’s just a little bit careless…well. It’s been me, my mother, and my sister on our own ever since. I took up hunting to keep us fed and to sell pelts, but nothing I do ever matters. My mother sits, listless, by the window every day. Her mind and spirit are gone and I’m going to get them back. Whatever that witch has for me, I will use it and I will cure her of this illness if it’s the last thing I do!”

  The group sat in silence, Avalon gently stroking Hunter’s hand as he worked to control his emotions. Somewhere in the distance George was snoring loudly, like the delicate unicorn he was. Ava couldn’t help herself.

  “You have a sister?”

  Hunter looked up with red eyes, and Avalon gave Ava a look of admonishment.

  “I tell you the sad story of my life, and all you ask is if I have a sister?”

  Ava shrugged.

  “You told me you didn’t hang around women enough to know how to treat them. Obviously that’s not true, is it?”

  “Well, maybe when you become more of a lady, I’ll treat you like one,” Hunter growled.

  “Now who’s the sexist?” Ava retorted.

  “I think we can all agree that helping Hunter’s mother transcends any disagreements we’ve had during our brief time together, don’t you?” Avalon said.

  Ava shrugged and stared at the fire. Really, there was nowhere else to look. Hunter sighed.

  “I’m sorry, Ava. I haven’t been the gentleman I should have been, even though you are quite rude and really, really annoying. Like really annoying. How did you get to be so annoying?”

  Completely out of character, Avalon raised her hand and bopped Hunter across the back of the head. His eyes widened in surprised, then turned guilty.

  “Okay, okay. Let’s be better friends, deal?”

  “You’re lucky Avalon is with us to vouch for you,” Ava said, but her tone held no bite. “Ah, well, friends it is, then. Just no more putting us in perilous situations for your own benefit, okay?”

  Hunter bit back a remark and nodded. Avalon placed her hand back into his, and they quietly warmed each other by the dying embers.

  Ava realized that her eyelids were lowering of their own accord. Pulling out her small blanket and collecting some branches for a pillow, she bid the two lovebirds goodnight and found a tree to sleep under for the nig
ht. The weather had been perfectly mild since she had arrived. She wondered if it was always so temperate, or if they had seasons here. So many things could be different in alternate universes—a million variations of life, all happening at once. As she stared up at the stars winking at her through the trees, Ava wondered just how much they knew, and if they were the same stars she’d seen before.

  She imagined Mason’s arms around her, and drifted off to sleep.

  Chapter Four

  AVA WOKE TO a wet snout sniffing at her face.

  “I want apple!” George whinnied. Ava sat back away from him and checked her bag. The ruby apple was still there, right on top. She glanced at George.

  “You didn’t eat it. You could have just stolen it while I was sleeping, and you didn’t,” she said. If horses could shrug, she imagined that was the gesture he made in response.

  “What? You think a unicorn who saves a bunch of people from the fairies has no honor? What kind of beast do you take me for?”

  “Obviously an honorable one. Are the other two ready to set off?” she asked. George lifted his head and pointed his horn at their camp, which had been packed up. Hunter and Avalon sat munching on some cold pastries and cheese, casting heavy lidded glances at one another. Gross. Ava rose and stretched weary muscles. She may have been active before, but that was nothing compared to the last twenty-four hours. Hunter and Avalon stood as she approached.

  “Ready?” Avalon asked. She was positively glowing. Hunter looked shy but happy. Ava decided not to ask.

  “Ready. Lead the way, George!”

  “Apple!” George said and trotted into the woods. The three humans smiled at each other as they fell in step behind the unicorn. Ava’s stomach rolled with nerves. Avalon took her hand.

  “It’s okay, Ava.”

  “How do you know?” Ava asked. Avalon shrugged.

  “I don’t know. But we’ve made it this far, right? And as rude as George is, he really wants that apple,” she said with a smirk. Her quiet confidence was almost reassuring enough to settle Ava’s nerves. The trees thinned, and as George trotted through a small clearing, he circled his head, casting a thin shimmery glow that turned into a rounded iron door. He looked expectantly at Ava.

  “This is the part you need humans for, unfortunately. Open up. I want apple.”

  Ava glanced at Hunter and Avalon, who shrugged. What else was there to do? Ava opened the door and stepped through. Her ears popped. The air was thin, and Ava knelt to catch her breath. When she looked up, the wind whipped her hair. George pulled ahead of her, taking the lead once more. Somehow they had gone from a flat forest floor to a mossy green mountaintop overlooking white, towering cliffs and a sea-green ocean. On the pinnacle of the mountain stood a small cottage not unlike Avalon’s, surrounded by a small picket fence. Beyond the fence was a lush, beautiful garden, full of herbs, vegetables, and fruit—the normal kind, not bejeweled.

  Ava stared out at the sea. So vast. So much bigger than herself. For the first time in all of this, she felt truly small, like the universe was so much grander than she could have possibly imagined or even conceived. Ava heard the door close behind them, and as she turned she watched as the stone portal closed in on itself and disappeared, leaving nothing but ocean views in its place. George poked her with his horn.

  “Ouch!” she cried, rubbing the small of her back where he’d stabbed her.

  “Apple!” he grumped.

  “Witch first,” she shot back. George blew spit in her face. Ava made the conscious decision to throw away her stuffed unicorn, Rainbow, the minute she got home.

  “George, is that you?” a melodious voice asked. A young, beautiful woman stepped out from behind the cottage. Her hair was a golden blonde, braided with a colorful array of wildflowers all the way down her back. Her eyes were cornflower blue and deeply kind. The woman wore a long white dress that flowed delicately over her body. Her smile was like the sun, and she beamed at George as he approached her with a nuzzle. She hugged him close. When she pulled away, she finally cast her gaze at the travelers.

  “You’ve brought me some visitors, I see,” she said, and George glanced back at them with a huff before heading to the back of the house, presumably to find more grass. The witch laughed.

  “Don’t mind George. Unicorns are grumpy by nature. It’s part of what makes them so beautiful.”

  If you say so, Ava thought. The witch approached her and took both her hands. Her skin was warm and soft, her energy flowing like the touch of a soothing mother. Ava wanted to throw herself into the woman’s arms and let her fix everything like her own mother used to do, but she held back.

  “It’s good to see you, Ava. I see Avalon has taken good care of you during your time here. Hello, Avalon. Hello, Hunter.”

  “You know us?” Ava asked. The witch nodded.

  “I do. My name is Espera. In some languages it means Hope. And hope has a place in all realms. I saw what those little sprites did to you and your love. And now you seek a way back to him and back home.”

  “Yes, please!” Ava cried. Espera kissed her gently on the cheek.

  “Be right back,” she said, rushing into her cottage on bare feet. Ava stared in bewilderment at her new friends. Hunter looked impatient for his own remedy, stepping from one foot to the other. Finally, Espera returned with a small glass vial in her hand. She held it out to Ava.

  “This is the essence of portal sprite. One drop will take you through the portal and on your way. You will have a choice to make now, Ava, because you can either choose to go home, or you can choose to find Mason. I can tell you that the two are in far different places right now, and that Mason could desperately use your help.” Ava’s heart sank. Mason was in trouble. And he wasn’t here. Espera took her hands again.

  “Don’t lose courage. You are brave and can handle this situation that you find yourself. Go find your love and make the world your own.”

  Ava smiled and thanked her, backing away. If Hunter wanted his chance, now was the time. He cleared his throat.

  “Excuse me, Lady Espera, but…”

  Espera held up a hand. Her expression was sad.

  “Hunter of the Greenbow Shire, I know what you seek. Unfortunately, I do not have what you need. There is only one person who can save your mother from her grief and it is not you or I. I am deeply sorry,” she said. Hunter stood frozen, his eyes an agonizing tableau of anguish. Espera took his hands this time.

  “Do not despair, Hunter. She may one day save herself from her inner demons. I will keep her in my prayers. It’s not much, but any positive energy could be the right amount to help her—one simply never knows.”

  “But…there must be a way, please! I’ve come so far to find you. I can’t walk away with nothing. This is my last chance!” His eyes were wild and desperate. His outburst had no effect on the witch.

  “You know the truth, Hunter. You have always known it. You must learn to accept what cannot be changed and learn to live with the blessings that you do have. You have the power in you. I’m afraid comfort is all that I can bestow,” Espera said, her words kind, but firm.

  After a pause, Hunter swallowed hard and nodded, casting his gaze down. Avalon pulled him back. Espera smiled warmly at her.

  “You know what to do, child. You are much stronger than you realize. I do hope that you realize it soon.” Avalon gave her a small smile, but held tightly to Hunter, who was trying to subtly wipe away silent tears. Espera turned back to Ava.

  “And now you need a portal. Nature provides in a multitude of ways. Portals generally require two things—a perfect circle and water. Water is the giver of life, and it sustains those who travel between the realms. A circle reminds us of the oneness of all things. There is a waterfall under a circle bridge not far from here,” she waved her hand at the forest and another shimmering archway began to glow.

  “I am happy to provide a shortcut for you. My portal magic extends a short distance from my home, otherwise I would be happy to send y
ou wherever you wish! Ah, well. Good luck to you all, and thank you for stopping by!” With that, Espera began to walk back behind her house, when Ava called out.

  “Wait!”

  Reaching into her bag, she pulled out the ruby apple and handed it to Espera.

  “This is for George. We owed him one. Tell him thanks and goodbye.”

  Espera grinned.

  “I’m sure he will be most grateful for your gift. Thank you, Ava. And goodbye.”

  Ava glanced back at Avalon, who held firmly onto Hunter’s hand. Avalon gave a small nod, indicating they would follow behind. When Ava glanced back at the witch’s house, Espera had already disappeared. Ava held tightly to the warm glass vial in her hand before slipping it into a deep pocket of her bag, and walked toward the glimmering archway. On the other side they could see the forest as it was, but when Ava stepped through, she was transported to the base of a towering waterfall.

  Behind the falls stood a bridge that looked nearly identical to the one she had left back home. Beneath the churning waters at the base of the falls, the reflection of the bridge’s archway was still visible, making it a perfect circle, encased in water. Ava looked back to Hunter and Avalon. Her eyes were moist.

  “Well, I guess this is it,” she said. Hunter didn’t look up. Avalon rushed to Ava and wrapped her in a warm hug. Ava held on tight. She was so glad that she liked this copy of herself. She could have ended up with some version of herself that was evil. Who knows? The universe was infinite apparently. Avalon broke off the hug, but held Ava’s hands tight.

  “Good luck, Ava. I hope you find your Mason, get back home, and enjoy a peaceful life together!”

  Ava smiled. She wanted to say she hoped for that too, but something stopped her. Something about that vial, and all the promise of adventure it held. Finding Mason was essential, but getting home right away? Maybe not. Ava gave Avalon’s hands one last squeeze before turning toward the falls. She waded into the water, and prepared to open the stopper to let out a drop.