6 petals left. I was on a familiar street. I don't remember when I had been on it, but I knew I had. I stood there, scanning everything, and trying to remember where I had seen it, when I saw another little girl. She biked past, on her pink bike, with training wheels.
“Campfire tonight! Yay!” She squealed in delight.
I wondered down the sidewalk, until I saw the house. I suddenly realized where I was. Grace's house. I knew she was dead, but I still had fear. I knew if something was in this town, it would be in her house. I walked up, and rang the doorbell. No answer. I felt something weird under the mat. I reached under. Keys. I tried all of them, and the very last one I tried worked.
Her house was the same. I set the rose down, so I could search with two hands. After I was sure I searched everything, I went back to the door to leave. Grace's mom blocked the doorway, plucking off petals from my rose.
“NO!” I shrieked in terror.
I ran up to her, and snatched the rose from her hand. Another petal fell, because of the snatch.
Only two petals left. Only one left I could use. If I ate the last petal, I would be sent back to the woods.
I shut my eyes and ate the last usable petal. When I opened my eyes, I realized I was on a road. A narrow road that seemed to lead to nowhere. My rose was dying. Maybe the thing had been somewhere else, but I hadn't looked enough. No I will look, I will not give up. I ran down the road that seemed to never end. I smelled fire.
I wondered toward where I had smelled fire. I saw a house, burning. I looked in the window. The same girl who'd I had seen at the school, was dying, yelling for help. I realized it was the same girl on the pink bike, excited for the campfire. The last petal started to fall. I thought quickly. Either keep looking for the thing, or help that girl.
I closed my eyes, and ran in the house. The girl on the bike was a warning, and the girl in the closet was showing me what would become of her if I didn't help. I ran to the room I had seen her in. She was starting to die. I picked her up, broke the window, and threw her out to safety. It wasn't a big fall, but for some reason she kept pointing to the rose. The last petal was falling. Then, it struck me.
“The rose!” I wailed. “The rose is the thing! The rose!”
I shut my eyes, and opened them to see the dark forest. Courtney and the motel man smiled at me.
“You have won.” They both said.
And I knew I had. Or at least I thought I had.
I starred at the sky, crying for a moment, waiting for Courtney to reach over and hug me. Because thats just who she was. But she didn't. She just stood there, not even smiling, I guess it got to tiring smiling all the time. But it still hurt me. Hurt my heart.
“Why don't you go rest?” She suggested.
I floated up to the highest tree. I loved sleeping in trees. I was still a little upset, so I decided to write a poem. Poems have a lot of feeling. When I'm sad or upset I write poetry to get those feelings out. I took out a notepad and pen, and wrote.
Death, is so easy.
Life could slip out,
from under you,
in just a second
but death isn't
the worst.
If it was,
it wouldn't,
be so easy.
I thought about it. It doesn't rhyme. My poems never rhyme. Feelings don't rhyme. Thoughts do.
I tossed and turned. Courtney's blank stare, came back to my head, over and over. I tried to push it away, and I shut my eyes as tight as I could. My eyes became little slits, barely there. If Courtney didn't keep flashing in my head, I would barely noticed they where there. I felt wet drops pour out of the slits that weren't there.
I realized, I didn't get wings or anything. I knew I wasn't an angel. So what was all that for? For Courtney to trick me? I looked down at my palms. I reached one hand up, and ran my fingers against my cheek. It felt like flesh. Human flesh. Was I still alive? Had I ever even died? Or was it just Courtney tricking me. I started at my hand. I banged my 100% fleshy hand against my fleshy head. Then I wondered. Courtney and the motel man had died, right? I saw them both die. OK, I didn't see Courtney die, but the doctors said she did. Doctors, and my mom. The motel man, I hadn't seen what he did when he went with Courtney.
No I'd seen them both fly. Fact= humans can't fly. So why was I being so impossible? There must be a reason. I decided to head back to the burnt motel. I wanted to take it all in. Because, fact= there is a reason for everything. To me.
I walked around, pacing in the main room. The fire that happened during the fight burned most of the walls. Leaving what was left black, and thin. I smelled something weird. The motel man. Duh! I thought, hitting my head. This was his room! But it smelled more alive then that. Then I saw him. The motel man. He wasn't dead.
He sat in a wheelchair, with a blank expression on his face. When he saw me, he jumped.
“I, you, I, you!” He said, tearing up.
I stood there not knowing what to do.
“You died.” I said simply.
“No, I never died. Courtney did. But she didn't die taking you to the hospital. The girl in the burning house. That was Courtney. That was the way she died. She ran off to her house to get something after making sure you where safe. Then Grace started the fire. You basicly went back in time and saved her.”
“WHY DOES GRACE WANT ME?!” I asked, falling to my knees.
“I guess I should tell you now...” He said, rubbing his temples.
“PLEASE!” I said.
“OK, OK! Remember when I called you princess, so long ago?” He didn't wait for me to answer, he knew I knew. “This isn't your first life. In your previous life you where a princess. I was your guard. But then, you died. You where reborn, your memories wiped. Now that's the reason Grace wants you. You look the same, just younger. So if she kills you, and puts her soul into your body, well. You know. She'll go back, when she gets a little older in your body, and...” He paused, taking a deep breath. “She'll become princess.”
My eyes widened, “I'm, a princess?! Me?!” I cracked up.
“You may think it's funny now, but if you live, you will have to go back and continue to be princess.”
“BUT GRACE IS IM-IMPOSSIBLE TO BEAT!” I said, laughing harder. MY eyes watered from all the laughing.
“There is one way.” He said.
I stopped laughing. “Tell me.” I said looking into his eyes.
He looked away. “Courtney can tell you. I am not aloud to.”
“Courtney died.!” I said shaking him.
“YOU saved her in the house. She's waiting for you, NOW GO!” He said, pushing me out.
I tripped on my own feet. Find Courtney? She could be ANYWHERE! But it's COURTNEY! She saved me. I have to find her. Great. Another finding something thing. At least I know what to find.
It seemed almost immediately that the sky turned pitch black. I stumbled over everything in my path. Something was placed into my hand. A flashlight.
I switched it on, “Hello?” I asked, wondering who gave me the flashlight. No answer came.
My heart thudded. I starred at my feet. Bread crumbs. A trail of bread crumbs. Seeing food made me remember how hungry I was. No how starving. But now was no time for a late night snack. Somebody had made this trail. Somebody gave me the flashlight. But who?
I sang song my mom used to always sing to me. The song was from a Japanese anime. My moms friend loved anime, so she taught my mom the song. Then my mom would sing it to me. The anime was called Death note. I loved that song.
I sang, “Careful what you do, cause god is watching your every move. Hold my hand in the dark street-.” When somebody's fingers wrapped around my wrist.
I screamed, “HELPPPPPPP!”
The other hand, cupped my mouth, “MELODY! MELODY STOP!” I worried voice called out.
I stopped cold. Courtney had trapped me, “COURTNEY!” I cried.
She let go of my hand, a
nd smiled at me.
“You didn't die?” I asked.
“No, you saved me Mel!” She said, reaching over to hug me.
I pulled away, “How do I know your not Grace?” I asked cautiously.
“Look into my eyes Mel.” She said.
I looked. No blank stare, just her smiling eyes. The ones that always shone the brightest. I teared up. Courtney leaned over for a hug again. I cried onto her shirt. She didn't seem to care, because she was crying on mine, too.
“Where have you been then?” I asked.
“Oh, Grace locked my in the house in a younger body. Made replica's of my younger body and put them into random places to scare you. And now I'm me because you saved me.” She said, as if it where nothing.
“Oh Grace!” I spit on the ground. I hated her.
Courtney smiled, “All that matters is now. Your a hero, and we're still together.”
“No, your the hero.” I said, remembering all she did for me.
“We both are.” She said, not wanting to argue with me. She knew I would never back down.
I didn't want to argue either, so I just nodded.
Grace grabbed my hand, and lead me deeper into the forest. I squinted trying to look around, Courtney had taken the flashlight from me. I wondered where we where going. Suddenly I felt things scraping against my arm. I realized they where twigs. We where going through bushes. I shut my eyes, so they wouldn't get hurt.
“Open your eyes.” Courtney whispered. So I did.
My eyes widened, “You didn't have to-”
She put her finger to her lips, “No thanks needed.” She said.
She built a fort. On top of the fort was a sign Fort Melody was painted on the
The end of Forever Page 7