???

  The fridge hums softly as I scurry towards it, yanking it open and shoving the pre-made sausage rolls into my favourite purple picnic bag. Wait…Was I supposed to bring desserts instead? I freeze for a moment, then snap back to shut the bag. Too late now.

  My eyes flicker to the small analogue clock on the wall showing-

  Ah shit.

  I rush out of the kitchen, nearly tripping over the rug as I snatch my sandals and slide them on. As I straighten up, I instinctively look at the family portrait hanging by the door. My father’s soft smile, frozen in time, makes me slow my pace for a moment. The house hasn’t been the same since he died.

  He had sickle cell anemia, at least, that’s what the doctors called it. But no matter the number of transfusions he had, his cells never regenerated. It was like his body gave up before he wanted to. And when he died, he took a part of Mum with him. She would constantly bring up the childish stories my dad used to tell us about magic and kings. My brother soon left after that, refusing to ‘entertain’ her delusions like I did. He always thought that forcing her to face reality would fix things. Instead, it shattered her. The realisation that she had a truly dead husband and children she had pushed away, broke her. She checked herself into a care home shortly after, leaving me behind in a desolate, hollow home.

  Trapped.

  It feels like my life is falling apart.

  I feel orphaned and distant from myself, my hobbies, my interests. I love history, but teaching bored fifteen-year-olds about medieval kings and customs isn’t cutting it. Maybe I should get into fantasy roleplay at the English Heritage events, heh.

  A sharp chime pulls me back, and I flip open my phone. I’m so late.

  Grabbing my keys, I chuck them into my bag, fling the door open, and sprint. By some miracle, I make it to the bus just in time, panting as I slap my fare onto the driver’s metal tray. I collapse into my seat, my forehead against the cool window. A luxury in contrast to the warmer temperatures outside. I pull myself back, using this time to straighten up my clothes. I comb the frizz in my strawberry blonde hair and straighten my blue-patterned skirt.

  Outside, my grey town drags past; it’s tired and stuck in a decade that’s long since moved on. Tower buildings of concrete slabs, graffiti-tagged bus stops, and drained people litter the ill town.

  England in the 90s. This is the time when we’re supposed to be on the edge of something new, but here? It’s the same as it’s always been. A place where people settle and dreams die.

  I need to get out of here. If it wasn’t for Mum being in a care home in town, I would’ve left a time ago. But I can’t leave her, I can’t let her feel alone too.

  My brewing thoughts disappear as the bus pulls into the station, and three familiar faces stand in wait at the entrance.

  Amelia, Ellie, and Millie.

  They cross their arms with brows raised, staring at me in the distance. Yeah, yeah, I'm late. Get over it. I jog over to them and mutter out a quick apology, and before long, we're on our next bus, the chariot to our deliciously beautiful destination.

  All words intended as I know Ellie brought victoria sponge cake, and when has it ever not been an exciting day when cake is involved?

  On the bus, we watch as the town shrinks behind us. The suffocating grey dissolves into a flowering plain of rolling hills, a dense woodland meeting its edge. When we finally step off, I breathe what feels like my first real breath. Ugh, this is nature's bliss! The sunlight shines through the tall leafy oak trees, golden beams striking the floor like gates to a world of light. We spread out a blanket at the woodland’s edge, the scent of wild flowers and fresh air washing over us. The occasional rabbit passes. I could stay here forever.

  At this moment, it feels as though everything is right. A moment that feels as though my father is alive, my mother is still whole, and my brother never left.

  The overwhelming sense of calmness and freedom arises like I can lay dormant forever just staring at the view. As if the encapsulating beauty of the meadow is unconsciously draining me of all my worries and sensibilities. As though nothing matters in this view of flowing grass and colourful vegetation.

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  Moving my attention back over to the group, I join in the laughter as we watch Ellie dramatically retch as she pulls a tomato from her sandwich.

  “Good for the plants.” I say, flinging my own into the long grass.

  We all nod in agreement. ‘Tomatoes are the enemy. ’

  “It’s nice that we can still do this.” Amelia smiles, chewing on one of the sausage rolls.

  It is nice. Life has a way of pulling people apart, and work just seems to drown that. But we’re still here, and that’s nice.

  Ellie, who is seemingly unable to sit still for more than five minutes, suddenly jumps to her feet. “Come on,” She grins, her face beaming with mischief. “Let’s go explore.”

  And without a moment of hesitation, she’s off. Sprinting into the trees like she was thirteen again, not twenty-three.

  For a moment, we pause. We’re adults now, we’re supposed to be calm and composed, mature women.

  Screw it.

  As if we all had the same thought, we leap up, hitching skirts and rolling up pant-legs. The trees rush past us as we sprint towards her. My lungs burn, and my muscles scream- God, I need to exercise more. Our laughter entangles at the sheer amusement of it all. Finally catching up to her, we collapse onto the forest floor, red-faced and breathless. We take a moment to look at the sky hidden by the canopy of the trees as we catch our breath.

  Amelia sits up. "Should we go to the pond? I want to wash my hands." She suggests to the group.

  "Is that really true, or are you going to pluck the reeds from the pond and chase us again?" Millie questions with her arms crossed, remembering our last visit to the pond.

  Amelia just stares at her as if she's a deer in the headlights.

  "Uhh…I'm unwilling to answer that." She adds before walking off in the direction of the pond.

  "We might as well go. Something to add to our adventure before we catch the bus home." I add, pushing Millie and Ellie in the direction of the small body of water.

  Along the way to the pond, we make sure to distance ourselves away from the edge of the path where a steep slope runs along one side. It's not a big slope, yet it's still slippery and steep enough that you could sprain an ankle or two. Never mind the dense shrubbery located along the slope and base that would most definitely cause a nasty bruise or cut.

  So either way, it's best to stay on the side of the path where there's flat land next to it and not a steep slope of a bruiseful fall.

  The line of trees on either side of the path becomes less dense as a small opening between them shows the hidden, nestled pond surrounded by a sparse amount of reeds. Amelia and Ellie rush to the pond to wash away the dirt and grime on their hands as Mille and I slowly make our way towards them. I hoist my skirt to just above my knees and kneel on the dry ground, washing my hands into the lukewarm water, turning to see Millie doing the same. Serenity captures me once again- Cold water suddenly slaps the back of my head.

  “Hehe whoops…” Ellie sheepishly grins, her hands still dripping.

  Oh, she’s dead.

  I cup some water in my hands and lunge for her, but she shrieks and bolts, sprinting back towards the trees.

  Gaining on her, I threw the water towards her, missing completely, yet having fun in the chase. Though it quickly dawns on me that I am without any weapons in my arsenal; I am completely defenceless against this lunatic. I stare at her blankly as she slowly turns to me and gives me the deepest devilish grin I’ve ever seen somebody make…Run!

  I squeal as I turn to run away, ducking into the wooded surroundings to escape my foe. I find cover behind a tree a distance away from where the pond is.

  I take a moment to try to catch my breath as I wait out Ellie’s attempts to find me. Hearing a noise in front of me, I slowly peer out from behind the tree to see a shadow race past the small collection of trees on the other side of the path. Holding my breath, I creep out and follow the path the shadow makes. A sudden rustling breaks the silence, and I whip around just in time to see the shadow slip behind a tree. Idiot, I see youuu. Swiftly changing my movements, I run towards the shadow. Envisioning my soon-to-be victory in slow motion, I reach my hand out in front of me, hoping to catch Ellie by surprise, but in the large stride forward I take, the dense trees before me dissipate.

  Time and comprehension evade me as I cross the path and teeter on the edge of the slope. The shadow appears before my last stride as I lose the fight with gravity, and suddenly, time seems to slow. I turn to face the shadow that guided me to my eventual fall. Dad? Before I can even come to terms with whom or what I saw, I register the steep slope before me filled with dense, prickly shrubbery. As I hit the ground, the world moves in a blur of motion as I'm propelled down the slope to the forest floor.

  I instinctively throw my arms up, shielding myself from sharp thorns, countless branches, and prickly plants as the world flips through sky and earth. Then everything stops, and the air changes.

  And through blurred vision, I see them.

  A ring of white mushrooms, and then. Darkness…

  Weightlessness, as if I was floating on water. The feeling encapsulates my semi-conscious state.

  It reminds me of a familiar sensation from my childhood, when my family and I had gone to the local baths, and I had found enjoyment in drifting aimlessly on the surface of the pool. I felt as though I was completely unaffected by my own mass, a surreal moment of bliss and calmness.

  Yet this feels different from that quaint sensation, more ominous...As if I had fallen into a hole I couldn't quite reach out of. Or if I had tumbled into a place where my soul didn’t wholly belong.

  A feeling of dread and hopelessness fills me as my body lies bruised and battered on the now flat ground.