The Moon Goddess

Chapter Two

In my dream, I was in the forest, but something was different. As I walked through the place that I knew like the back of my hand, I saw a slight shimmer over the flowers, leading me deeper and deeper into a place I couldn’t recognize. I turned back but my house seemed kilometers away and the trail only shone brighter.

I sighed and followed it until I found myself outside of a cave a couple of meters over the ground. The trail ended there and when I turned to look back, I saw the moon, it wasn’t its usual white color, instead, it shone red. My eyes widened and I let out a gasp in awe.

In the distance, I heard a loud howl that seemed to echo inside of me and made my stomach churn. In a moment, a pack of wolves stepped out of the trees and stood behind me, watching me. My eyes widened and my heart started to race. Hesitantly, I took a step back, not noticing the ledge of the path, and then… I was falling.

I woke up gasping for air, the dream had felt too real, at least the fall. I got up from my bed and turned on the light of my room before walking towards the kitchen to get a glass of water. As I drank from the glass, I looked out into the backyard and I squinted my eyes to focus my tired vision on a pair of glowing green orbs.

The orbs disappeared and reappeared again making me realize they weren’t lights or reflection, they were eyes. Quickly, I put my glass down and ran up the stairs towards my room. I turned the light off and ran to my bed before covering my face with the covers. My heart was still racing, and I couldn’t sleep for the rest of the night. Those green eyes haunted me, causing my body to shiver uncomfortably.

By the time I heard my mother get up, it had been hours since I had woken up, but I didn’t want to get up. Instead, I had spent my time writing in my journal where I kept small stories that popped into my mind, they were all fantasies, but they were special to me.

A knock on my door startled me and I saw my mother pop in her head into my room. She looked at me with confusion in her eyes. “Evangeline, what are you doing awake? It’s 5 a.m.”

I shrugged and turned to face her, “I couldn’t sleep.” There was no point in telling her about what I had seen at night. She’d instantly say that I had been seeing things and that my night terrors were back, and I would roll my eyes. I hadn’t had night terrors since I was little, and I could barely remember them now. All I knew was that they were the reason why I started writing in the first place; what I had seen and experienced in those nightmares what was I tried to express in my stories.

“Would you like to help me prepare breakfast?” she asked kindly, probably sensing some discomfort.

I nodded my head, “sure. I’ll just get ready for school before I head down.”

My mother looked at me pointedly before saying, “I will,” and closing the door behind her. I let out a small laugh and got ready.

…

“Mother, yesterday Mrs. Browne asked me if I had planned to go to college,” I began as I peeled the potatoes.

My mother raised an eyebrow, “that’s something you have always wanted. Did you tell her that? I am sure she can help you get into a great school.”

I stiffened and remained silent for a moment, “I don’t know if I should go.” My mother stopped what she was doing and fixed her gaze on me.

“Evangeline Patterson, what are you saying?”

I gulped and shrugged, regretting bringing up the subject. “Well, my father isn’t here, and you would need my help.”

My mother scoffed and I heard her walk towards me. She quickly took the potato from my grasp and made me look at her. “No Evangeline, I am perfectly capable of managing by myself. You, on the other hand, should get an education. You will be the first woman college graduate of our family. In fact, from now on, I will make sure you get to class on time. You will need to prove to Mrs. Browne you are serious about this.”

My eyes widened as I stared into my mother’s sincere eyes; there was no hesitation in them. “Can I get the potato back?” I asked slowly and my mother rolled her eyes before handing it back to me. I continued peeling in silence and my mother didn’t try to say anything else.

But she had been serious, after breakfast, she quickly sent me to the bathroom to wash my teeth and then out the door. I arrived just in time and Mrs. Browne eyed me curiously from the front of the room. Cole was already there talking to a redhead who was seating behind him. When he saw me; he smiled. “Good morning, Evangeline. I’m impressed you’re on time.”

I rolled my eyes as I sat down just as Mrs. Browne cleared her throat and began class.

…

“Okay, I’ll see you after spring break, everyone, study hard because once we get back the final evaluation will be placed,” Mrs. Browne said, and everyone hurried out the door to enjoy the day.

Hesitantly, I got up and walked over to Mrs. Browne’s desk. Cole placed a hand on my shoulder and motioned outside, indicating he would wait for me. I nodded my head and turned my attention back to the teacher.

“You were right, Mrs. Browne. I should have my priorities well established and… I want to apply to college,” I said slowly.

Mrs. Browne turned to look at me and a bright smile appeared on her face. “I am very pleased to hear that Ms. Patterson because it just so happens, I sent a couple of applications for you, just in case. It turns out, the community college is interested in you.”

My eyes widened and my heart began to pound in my chest. “Really? Thank you, Mrs. Browne.”

The older woman nodded her head before letting out a sigh and leaning back on her chair. “There is only one thing left for you to do. You said you were interested in literature? Well, I will need you to write a story so that I can send it to the admission board along with a recommendation letter from me but I will have to read your work first.”

I gulped and instantly stiffened as I remembered I had my journal in my backpack, but my stories had never been read by anyone before. I pushed my nerves aside and took out my journal and handed it to my teacher, “actually, I have some right here.”

I watched nervously as Mrs. Browne skimmed through my writing, quickly analyzing each page until she got to my last entry and closed the book loudly. I jumped and quickly felt nauseous.

“You cannot send this, Ms. Patterson. The stories lack structure, they lack a plot, and principally, none of them are finished,” she said quickly as she handed me my book.

I nodded and placed it in my backpack, I had never felt so exposed. “Now, I will give you until the end of spring break to bring me a story. Are you okay with that?” I nodded my head and she sighed, “I know you can do it, Evangeline.”

Without saying anything else, I quickly rushed out of the classroom and straight into Cole’s arms as tears ran down my cheeks. Cole didn’t say anything as he hugged me tightly and an uncomfortable feeling told me someone was watching us.

From behind Cole, I saw a pair of green eyes like the ones I had seen the night before, watching. I recognize the young man from our class, but I couldn’t remember his name. His intense gaze was fixed on us and his body stiffened.

When our eyes met, he jumped slightly and quickly turned away. Meanwhile, I froze, warmth and electricity had coursed through my whole body making me feel alive and tingly. Something I had never felt before. But the feeling was gone as soon as it had come as the man walked away.

The howl from the night before echoed in my mind and I shivered as I watched him disappear outside.