Dragon Soul

The sun had set below the roof of trees. A single light slid its delicate fingers through the cracks of the branches, giving the earth below a gentle glow. There was a hush within this dense forest. The life within had settled in their homes, holes, and burrows for the night, leaving only the few to wander about. But the few knew better than to disturb the peace of the sleeping woods. All except one. Her small shoes that were strapped together with Velcro did not make much noise, but compared to the trained silence of the forest, her presence was announced like the clock tower in the center of London. She was alone here, but not afraid. She had been here before and the determination in her dark eyes sparked like a fire in the darkness. She would find what she was searching for. She slowed her pace for a moment to look back the way she came. Biting her lip, she turned her head back around and continued to move forward, only afraid of what her parents might do if they found out she had snuck out so late at night. An owl’s sharp eyes spied the girl among the trees. She was a smaller version of the full-grown humans the owl had seen before, but not small enough for her dinner. With one silent beat of her strong wings, the owl moved on to find a creature more worthy of her late-night snack.  The girl wondered much further than she normally dared to venture into these woods. Looking up at the moon, which had already reached over the tops of the trees, she began to wonder if she should turn back. Just then, a branch cracked, and the startled girl tripped over an exposed root. She tumbled to the ground with a small thud. Her long, brown hair brushing over her eyes that were just starting to fill with tears. The girl rubbed her scraped knees with frustration. Just after brushing her hair from her eyes, she froze. Inches away stood a great, white wolf. Its curious, icy blue eyes were level with hers as it bent it’s head down to sniff her tears. It lingered in that position for just a moment, then touched the tip of its tongue to the girl’s salt ridden cheeks. The girl giggled and hugged the neck of the wolf, her tiny fingers gripping its soft, white fur.  “There you are!” She exclaimed. “I told my mom and dad that you were real, but they wouldn’t believe me!”  The wolf tilted its head. “Can we go now?” The girl asked. The wolf pushed its large snout into the girl’s dark brown curls making her giggle again, then it stood up and began to walk away. The girl jumped to her feet and scurried to the wolf’s side. She ran her hands through the thick mane as they walked together under the moonlight. Any sort of animal life nearby had stopped to check out the abnormal sight. A white wolf walking alongside a human child in the middle of the forest. The wolf was not only large and white, but its body pulsed with a curious light. As though fireflies had buried themselves in the wolf’s body to create rivers of the white light. The girl tracked the lights movements with her fingers, following the streams in a race to see which one could reach the tip of the wolf’s ears first. The girl always lost this little race of hers due to the fact that her arms were not long enough to reach the ears. The wolf looked down at the girl appearing amused and bent down its head so the girl’s hands could rub the tips of its ears.  They walked side by side for a few long moments until they reached the edge of a glistening silver pond. The waters were so still that the moon appeared to be sitting on the surface.  The girl’s lips turned downwards. “Can’t I come with you this time?” She asked, her eyes sparkling as she begged. The wolf met her gaze, then looked away. Its bright blue eyes glazed over the pool.  The girl already knew the answer before she asked. She stood beside the wolf clutching the fur on its side. The wolf lingered a moment before kneeling its head down to level with the girl’s eyes. It closed its eyes and touched the tip of its nose to hers. The girl’s smiled a little but could not stop the tears from running down her cheeks. The moment the wolf touched her; she knew she would not be meeting it again.  “Why can’t you just stay here?” She sobbed. “Mom and Dad will let you stay with us if I ask really nicely. I’ll take care of you and you can sleep in my room! We can play in the forest everyday like we always do! Please don’t go!”  The wolf straightened to its full height. The top of the girl’s head barely reached its shoulders. Tilting its head, it released a cry heard by the stars. Its howl echoed into the night until the silence was no more. The forest stirred from its slumber as it awoke to say farewell to the foreign beast. The wolf took one last glance of longing towards the small human girl and walked across the pond. Its paws did not sink into the water. They glided on top of the surface. The girl watched in awe until the wolf disappeared behind the reflection of the moon. It was as if the moon swallowed the wolf whole, taking the girl’s best friend away forever.                                                  I: The Shrine     Rhaven loved walking to school every morning. Most of her friends who lived near her got rides from their parents or carpooled, but Rhaven insisted on walking every day. It wasn’t because of the nice weather, in fact, it was sometimes so cold that her toes would feel like they had iron rods stuck through them by the time she got to school. It wasn’t even because her morning walks were the only source of exercise, she gave herself during the day. The way to school was about a twenty-minute walk, but Rhaven’s was usually around thirty. Instead of following the sidewalk, Rhaven chose to walk along the “short-cut” she discovered the day she moved back to Japan a year ago.   Rhaven’s feet crunched on the piles of freshly fallen leaves. With each gust of that autumn breeze, a dozen or so more leaves would come gliding to the ground. She tightened her red scarf around her neck when the latest gust sent chills up her spine. Instead of heading straight along the path to school, Rhaven turned off the sidewalk and onto a small dirt path leading into the woods. The leaves were more densely scattered on the ground the deeper she walked into the trees. There weren’t any birds chirping or rabbits scurrying about. There wasn’t any sound at all except for the crunching of her feet and the crashing of leaves in the wind. This is what Rhaven lived for. The silence on her walks was a nice relief from the loudness of everything else. Just for these few minutes, Rhaven liked to breath.  It was only a few moments of walking before Rhaven walked past the large, red gate that proudly guarded what stood behind it. The red paint was fading off of the wooden torii gate and vines wrapped themselves around the end pillars. Rhaven walked up the stairs that lead her to a spot hidden beneath the shadows and unkempt trees and saw the familiar small shrine that lived there. This was the reason Rhaven chose to walk. No one came to this shrine anymore. Rhaven figured it was because of how inconvenient its location was. The walk here was a bit uphill and Rhaven would sometimes have to step over the overgrown roots of the trees. The shine was small, old, and forgotten, but this is what made her fall in love with it. Here, she could come and be alone in a place that was completely hers. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath of the earthy scent.   After taking a quick peek at her watch, she said a quick prayer in front of the shrine and continued on her way to school. The path led her in a loop back to the sidewalk near her school. She walked into a sea of students in uniforms chatting or staring blankly at their cellphones. She plugged in her earbuds for the remainder of her walk.   The sounds of high school were consistent. The squeaking of shoes on the tiled floors, metal locker doors smashing shut one after another, and the constant murmur of voices as the kids around her chatted amongst each other. It was the designated playlist of all the schools she had been to. Although the people were different and the places were different, Rhaven remained the same. Rhaven tried her best to get to her class unnoticed, but a pair of arms caught her from behind and tugged her to a stop.              “Nikki! I have to get to class. Let go,” Rhaven groaned and rolled her eyes at her friend.             “Where were you last night,” Nikki had let go of Rhaven’s arm, but Rhaven knew that there was no escaping this conversation now. Nikki was a good head shorter than Rhaven. Her dark brown hair curled around her giant green eyes that were currently glaring right into Rhaven’s soul. Rhaven and Nikki were both half Japanese and shared the same color of eyes but Nikki’s were much brighter and larger than Rhaven’s whose eyes resembled patches of algae that float on the surface of a pond. At first, they both used each other as an excuse to speak English to one another in a school where everyone only spoke Japanese, but eventually, the two of them became an unlikely pair.              “I told you I wasn’t coming. You know I hate those class bonding events we always do. Those kinds of things are just excuses for everyone to show off all the other clothes they own and I happen to like these uniforms,” Rhaven explained. The uniforms they both wore were typical of most Japanese high schools. White button up shirt, plaid ruffled shirt, a sweater vest, tie, and suit jacket. The uniforms were a great way of saving time picking out clothes every day, until you had to get them dry cleaned, but the uniform wasn’t really the reason why Rhaven skipped out on bowling night.              Nikki sighed. “Yeah whatever. But you owe me okay? How are we supposed to be the two hottest girls there if I’m the only one there?” Rhaven rolled her eyes again, but the smile on her face was unavoidable. Nikki always knew how to push past Rhaven’s typical morning attitude.              “Fine. Next time I’ll show up. But it’s gonna be jeans and a t-shirt for me, okay? No fancy sundresses or Ray Bans or whatever else you want to dress me up in.” Rhaven was already walking in the direction of her class before Nikki even had time to protest.              Rhaven slid open the classroom door and a rush of air blew her pitch-black hair over her shoulders. The seasons were just starting to change here in Japan, but the packed classrooms tended to run on the stuffy side. The classroom’s windows were all cracked, letting the cool breeze from outside swirl through the small room. Rhaven sighed a bit at the refreshing temperature of her classroom and continued walking to her seat in the row next to the windows, third seat back. She was greeted by several people as she walked past but did not stop to chat with any of them. It wasn’t that she hated any of her classmates, it was mostly because she couldn’t find a reason to get close to any of them. She knew she was like everyone else here. Maybe it was her ego or arrogance, or maybe it was all the moving her family did for the Air Force. Whatever the reason was, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she didn’t belong here.              After dropping her bag on the ground next to her, borderline aggressively slamming it down, Rhaven slide into her seat, mentally preparing herself for a long day of sitting, not really listening to lectures, and awkward social situations that would be awaiting her for today. She crossed her arms on her desk and laid her head down in the corner of her elbow. A five-minute nap would at least help her tolerate the rest of the day. But before she could even shut her eyes all the way, a light tap on her shoulder sparked at her temper.              “Morning Rhaven,” said the deep, husky voice of the guy behind her. “Angsty as always this morning I see.”              Rhaven ignored him.             “You know there’s a coffee shop literally right outside the school. You should think about stopping there in the mornings sometime,” he continued.             “Yeah but why would I pay for coffee when I have someone as perky as you to wake me up everyday.” Rhaven was now facing him. She did her best to make it obvious that she would rather not be chatting this early in the morning. “Haru, if you keep interrupting my naps, I’m going to be cursed with this teenage angst forever,” she warned him.             “There’s not even five minutes until class. How could you possibly fall asleep that fast?” Haru laughed and leaned back in his chair. His legs were too long for the sorry excuses for desks they made us sit in, so his feet reached under Rhaven’s chair and crossed at the ankles. She found it extremely annoying, but it happened so often she even stopped kicking his feet when they brushed hers.              “I have my ways. But since you interrupted me, I have an excuse to be mean to you all day.”             “See! I did you a favor. You love to be mean to me.” Haru’s lips curled up mischievously. Rhaven knew that she was just feeding into his trap. He was the type to think that if a girl happened to bump into him in the hallway it would mean that she was into him. Rhaven refused to give him any kind of sign that this was the case for her.              “You’re right. I do,” Rhaven replied icily. With that she turned her back to him, ignoring the rest of his attempts to get her to turn back around.              Mr. Yamada came in and Rhaven practically dropped to her knees and prayed to Jesus right then and there. Without even looking up, the teacher pointed in Haru’s direction and lazily mumbled, “Haru how about you focus on finishing the homework you put off until right before class and leave Rhaven alone.”  A few of the kids that were listening laughed and Haru, unphased, put his hands behind his head and replied, “Oh come on Mr. Yamada. Who’s going to bring you coffee every morning if you say things like that.” Mr. Yamada smiled as he wrote today’s agenda on the white board. He didn’t say anything back, but Rhaven could’ve sworn he saw him wink back at Haru. She sighed under her breath. Why did every teacher give Haru a free pass? Crossing her arms across her chest and resting her chin on them, she sat through the rest of the agonizingly long lecture about the history of World War II. Rhaven felt grateful that her mother had taught her both English and Japanese as a kid. Mr. Yamada moved from one major event to the next without stopping. Rhaven took a peek at the classroom around her. Mostly every head in the class was topped with pitch black hair with the exception of the few foreign exchange kids in the front with light brown and blonde hair, whose eyes closely studied the notes Mr. Yamada made on the board. Rhaven had a feeling that they were going to approach her after class and ask for a translation of the notes. She turned her head toward the open window beside her and took a whiff of the fresh air seeping out of the small opening. The crisp air sent shivers up her spine and goosebumps began to prickle up the hair on her arms, but she didn’t dare close the window. It was the only source of freedom from this hellhole of a school.  Rhaven didn’t hate the people at this school, in fact, these were some of the nicest people she had ever met. There was hardly any bullying that she had seen yet, and everyone welcomed her with open arms when she transferred here from the states a few years ago. If anything, it was the simple fact that she hated sitting in a cramped classroom for hours on end every day. Her dad told her she must have ADD. She couldn’t even sit through an hour and a half movie without feeling the need to get up and walk around. He was probably right. She noticed more than half the class were shuffling in their seats and reading the posters around the room probably for the hundredth time this hour. Maybe we all have ADD, she almost said out loud.     There wasn’t a single class that didn’t feel like an eternity had gone by when it was over. Rhaven bounced out of her seat, instantly feeling like she could breathe again. Her stomach rumbled with the idea of lunch. Before she knew it, her legs were already leading her to the cafeteria. She could hear Haru calling out her name before she left, but she blatantly ignored him. The lunch room was already buzzing with people. Some were sitting down with their lunches already and others were waiting in line for the various selections of foods. There were multiple lines for each different types of food and even a line for American style lunches, but Rhaven hopping into her normal line which lead to the stuffed breads her mouth watered for. Nikki joined her in line soon after. The boy behind us didn’t even complain when she cut in front of him, but Rhaven felt his eyes tearing a hole in the back of her head. A few other boys nearby looked to the two of them, as well. They chatted amongst each other and Rhaven could’ve sworn she heard one giggle. Rhaven knew she shouldn’t complain about these kinds of things. She knew they weren’t talking s**t about her or Nikki, quite the opposite. Rhaven and Nikki were not the only half- Japanese girls in the school, but they managed to get the most attention. Rhaven glanced over at Nikki to see her wider eyes and long silky hair that ran down her back in perfect curls. She knew Nikki was attractive but struggled to see much value in her own appearance. Rhaven didn’t think of herself as ugly, but she didn’t care much about the way other people saw her. Her eyes were of similar shape to Nikki’s, maybe a bit rounder, her lips slightly fuller, and her hair was a much lighter brown. She knew she got most of her traits from her father. She loved her father very much, but wished every day that she kept more features from her mother. Rhaven wished she could tell everyone to stop staring. It wasn’t like they didn’t see her every day. Nikki, however, was eating up all the attention. She was meant to be in the spotlight. Rhaven always imagined that Nikki would end up becoming a superstar one day and leave Rhaven in the dust of her fame. Nikki insisted that she would take her with if she ever became famous. She would always talk about tour buses and sold out shows. “Just come and visit me every now and then,” Rhaven would tell her. “I’m not really into being dragged around the world like an emotional support poodle.”  Rhaven and Nikki grabbed their lunches and found an empty table in the middle of the lunch room. Almost as if they were standing in the shadows waiting for the two of them to sit down, other students began to fill up the seats around Rhaven and Nikki. Nikki made conversation with each of them, while Rhaven shamelessly scarfed down her food. When she finished everything on her plate, she still felt the force of the ice cream line calling to her.  “I’ll be right back, Nikki,” Rhaven announced. Nikki waved her hand a bit. She was busy telling a story about her trip to Okinawa she had over summer break.  Rhaven didn’t have to wait in line that long for the ice cream. There were multiple flavors, all with Japanese labels on them. Rhaven chose the one covered in the most chocolate, but before she could head back to her seat, Haru stopped her in her tracks as her face nearly planted into his chest. “Hey Rhaven. I know you ignored me earlier. I’m hurt, truly I am. But I know how you can make it up to me.” Haru’s impish smile gleamed down at Rhaven. He was the hotshot around here, but Rhaven didn’t buy it. He was over six foot and his face was angled in all the right places. When he smiled, a dimple pinched at one of his cheeks. Rhaven could feel the burning glares of a few first-year girls on her.  “Yeah. Not gonna happen Haru. It was a good try though,” she said in a sweet sarcastic voice.  “Why do you always shoot me down, Rhaven. You’re killing my self-esteem you know that, right?” he clutched a hand to his chest like Rhaven had stabbed him. “Well it needed to be knocked down a few pegs anyway,” she replied. “Why don’t you- “ Rhaven’s words were cut off by an ear splitting scream that echoed through the halls of the cafeteria like a hard slap to the face. All the heads in the room snapped towards the table Rhaven was sitting at before. There was a crowd around someone laying on the floor next to it. Rhaven rushed over and pushed through all the people. On the floor, withering with foam seeping from her mouth was Nikki.  Rhaven shrieked in horror. “Someone! Please! Call an ambulance!” she accidently yelled in English, dropping to her knees next to Nikki. Nikki kept convulsing while Rhaven and some other students made sure to move all objects away from her. A few seconds later, a teacher dropped next to Rhaven and moved Nikki onto her side. The next to happen would haunt Rhaven’s dreams forever. Nikki’s skins began to turn a sickly green. Her eyes were rolling into the back of her head and suddenly tears began to stream down her face. Black tears. The green skin began to shrivel from her fingertips and nose. It was as if her body was beginning to go through years of decay in a matter of seconds. Everyone was screaming at the sight of Nikki’s body decomposing before their eyes. Rhaven and the teacher could do nothing as Nikki let out a final strangled cry and her body went limp.  Rhaven screamed out another cry, both in the horror of what just happened and for the loss of her friend. Rhaven fought the urge to touch the remains of her beloved friend. Nikki’s body looked like it had been sitting out in the hot sun for days. Her face was still stained with the strange black liquid that came from her eyes. Her skin had shrunk to cling onto her bones. She looked frail and hollow. She looked dead. The next hour passed by in a blur. There was an ambulance that arrived and soon after that, a few police men and after that, a few more police men. The cafeteria turned into a crime scene, but no one was really sure what they were looking at. A few officers attempted to ask Rhaven what happened, but she couldn’t say much more than a few yes’s and no’s. Many of the students were crying or staring into space. The teachers decided to send everyone home.  Rhaven wasn’t approached by anyone as she left the building. Her phone was buzzing from her backpack. Reluctantly, she pulled the phone out and answered.  “Rhaven! Are you alright?!” Her dad sounded frantic.  “Yeah, Dad. I think so,” she managed to say. “Come home right away okay? Your brother was sent home, too. They don’t know what’s going on.”  “Dad?” She mumbled. “I’m going to keep you two home for a few days. Just to make sure this isn’t something crazy,” he continued. “Dad.” “I’m driving home from the base now. I’ll be home soon, okay? Don’t worry It’s probably nothing.” “DAD!” Rhaven practically screamed. The phone was silent. She didn’t often yell at her father. “Nikki is dead.” “What?” he breathed. “She’s dead. She died right in front of me. Something is wrong, Dad. It wasn’t natural. I tried to help, but I’ve never seen anything like that before. I know you always taught me how to act in those situations… but I just couldn’t. It all happened so fast. I’m sorry, Dad.” Rhaven was trying not to sob out her words. She still wasn’t thinking straight. She just kept seeing Nikki’s eyes streaming out black tears in her mind. “I know you tried your best just like you always do. Come home, baby. It’s going to be alright. Everything is okay. Just come home.” Rhaven nodded her head and said, “I’ll be there soon. Tell Robin to use the back door.” “Of course, honey. It’s going to be okay. We’re in this together. Just the three of us. Your mom is with us too of course. She will keep us safe.” Rhaven was really crying now. Tears were dripping off her nose. She was grateful that there were no people around to see her cry. She hung up and turned onto her forest trail, wiping the tears from her eyes and holding her head high. Still sniffling, she marched through the gates of the forgotten shrine and headed to the small building of the shrine. She sat before it, fingers folded together and looked up to the sky.  “Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll keep them safe I swear. I’ll keep them all safe,” she muttered, letting a few tears slip down her cheeks. The woods seemed quiet. Quieter than they were only seconds ago. It felt like the world was sitting still. The hairs on her arm rose up like electricity was running through her body. Rhaven suddenly felt a pang of stupidity. After all the movies she had seen about girls wandering in creepy dark woods alone, how could she have let her guard down so easily. As if she had pressed play on an under-budget horror film, she heard a twig snap from behind her. She whipped her head around so fast that her hair, which was starting to dampen from sweat, slapped her directly in the eye. Rhaven rose to her feet, frantically wiping her green eyes that were already red around the edges.  Even after her fingers had wiped her vision clear again, what she saw before her made her rub them again just to make sure. Standing in front of her was a great white wolf. It was the biggest wolf she had ever seen. Its head reached at least a couple feet higher than hers. The white fur that was free of any dirt or blemish and seemed to pulsate with a strange light, but Rhaven hardly noticed its peculiar fur because her eyes were locked with two, large piercing blue eyes that stared unblinkingly at her.  The wolf took a step towards her and Rhaven jumped back immediately, keeping as much distance from the creature as she could. A whimper escaped the lips of its snout when Rhaven stepped away. For a moment, the wolf seemed as harmless as a puppy. Rhaven felt her body loosen with ease. Maybe it wasn’t a threat to her after all. The wolf took another step forward but this time Rhaven stood her ground. She made sure to keep her guard up, but let the wolf come closer and closer until it was inches from her face. Rhaven was surprised that she hadn’t bolted yet. Normally when a wild animal, especially one this large, approaches someone, that person shouldn’t feel as calm as Rhaven did at that moment.  A large black nose dipped down to touch the top of her forehead gently. Rhaven closed her eyes that were still a bit wet from her tears. She then felt the tongue of the wolf taste the saltiness of her cheeks and suddenly Rhaven knew. Images flashed back into her memory. The summer from her past in the dark forest where they met all came back to her. She remembered the small little girl she used to be getting lost in the forest, unable to make it back home. Only to be rescued by a great white wolf. She remembered the affection they both shared for each other that grew with every night she snuck out of her house to meet with her friend the wolf. And she remembered the night when her best friend disappeared, leaving her behind without any idea when they would see each other again. She remembered everything.  Tentatively, Rhaven raised her hand up to touch the wolf’s snout. “Is it really you?” she whispered. The wolf met her halfway and nuzzled its nose into her palm. “It is you!” she cried out. She fell into its thick white mane and tightened her arms around the wolf’s neck. More tears streamed down her face she spoke into its fur with a muffled voice, “I thought you had forgotten me… then again I almost forgot you, too.” Her nose was running onto the soft fur, but the wolf didn’t seem to mind. “I thought I would never see you again.” When she finally pulled away, she tilted her head up to stare again into the deep pools of blue. It was like looking into the reflection of a freshly frozen lake in December. This time there was no fear in Rhaven’s gaze. The mighty beast broke the connection and began to walk past her. With each step, the ground seemed to tremble beneath its paws. Rhaven wasn’t about to let her long-lost friend walk away so easily again. This time, she wouldn’t ever leave its side. For so long Rhaven had held this secret inside her. She never told her parents about her wolf friend. She didn’t even mention it when her mom was on her deathbed. For years she felt this loneliness inside of her, like her life was missing something important. Even as she grew older and the memories started to fade away, the emptiness remained.  She didn’t have to follow the wolf very far. They walked along a path that lead behind the shrine. The path was lined with large rounded stones. Rhaven stared wide eyed at the path that she was not sure was there before now. She had explored this shrine inside and out. The only thing here was a worn-down shrine house and trees as far as the eye could see. They walked together along the path, Rhaven trailing behind closely as to make sure she didn’t lose sight of her friend the wolf.  The stone path lead to a clearing in the trees a few minutes away from the shrine. Now Rhaven was sure that this wasn’t here before. The clearing seemed to have a season of its own. The rest of Japan was in early fall, but in this clearing, it was the beginning of summer. The flowers were in full bloom and the sun shined brightly overhead like a parent smiling over their children. The field was filled with various species of tiny flowers in full bloom. As they walked further into the clearing, Rhaven was careful not to step on the delicate flowers; they were too beautiful to destroy. The trees surrounded the area tightly. Their branches hugging the branches from one tree to another. They were the guardians of this place, protecting it from the sight of the rest of the world. Rhaven felt overwhelmed with a sense of pure freedom. She trusted her friend to never lead her into harms way. She looked to the wolf who still walked at a steady pace in front of her. Its bushy tail brushed against the grass and flowers as it walked. The sun shinned against its brilliant fur, making it sparkle so brightly that Rhaven had to squint her eyes a bit in order to see her friend clearly. Occasional, the wolf would stop and look back at Rhaven to make sure she still followed, but only for a second and then it continued on its way. Rhaven knew that the wolf was leading her somewhere. She wondered how much longer they would be walking for. She knew her family was expecting her at home, but she needed to see what the wolf was trying to show her.  They continued until they reached the far side of the field. Sitting at the end of it was a large pond. Its waters were crystal clear and smooth as glass, as if nothing living had touched it for years, or ever. A large rock wall lined the other side of the water. It towered over the entire pond, shading its surface and making it impossible to see the bottom. The wolf stopped at the edge of the water. Its intelligent eyes looked back to Rhaven expectantly. She wasn’t sure what it wanted but decided to come stand by its side and brush her hands through the silky, white fur.  “You were gone for so long. So much has changed,” Rhaven said. “and yet, you look the same as I remember you to be. Well I guess you might’ve gotten a little bigger if that were even possible.” She laughed shortly at her own joke and was sure she heard the wolf grumble a bit too. “I was so young then. All I wanted was to live with you in that forest and for the two of us to be together forever. I even wanted to bring you home to meet my parents at one point. Imagine the look on their faces!” Rhaven could feel herself smiling widely at the memory. “But things are different now. I’m not a little kid anymore. I know better than to believe that you would be able to stay here with me. As much as I wish it were possible… it’s just not. I’m not sure why you came back, but I know you’re probably not going to stay for much longer. But if you don’t mind, could we just stay here for a moment.” Rhaven’s eyes focused on the surface of the pond, unable to look away. “Just for a moment longer,” she breathed. The wolf leaned into her, letting her stroke its neck as much as she pleased. There was a moment then that the two of them did not move from that spot. Rhaven dared not speak again. She feared that speaking meant that time would start back up again and the two of them would have to part ways once again. Rhaven no longer heard the trees rustling, nor birds chirping. The water lapped slightly onto the bank but made no noise either. The world was still, and Rhaven found herself holding her breath. When she realized this, she let out the air, gasping and suddenly the world began spinning again. The trees, birds, and wind slapped her back into reality again. The wolf stood up in attention suddenly, causing Rhaven to stumble and fall to her knees. With one long claw, the wolf broke the surface of the pond. As if awakening a baby from a long slumber, the pond began to ripple from the contact of the claw. The ripples glided across the water, bouncing on the rock wall and back to the bank. The wolf took a step onto the water; not in it but on it. The ripples continued to swirl unnaturally around the surface until the whole pond looked like a disorganized Japanese sand garden.   Rhaven was so distracted by the strange water effects, she didn’t even notice that the wolf had reached the other side of the lake. She panicked. “Wait! Don’t go yet! Please!” she cried. She tried to raise herself to her feet but as she rose, she lost her balance again and fell face first into the water. there was a sound of rushing water that filled her ear drums when she crashed through the surface. From there, the world went black.