The Moon Goddess

Chapter Three

That night I had told Cole and my mother about my project for the next two weeks. My mother was the one who suggested for me to go to the library every day to read and try to get fresh ideas and Cole was quick to agree with her. By the time the sun started to set, Cole was on his way out as he told me, “I’ll see you tomorrow at 9 a.m. at the library, don’t be late.”

Before I could protest or say otherwise, he was gone, and I sighed.

…

It was early in the morning and I was sitting in the town’s library going over notes and ideas I could focus on, but my mind seemed to be uncooperative and blocked. I sighed in frustration as I threw another sheet of paper into the garbage bin.

My fingers were on my temples, trying to massage some creativity into me. I knew this was important, but I didn’t know what I should write about. With a sigh, I got up and headed to the library’s back exit to get some fresh air.

I had looked up at the clock and rolled my eyes. As always, Cole was late. At first it bothered me but then I had come to accept this. His excused were always the same; he had gotten caught up with some family activities, his family was demanding he stay a bit longer to help, he had chores to finish, etc.

I didn’t know his family; he was very secretive of them and didn’t speak much about the subject as if he didn’t like to mention anything about himself. I never pushed him but I was curious to know more about him and his family. Because, to me, it seemed he was very close to them, not just his immediate family but also his cousins, aunt, and uncle.

All I knew was that he had two little brothers; twins. And he only had one aunt and uncle who had three children. Maybe I could write a story about Cole’s family, I thought to myself but quickly pushed the idea away with the roll of my eyes. Cole wouldn’t like that very much and it wasn’t a very interesting topic either.

I shook my head and kept on walking further into the library’s big garden. In the center of it, stood an enormous white marble fountain. There wasn’t anything special about it, but I always loved to sit by it, the sound of water trickling down relaxed me, almost as much as spending time in the woods.

I sat down and look up at the sky. The clouds looked puffy and soft, like cotton. They were moving slowly across the sky and I was mesmerized by them.

Suddenly, a slight shimmer caught my attention and my eyes widened in bewilderment. I shook my head and began to think I had imagined it when another quick motion of light passed right in front of me. I yelped in surprise and had to hold onto the fountain to keep myself from falling into the pool of water.

I don’t know what is happening, I must be dreaming or maybe I’m dehydrated. Maybe I should go back inside, I thought to myself before quickly getting onto my feet and rushing towards the doors.

The bulbs of light only moved faster and now there was more than one. My heart was racing, I had never seen anything like it, and even though I was amazed, I was also scared about what they meant.

As I got closer to the entrance and just as I was about to open the heavy oak doors, I heard the sound of laughter and froze. There was something mystical and soothing about the laughter. I turned hesitantly to see where it had come from and my eyes widened as I saw a winged creature floating in mid-air in front of me.

That wasn’t what scared me the most. What made my eyes widened was the fact that the creature was only a couple of centimeters big, and there were wings behind her back. When our eyes met, we both yelped and jumped back.

“I am dreaming. Evangeline, you are dreaming. Yes, you fell asleep thinking about a story to write and now you’re dreaming,” I chanted to myself over and over again before shutting my eyes tightly close and opening them again, hoping I was back inside, with the book pages stuck to my cheek and Cole nudging me awake.

But nothing changed, everything was still the same as it had been only seconds ago. My heart was pounding, and it was starting to hurt as my breathing turned ragged. My mind couldn’t wrap around what was going on.

The winged, shimmering creatures were still flying around me but as soon as they realized I could see them, their tranquil, graceful dance turned into a frantic run as they searched where they could run to.

Suddenly, the sound of a deep growl caught my attention and I froze. I had almost gotten to the door, but something was holding me back. I didn’t know if it was my own curiosity that wanted answers to what I was seeing or if some magical force was holding me in place and calling me into the woods, further from the entrance.

Do not turn around, Evangeline! Remember that curiosity killed the cat, I thought to myself as I felt a slight blanket of sweat come out of my skin. But the words fell to deaf ears.

I turned to see where the growl had come from and a gasp left my body. Just at the edge of the forest, there was a big brown wolf standing there. Its dark eyes were looking directly at me, as if examining me.

Fear pumped through my veins as I took in the beast in front of me. This wasn’t a normal wolf, nothing like that. It was much bigger than any other wolf I had ever seen when my father took me into the woods with him a couple of years back. This wolf could be the size of a small bear!

My mind couldn’t take it anymore. There were too many things happening at the same time, hitting me like a ton of bricks and there was no way to find an explanation, at least not of everything.

Dizziness began to cloud my thoughts and I felt the ground under me begin to move. My knees trembled before buckling forward and I fell with my hands in front of me. My breaths were loud and fast, and I closed my eyes, trying to regain control of what I was feeling.

I heard something move closer, the grass crunched with every step and I knew it was the wolf. What was it doing? If anyone saw him, he would be as good as dead. Maybe you are about to be wolf food, my thoughts replied, and I shivered in fear.

I looked up and my eyes met the eyes of the beast. I gasped in shock, and amazement in my voice. The wolf’s expression was filled with worry and nervousness. Things I couldn’t understand why he was feeling them.

He let out a low rumble and I stiffened, thinking this was how everything was going to end. Cole would come to the library and find me dead or worse, missing. My mother would be heartbroken having lost both my father and me. And all of my dreams would be left unfulfilled.

But the wolf didn’t strike at me. Nor did he step any closer. Instead, he began to retreat into the woods until he and every creature that had been there, disappeared.

Slowly, I began to lean back to sit on my ankles. My whole body was trembling and sweating as I processed what had just happened in front of me. I didn’t know how long I sat there but then I heard the sound of a door opening before a pair of strong arms reached me and helped me up.

“There you are, I was looking for you and July said you had come out here. What’s wrong?” Cole’s strong, confident voice broke me out of my frozen state, and I gasped loudly. He eyed me closely but waited for me to say anything.

“No, let’s just get out of here. I want to go home,” I whispered quickly as he helped me get onto my feet. He didn’t press the subject which was a relief, and he helped me back inside.

Just as the door was going to close behind me, I turned around to look at the forest, wanting an explanation, but my mind was blank and there was nothing out there but trees.