The screech of tires sliding across the pavement still rang in Sophie's ears. The smell of burnt rubber still assaulted her nostrils. She could still see the gss shattering and blood. Blood, that iron-like scent, and the sight of deep crimson was more vivid than any other sense... and the sharp screams that assaulted her ears and haunted her dreams as her ears would begin to ring as they reverberated in her mind. Sophie wondered if that would ever clear her mind, as well as the sight of the water below her coming closer and closer, threatening to envelope her. She had felt the impact and then after that, everything went dark. Sophie could safely assume that this was when she suffered blunt force trauma to the brain and lost every memory she had before that moment. Part of her wished that she had lost that memory as well but wasn't fortunate enough. Yet that memory was the closest thing she had to what her life was like before. And thus, in order to remember that life, she would have to go back and try to remember. Sophie's knuckles whitened as her hands gripped her sheets and mattress tightly, her nails digging in to try to give herself a sense of being grounded. Sophie grimaced as she tightened her eyes, allowing the memory to py repeatedly in her head, her mind frantically trying to grasp at anything that would give her a hint to something other than the main points she had repeated over and over again, pouring over them for some hint, some key to who she was before. After a few moments, she rexed, her light blue eyes opening like the sky after a storm. It was no use. Her mind wouldn't pick up anything before those moments. The only thing Sophie did know from her previous life, besides the fact she had been in an accident, was that she had a sister. This was because the doctors had told her this fact, as well as her name. This is more information than some amnesiacs had (at least that's what the doctors had told her), so she considered herself lucky. Sophie sat up, her hands still gripping her sheets as she pulled one knee up towards her chest. Her head slumped forward as she bit her lip, her straight, dirty blonde hair cascading over her shoulders. Sophie let out a long sigh and sat for a moment, lost in her thoughts. She, as one would, greatly disliked not being able to remember anything from before her accident. At least if she remembered she would be able to find someone else in her family for help. But instead, she was stuck here in this town, waiting patiently for her sister to wake up. The reason for this was because the same accident that had left Sophie an amnesiac had sent Sophie's sister into a coma. As far as Sophie knew, her sister was the only person who might have a link to her past, and the only person she had in her family. No one had come for them once they had gone missing. So, Sophie made sure to visit her sister each day and never ventured too far away from her current home. But the town of Marigold, the town that she currently lived in, had many wonderful things about it, so Sophie didn't mind staying. It did make her wonder about the rest of the world though. Was everywhere else just like Marigold? Or were there other things to discover? Sophie thought she may never know. But little to her knowledge, she would find out about the rest of the world soon, for as she sat in her room pondering these thoughts that bounced through her brain, a ginger boy about 5'7” (just a mere two inches shorter than herself) leaped through her door, gnced around, then opened her closet door and leaped back through into the darkness, smming the door behind him. Sophie could have sworn her closet was not that rge, nor that dark inside, but when she opened the door again there was no one there. Just her clothes hanging up in the closet, as they were supposed to be. As this is where clothes belong. Her eyes flickered around the light wood (maybe maple? Maybe ash? Sophie had never been too sure as she did not know much about wood) but there was no sign that anyone had leaped through. Taking this as a cue that it was time to stop overthinking things as another person or thing might leap through her small, square room, she grabbed one of the dresses (a pale blue one with white ce around the colr, hem and cuffs of the slightly puffed shoulders) and began to prepare for her day. She brushed her hair and put a little bit of mascara on her eyeshes before tying a light blue ribbon around her head in a headband like manner. This was how Sophie always did her hair and makeup. There was no sense in changing it as she liked the way she looked and had no one to please but herself. Even if she did have someone to please, she would not have cared if they decided she needed to change something as miniscule as that. She stepped out into the rest of her small apartment. Despite it’s size, it did have one bedroom, which Sophie was informed was a rarity in free housing. Although, it was in an older building and she found in the cooler months there was an odd draft that would blow through the apartment at night. But it was free for now, and Sophie knew better than to compin about things that are free. Unless it was a free punch to the gut. That is not something you would want for free or in any other matter. But I digress. Sophie set her buttercup yellow kettle on her aging stove top and turned the burner on to begin boiling the water that had been left in the kettle st night. Sophie always believed in starting the day with a cup of tea. She had hoped the previous Sophie had also believed this. As she left the kettle, she turned to her toaster and pced two slices of toast inside, which I had left this fact out as I found it not to be too relevant to the story, but I believe toast deserves its moment. She had taken the toast from a bag inside her fridge as well as some raspberry jam and pressed the small trigger down to begin toasting the toast. Which is what toast does in a toaster. There is no doubt about this, just as there was no doubt that once the toast in the toaster had finished toasting for its set amount of time, it popped up and Sophie proceeded to gingerly pce it on a pte. The toast was a light brown colour, as toast should be. But not too light. If it was too light of a colour there wouldn't even be a point to toasting it unless you like slightly warm bread. In which I would inform you that there are other measures you can use to warm your bread. However, Sophie was a decent human being and toasted her toast to the proper shade of brown before spreading the raspberry jam on it (I will now cease talking about toast, as I’m sure I have appeased any toast fans). Shortly after her kettle began to whistle, which was an indication that the water had come to a boil and thus was ready to be used in the making of tea. In response to her kettle, Sophie turned off the burner as to ensure her apartment did not burn down and proceeded to pour the hot water into a mug with blue birds flying around it. She then took out a small tea bag of chamomile tea and pced it gently in the cup. Picking her pte of toast and tea up from the counter, Sophie carried the two items to the balcony, pcing the mug down for a moment to open the sliding door, and sat down at the table outside, overlooking a pond with many trees scattered about. It was a warm spring day, and the cherry blossom trees had been blossoming for about a week now. Their blossoms created a sweet, floral aroma throughout the air. The wind carried some of the blossoms through the wind as birds flew by, singing their melodies as they did so. Sometimes the song sounded so familiar, but Sophie knew that this was impossible. Birds generally did not sing songs that you knew, unless they were a macaw or some other kind of bird that was able to imitate specific sounds. But these were blue birds. And blue birds did not generally have the knowledge to sing specific songs. Sophie blew on her tea as the steam rose from the cup, spiraling into the sky. Her eyes began to close as she rexed into her chair. It was warm, for spring. She felt that this was a fact, that springs were not usually this warm. But truly, she had no way of knowing for sure. She felt her mind slip away into her thoughts when suddenly a voice cleared its throat.

  "Excuse me, miss?" the voice asked. Sophie's eyes shot open as she stared straight ahead. The ginger boy was sitting on her railing, one hand on the railing next to him, helping him bance, as his other hand waved carefully at her. She looked to him, then gnced at her tea, then looked back to him. In one quick movement Sophie snatched the mug and tossed it at him as she let out a shriek before running back into her apartment and locking the door. She grabbed her jacket and booked it out of her apartment and down the stairs, her heart pounding heavily as she moved as quickly as possible. Sophie stopped for a moment, waiting and listening to hear if anyone was following her. After a few minutes of silence, she began to creep back up the stairs, stopping at any sudden noise. As she reached the fourth floor, the second door in the hall suddenly swung open. Another boy, this one being familiar to her, stood in the doorway, his body tilted forward as he held the door with one hand. In the other hand he held a basket of undry. His short bck hair and amber brown eyes met hers and he pced the basket back down onto the ground.

  "Sophie... is everything alright?" He enquired, his accent poking through, "You look as though you've seen a ghost."

  She let out a shaky breath and shook her head.

  "There was a boy on my balcony... I don't know how he got there... I'm scared he might still be up there." she said softly. The name of the boy she was currently speaking to had always eluded her. Sophie was certain that he had told her many times and yet she could never recall his name. The boy pushed his basket back into his apartment and shut the door behind him. He reached out one pale hand and took hers in it. Something had always felt off about his hand. It was far too cold, and she never held comfort when her hand was in his grasp, but she held her feelings back. Sophie wasn't about to decline the boy's help. He smiled gently as he squeezed her hand which for some reason caused Sophie to feel a general unease, despite the fact that this gesture was to provide comfort.

  "Let's go take a look then, shall we?" He asked. Sophie nodded and the two of them continued up the stairs to her door. The floorboards creaked and groaned in protest of their footsteps as they made their way back up the stairs, showing the age of the building. The boy stood in front of her and pushed the door open slowly as he moved her behind him in an attempt to shield her from anything that could be coming towards them once they were exposed. Sophie’s heart began to pound as she cautiously peeked around him, bracing herself for any mysterious men. The room seemed to be empty. The boy looked around the room and picked up a chair for defence as though it were nothing as he paced softly towards the balcony. The door remained locked, and there was no sign of any boy. Just Sophie's smashed cup and sptters of cooled tea. The boy turned to her and cocked an eyebrow, smirking.

  "You failed to mention you threw a bloody cup at him." He teased. Sophie frowned.

  "I didn't find it necessary to the story." She retorted, turning to cast a gre at him. He smiled.

  "No, but it does add a nice touch. Good to know you're not completely defenseless up here by yourself." He replied before opening the door. He leaned over the balcony, staring down at the pavement below. Sophie stepped out cautiously behind him.

  "Well, you didn't kill him, that's for sure. Probably just spooked him off... if he exists." He stated, letting out a deep sigh. Sophie hadn't noticed his tense posture before, but now she could see that his body had rexed after discovering there was no danger. She assumed this was due to the fact that a break-in in one apartment could mean trouble for the rest of the complex. She too let out a sigh as she felt her legs give out underneath her. She slid to the ground and the boy dashed to her side.

  "Sophie, are you alright?" He asked, "Do you need water or anything? Help back to your bed?"

  Sophie nodded in response to his first question, then shook her head in response to the second, but remained silent. The boy leaped to his feet and began to prepare a gss of water. He then knelt next to her, handing her the cup gingerly. As she took it and began to drink, he moved her hair out of her face and felt her forehead. This caused a feeling of unease to rise within her, but she fought to push it down.

  "No fever... that's good." He muttered, then said something that Sophie couldn’t quite make out. She looked up at him and he smiled at her, his usual gentle grin. Guilt began to swell in Sophie's stomach for how she was feeling about his actions. Clearly, he was just trying to help.

  "I'm very sorry... this will sound rude but... what's your name again?" She enquired. The boy's smile spread as he stood up.

  "Sebastian. But don't worry. You'll probably forget again." He said softly, standing up. Sophie's brows furrowed as a concerned look crossed her face.

  "Do I really ask that often?" she asked, her voice dropping slightly. He nodded.

  "You do. But I suppose it's just because of your accident, right?" He asked. Sophie looked down, pursing her lips.

  "I suppose..." She said softly. The accident had caused her to forget everything up until she arrived in Marigold, but she didn't seem to have trouble remembering things since then. But maybe names were a problem. She hadn't met enough people to know. Sophie suddenly felt a hand ruffle her hair gently before hearing steps move away from her. She looked over to see Sebastian leaving. He turned to her and smiled.

  "Don't think too hard about it." he said, before exiting and closing the door behind him. Sophie stared at the door for a few moments before gaining the strength to stand back up. She pced the cup on the counter before stepping outside to pick up the pieces of the shattered mug as she began to wonder what that boy’s name was again. She stared down at her hand, the patterns on the cup almost coming together and appearing as water. Sophie examined them for a moment, tracing the waves with her finger as a feeling of dread and anxiety began to wash across her. Her ears began ringing… or was that the ringing of a phone she was hearing? Suddenly, a shrill bird’s call snapped her out of her thoughts and brought her back to the present. She took a moment to stare out into the perfect blue sky before turning around and heading back into her home to dispose of the broken mug.

  Sophie had been standing on her balcony for what had felt like forever, pondering the events of that morning. Many times, she had peered down to try and see how the mysterious boy had appeared there in front of her. She knew she hadn't imagined it. But how did he manage to climb 3 stories? And even still, why did he climb 3 stories to reach her? Sophie let out a sigh as she turned and went back inside, making sure to lock the sliding door behind her. Just in case there were any more strange teleporting men. Something deep inside her told her to be weary of strangers. She gnced at the clock, noting that she was beginning to run te for her daily routine. Every day Sophie visited her comatose twin sister in the hospital, as mentioned previously, and today was to be no different. Sophie walked back into her room, pausing at the closet door. Her hand hesitated just over the handle as she remembered the fact that the boy had leaped through her closet before this and vanished. She had completely forgotten this once the boy had appeared on her balcony. Taking in a deep breath, Sophie snatched the handle and flung the door open. Her eyes scanned the darkened closet, but to her relief there was no mysterious ginger boy. She almost found herself feeling disappointed... almost. Shaking the thought from her head, she reached in and grabbed a pair of white boots. As she sat down on the bed and slipped the boots onto her feet, Sophie found her mind wandering back to the mysterious boy. Millions of questions still buzzed through her mind, like a million little bees humming to and fro. She wanted to know more about what his purpose in Marigold was and, well, what his purpose on her balcony was. Sophie bent over, nibbling her thumb in thought. Why did she want to see him again so badly? Maybe because that was the first exciting moment she had experienced here since she woke up? She groaned as she flopped back onto her bed. After throwing her cup at him, the boy would probably never return. As Sophie stared up at the ceiling, her mind pouring over this boy, she realized that she had forgotten her original purpose. She sat up abruptly, snatched her bag and her fuzzy, striped, silver scarf and headed out the door. She turned to lock the door and as she did so, someone cleared their throat behind her. Sophie spun around to see Sebastian standing behind her.

  "Sophie. Everything alright?" He asked. Sophie nodded slowly as something deep within her told her to be weary yet again. This time she chose to heed its advice as she straightened up.

  "Everything is fine, thank you Sebastian." she said gently, brushing past him and heading for the stairs. Sebastian reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her back around. Sophie felt her heart pound and heard ringing in her ears as he stared into her eyes, searching for something within them. She felt something tugging at her mind. Something struggled to break free, but she couldn’t figure out what it was.

  "Sophie... I'm really worried about you since that predator was sniffing around this morning. Are you sure you should be going out and about so soon?" He asked. Sophie stared at him straight in the eyes. Her heart skipped a beat as she realized his eyes were now red with thin bck slits. Just as she seemed to notice it, the colour was engulfed with his regur amber colour.

  "I'm going to the hospital to visit my sister. I will be home after that." She said gently, using every ounce of willpower she had to control her shaking. His eyes searched hers for a moment until the grip on her hand loosened. Sophie retrieved her arm and turned back around, waving one hand as she continued down the stairs. When she finally exited the front doors of the building, she let out a gasp and clutched her chest where her heart was pounding heavily. Sophie reached up and realized tears had been welling up in the corners of her eyes as she stood there, shaking uncontrolbly. Her shaking hands reached up and wiped these tears from her face as she took a moment to rex, then decided that leaving the building for now would probably be her best bet. Gripping onto the straps of her purse as a way to stay tethered to reality, a comfort, she began to walk as quickly as she could to the hospital. Sophie couldn't even enjoy her walk as she usually did today, taking in the scenery. She almost felt as though everyone was watching her as she walked past. She gnced up and caught a woman turning her head away as she sat outside on the patio of a coffee shop. Sophie walked faster as she shook her thoughts from her head. She was being paranoid. There was no one chasing her. She was safe. Everything was fine. And yet that nagging feeling in the back of her head persisted, festered, and invaded every thought that came through her mind. From the corner of her eye, she could see people turning their heads to watch her as she walked past, yet when she met their gaze, they quickly turned away. She froze in pce, closing her eyes tightly and pressing her hands against her head.

  "Everything is fine..." She murmured repeatedly, in a feeble attempt to convince herself. Her mind buzzed again, as her beating heart thundered through her skull. She felt cold, yet as though she was sweating. Finally, everything went silent. She opened her eyes slowly. When she looked back up, she realized she was now standing in front of the hospital. She let out a sigh and wiped her cmmy hands on her skirt before pushing open the doors and entering the sterile entry hall. Despite this being a hospital, the waiting area, reception desk, and halls all seemed rather empty and desote. The strong scent of sanitizer and disinfectant filled her nostrils as she examined the white tiles that lined the floors, surrounded by white walls. Her quickened pace echoed and reverberated through the eerily empty corridors as she headed down the hallway until she reached the faded green door she always went to every time she came here. Sophie had originally been in this room as well when the citizens of Marigold had originally found the two of them after the accident and brought them in for recovery. But since Sophie had been released, it was just her sister that stayed in the room. Sophie's hand twisted the cool metal of the gold-coloured doorknob as she pushed in, closing the door behind her frantically. Gncing around the room, she was relieved to see none of the nurses performing routine checks at that moment. She grabbed the green metal chair, the colour matching the door she entered, from the corner of the room and sat next to the bed, letting out yet another sigh. Sophie looked over at the sleeping body of the girl across from her, the girl’s body draped in white sheets. The girl in the bed looked much like Sophie, as she was told they were identical twins. In fact, there wasn’t really any discernable difference between the two that Sophie could tell, other than her sister was comatose and she was not.

  "Hi sister..." She said, her voice almost a whisper. Of course, her sister did not respond, as comatose bodies generally cannot respond unless they are waking up, which Sophie's sister was not. Sometimes they would awaken, but Sophie's sister had not shown a single sign of waking from her state since Sophie had originally gained consciousness. Sophie presumed it was the same with her before she woke up. After taking a moment and realizing that her sister was not going to respond, she cleared her throat and continued.

  "I think I'm going mad... I'm getting this feeling that someone's watching me-" She began but was cut off by another voice in the room.

  "I don't think you're that far off... " The voice stated. Sophie spun around to see the boy from her balcony standing behind her, leaning against the door behind her. She hadn’t even heard him come in. This time Sophie could make out more of his features. He still had pale skin and red hair, that much wasn't imagined. Though now that she was closer, she could see that he had rge puppy-brown eyes and many freckles that dusted across his face like consteltions in the night sky. Just above the left corner of his pink lips was a brown mole. He had a long, nky figure, which was clothed in a pin white shirt, an open brown and orange fnnel shirt, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of bck work boots. Sophie's mouth dropped open to speak as she snapped back to reality, but before she could say anything there was a commotion outside. The boy’s expression darkened, and he pulled out a gun as he started towards her. Sophie found herself regretting her wishes for this boy’s return as he dashed over and leaned into her face.

  "If you say anything," He growled before pointing the gun at her sister, "I'll shoot her."

  Sophie stared at him, swallowing hard before nodding slowly. He gnced back at the door, then slid underneath the bed, pointing the gun at the bed underneath the comatose sister. This, dear reader, is what we would call a dick move. But before Sophie could say anything else, the door burst open as a group of police burst into the room. But these police did not look like the regur officers Sophie was used to. They seemed to be cd in riot gear, sans the shields. Their jackets had rge, white initials that read "L.D.P.D". The apparent leader stepped forward towards Sophie as the officer’s guns were aimed at her.

  "The boy. Where did he go?" She asked, her voice commanding. Sophie gnced down at her feet, taking a moment to side gnce at the boy. He narrowed his eyes as his finger began to squeeze the trigger to threaten her. Sophie’s gaze shot back towards her feet as she closed her eyes and gritted her teeth.

  "He... He jumped out the window... he threatened my sister..." She responded, her voice shaking. The officer motioned and all the guns that were aimed at Sophie’s head moved down towards the floor. She reached forward and squeezed Sophie’s shoulder.

  "Don't worry, ma'am. We'll catch him. He won't be able to bother you anymore." The officer promised before motioning to the other officers. The group turned back around and began to file back into the hall. The kind officer smiled softly at Sophie before closing the door. She could hear their footsteps fade down the hallway as they grew further and further away. As she sat there her mind began wondering why she didn't hear them coming towards her. Before she could ponder this further, the boy let out a sigh and cmbered out from under the bed.

  "You really saved my skin there." he quipped, sounding a little too chipper for someone who had just threatened the life of a comatose girl. Sophie's head snapped around as she gred at him, fire burning in her chest as she remembered how to breathe again.

  "Prick." She snarled, her fiery gaze meeting his unbothered expression. The boy raised his hands defensively, taking a step back.

  "Hey! I wouldn't have actually shot her. I’m not like them!” He expined. Before Sophie could say another word, he dashed towards the door. Before he opened the door, he turned to Sophie and smiled.

  "The name's Nathan, by the way. Thanks again for the save, I owe you! Call me if you need me." He said, winking at her and giving her a casual salute before turning back around and heading out the door. She could hear his feet travelling further away until there was a moment of silence. Which was then interrupted by someone shouting the profanity "shit" and the feet returning hurriedly back up the hallway, followed by gunshots and a group of feet heading up the hallway. Then it was quiet again. Sophie stood up abruptly once enough silence had passed, brushing some imaginary dust from her legs.

  "That's enough of that for today." She decided and turned to the door and exited. She would spend the rest of the day at the park instead. At least she hoped the park was safe. As Sophie walked down the stark white halls of the hospital, she felt her mind rexing. Perhaps the officers had captured the boy and that would be it. As she pushed open the door, she felt her heart sink. If the officers captured the boy, she wondered what they would do to him. Sophie shook the thought from her mind. Surely the only reason they would do something terrible to him would be if he had done something terrible. But still the thought haunted her brain. Sophie sighed and stared at the sky for a few moments, trying not to think about the boy. He didn’t deserve her sympathy for what he had done today… and yet he was the only person to disrupt her quiet life since she had come to Marigold.

  "Nathan..." She found the name drip from her lips. That was right. He had told her his name. Nathan. She bit her lip and began walking down the sidewalk towards the park. She no longer felt the gaze of others upon her. They all seemed distracted with other things going on in their lives. Sophie felt her body rex. Everything was normal again... everything was the way it should be. And yet she found her mind wondering if it really was the way it should be. She paused as she felt the world flicker for a moment. Just a bit, like a dying light about to go out. Then it returned. Sophie wondered if she had imagined this or not, deciding on that she probably imagined it. The world does not generally flicker. She pondered for a moment if she was finally losing her mind. It had felt like she never had much of a hold on it as of te, so the idea didn’t seem too outndish. Then, the familiar dark, looming trees of the park came into her view and all previous negative and paranoid thoughts melted away. Sophie had almost reached the most peaceful pce of this town. She dashed down the sidewalk until she reached the edge of the park, bending down to remove her boots. The air suddenly felt crisp, yet somehow soothing and warm, as if the air sensed her presence. She picked up her removed boots and pced them into her bag, stepping onto the grass and feeling the grass between her toes. She let out a sigh of relief as she walked further into the park, heading towards the ke. Sophie could feel all of her worries and concerns slip from her shoulders as if a rge weight had been removed from her. A breeze blew by, as if embracing her as she entered, and she closed her eyes as she allowed herself a moment of bliss. But soon, her purpose for coming to this pce surfaced in her mind and her eyes fluttered back open. A strange flower had begun to sprout up by the water that she had noticed during her visit yesterday, and she wanted to further examine it. She gnced up at the sky through the canopy of trees as the sun shone brightly. Normally in a forest there would be twigs and other items that would cause one’s feet great distress, but this forest just had grass that ran amongst the trees until it dropped off into the ke. Along the ke was where the most interesting pnts grew. Ones Sophie had never heard of, or at least none she could recall hearing of, or had seen in any of the books she had read back in her apartment (which arguably weren’t that many as it seemed the bookstore only ever had the same few books in stock…). She knelt next to one of the previously mentioned flowers. The best part of the forest was that it felt entirely like it was her very own. She never found anyone else in this park. It was just her. It almost seemed as though no one could enter, or perhaps it was if everyone just seemed to avoid this area completely. Sophie smiled as she looked at the flower. Its petals were a pale white, almost translucent, with blue lines, much like a vein pattern, that seemed to shine like aquamarines. She rubbed the petals gently before pulling out an old, rugged-looking notebook. She began to take notes on the strange flower. It’s thick, slightly fuzzy stem with no leaves. The petals seemed to almost resemble a lily. Once Sophie had recorded as much as she felt she needed to, she took out a knife and sliced the stem part way up. Sticky, translucent pink fluid that smelled sweet wept from the end and Sophie took special care to remove the fluid before pcing the flower in her book, closing it and pcing its estic around the outside to begin pressing the flower. If you asked her, Sophie would have been happy to show you the rest of the notebook which contained many other strange pnts that she had found each day wandering around the ke. The ke truly was a magical pce, it was Sophie's favourite pce in all of Marigold. She would often stay until after dark, watching the sun set behind the trees and examining the wildlife that wandered around. There were silver swans with bck tips to their feathers that swam through the darkened waters, their bodies shining and shimmering in the moonlight. And the dark purple and bck butterflies that you would never notice until one had nded on you, taking a moment to rex its wings before gracefully flying off. The rge, squirrel-sized, pale pink furred rodent-like creatures with rge ears, but almost hamster-like bodies and rge, bushy tails. There were many other creatures in this park, but we can come back to those ter. For now, Sophie settled onto the riverbank, dipping her feet into the water as she gazed up at the setting sun. The days here seemed to go so fast. Not that Sophie knew how long days went on average, but they felt quick to her. She sighed as she id onto the grass, closing her eyes. A warm breeze brushed across her face. This pce might as well be paradise. Her eyes opened as the sun began to fall behind the trees, causing a darkening orange and pink sky to shine above her head. Sophie sat up and pulled a sandwich out of her bag and began eating as she watched the remaining sky vanish into darkness. Then, the stars appeared. For a town that seemed to have quite a few buildings, the park in Marigold seemed to have the best view for the stars. One would think with all the light pollution you wouldn't be able to see the stars, but in the middle of the park you almost didn’t even see the lights of the town. As Sophie pondered this, she felt something dash onto her p. She looked down to see one of the rodent-like creatures nibbling on the crumbs that had dropped from her sandwich. It made small chirping noises as it went along, its nose twitching as it sniffed the fabric of her skirt, looking for more. Sophie smiled as she tore a piece off her sandwich and handed it to the creature. It reached up with its small, possum-like paws and began to nibble on the piece of bread. Sophie's smile grew and she id back down against the grass, staring up at the sky. She felt the creature cautiously crawl across her chest, then curl up against the scarf around her neck. It made some noise that sounded like a mix of chirping and the purr of a cat. She sighed. She wished she had a pet. She had seen some of the townsfolk with different kinds of creatures attached to leashes around town but never thought to keep one herself. But she would never take an animal from the wild for a pet. She watched the night sky with all of its purples, blues, and greys. It looked like a painting, with all the stars that she could see in the sky. A breeze blew her hair gently. Suddenly she heard a twig snap. The creature on her neck suddenly jumped up and scurried off into the bushes. Sophie snapped up herself, holding her bag close as she stared out into the darkness. She gripped her notebook in her hand and held it out, almost as if it were a sword or some sort of other weapon.

  "Whoever is out there... come out now." Sophie demanded. No one ever came to the park. It was always only her, especially this time of night. The air around her felt sharp and tense and she could see the wind shaking the trees. Her heart drummed against her chest heavily. Whatever was out there was coming closer, she could hear it. But now she could see the shadowy figure stumbling towards her... and then the boy... A battered and bruised Nathan... stepped out into the starlight. He grinned at her, but even in the darkness she could see he was badly hurt. His left eye had been bckened and his lip split. He clutched his arm and staggered towards Sophie.

  "Hey Miss Dreamy..." He mumbled, struggling to speak through his injured lips. Sophie raised her eyebrows for a moment before gring at him.

  "Are you really going to start flirting with me when you look like that?" she asked, walking over to him. He grinned and Sophie could see that he was struggling to do so. Clearly this had not been his day, and he would have great difficulty charming Sophie in his current condition.

  "They caught up... for a bit. It seems like they can't follow me into this park." He expined. Sophie gnced around as she held her book towards him and Nathan, painfully, held up both of his arms.

  "Don't worry, Miss Dreamy. I won't hurt you. Not like I could do much if I wanted to anyways." He said gently before falling to the ground. Sophie dashed towards him and dropped down as he groaned, grimacing as his side encountered the grass. Sophie gingerly turned him over, examining his wounds. He seemed to be in terrible shape. Sophie wouldn’t have been surprised if he had some broken bones. She was amazed he had managed to pull himself into this forest.

  "We need to get you to a doctor." She said looking from him and back to the town. Could she even carry him back to the hospital on her own? Nathan shook his head, showing that he regretted making the small head movement by grimacing. Clearly his body didn't want to move that way and was protesting his insistence to move.

  "It'll be fine. I just need to wait until morning and then I'll find my way back home." he stated, gazing up at her. She stared back down at him quizzically.

  "You're leaving town?" she asked. He nodded, then hissed through his teeth before letting out a groan. Clearly, he hadn't learned anything from his st head movement.

  "Can't have those cops coming for me again. I'll need to find somewhere to y low for a while." He expined. Sophie stared up at the sky, sighing.

  "I wish I could leave..." She muttered. Nathan stared up at her, a concerned look crossing his face before quickly changing back to his usual grin.

  "Maybe one day you will. If you want it badly enough, I'm sure it will happen." He said softly, reaching out to his side and taking Sophie's hand, even though it hurt him. She stared down at him and smiled.

  "You're not as bad as I thought you were... even though you did threaten my sister." Sophie said. Nathan retracted his arm and hoped she couldn't see the blush that had crawled across his face. She could but didn’t let him know that fact and pretended she hadn’t seen anything.

  "I told you already, I never pnned to hurt her. I just knew you wouldn't take any chances" He expined. Sophie scowled, looking up at the sky.

  "Well then it's a dirty trick. What would you have done if I didn't hide you?" she asked. Nathan stared up at the sky, noting the intricate patterns of the stars. He had never seen any like this before.

  "I would have been captured... and probably killed or something." He said, almost whispering the st part. Sophie snapped her head down to look at him.

  "Killed?" she asked frantically. Nathan paused, surprised by her sudden concern about him. What had happened to the girl who was just chastising him? He let out a sigh.

  "Maybe not kill… but I am on the run so it wouldn’t end well for me… " he expined softly. Sophie frowned and looked over at the ke, watching the swans float across. Nathan followed her gaze. He had never seen anything like this either. Not anywhere he had been before had he seen a pce quite like this. He looked back up at Sophie, but her attention was still on the ke. She appeared to be trying to think of something to say.

  "Hey." Nathan called up to her. She turned her head down slowly to look over at him. He grinned a big toothy smile, struggling against the pain. But he already appeared to be struggling less than he had before.

  "Don't worry about it. I escaped. And now I'm here in this park with you." He said. Sophie frowned.

  "But what if they come back for you?" she asked. Nathan shrugged.

  "Who knows. I might escape. They might kill me. It's kind of all up in the air." He stated. Sophie felt her chest tighten. Nathan's eyes widened as he realized what he had just said. And right after he had just covered for saying it previously.

  "No, no! Not actually kill, don't worry!" he said frantically. He had lied again but didn’t want to scare Sophie. Sophie sighed, buying his bluff and rexing. Nathan smiled, looking back at the sky.

  "But it won't be good... and it won't be good for you if you don’t go back soon. That neighbour of yours seems to have quite an eye on you" he said. Sophie nodded.

  "Sebastian seems to always be there when strange things happen..." She expined. Nathan frowned and paused for a moment before speaking again.

  "Then you should go back before he thinks something strange has happened... But be careful." he said, looking away from her. Sophie frowned as she looked at him quizzically. Nathan gnced back at her and chuckled before he waved her away with one hand.

  "Don't ask. Just do as I say. Go home. You won't see me again," He said, then pced his hand on his chest, "I swear."

  Sophie opened her mouth to say something but then heard some shouting outside of the park. It sounded like someone was calling her. She looked down at Nathan before pulling a bnket out of her bag. She usually used it for when she stayed at the park te or when it was a bit cooler, but didn't need it this time. She id it over him before pulling her legs out from behind his head and gently setting him on the ground, putting her bag behind his head.

  "Be careful Nathan..." She said gently, standing up. She felt his hand gently grip her ankle and she looked down at him as he stared up at her.

  "What's your name, Miss Dreamy?" He asked. Sophie smiled.

  "Sophie Paterson." She said. She felt the hand on her ankle tense and then rex.

  "I thought so. Goodbye, Sophie" he said gently as his arm slid back to his side. Sophie made a face and opened to ask him what he meant by that but his eyes began to close. She turned back to the forest and headed away from the boy drifting off to sleep on the grass.

  "Goodbye Nathan." She replied, though she found that part of her was wishing this wasn’t true.