"Sophie! There you are."

  Sophie exited the warm safety of her forest to see Sebastian standing there with a fshlight. His posture looked tense as the blinding light of the fshlight shone at her, obscuring her vision until everything around him looked like dark smudges. When her eyes finally adjusted after he removed the light from her face, she could tell that he was annoyed, which made Sophie feel a little bad for her behavior. She figured that he was probably worried about her after everything else that had happened that day. And he really was kind to believe her instantly when she told him about her initial meeting with Nathan. Not many people would believe one if they had told them a boy had managed to scale up to her balcony then vanish into thin air. As her thoughts turned back to the current interaction she was having, she found herself smiling softly, as if to comfort him even though she did not wish to return to him.

  "Hi Sebastian..." She said gently. He rolled his eyes exaggeratedly, clearly showing his exasperation. Sophie felt uncomfortable with this reaction and instinctively flinched, but she couldn’t tell if this was from guilt or something else that gnawed within her… though she couldn’t quite put her finger on exactly what.

  "Is that all you can say? I thought you might be hungry and, after everything that happened today, maybe you needed some help, so I brought you some dinner. And then you're not there! Naturally, I thought you might have been abducted as that weird guy appeared on your balcony today. But here you are, piddling away in the forest." He ranted, his arms waving around as he spoke. He didn’t seem to care who heard him at this time of night, which one may say could be seen as a dangerous trait in a man. Sophie frowned and nodded, looking away from him as she turned to avoid his gaze. She found herself feeling extremely unsettled and the urge to run away kept rising within her chest. She felt her head throb as she fought every instinct ringing in her mind, screaming for her to leave. That there was something wrong with this situation… with her life. She had been feeling it all day, ever since she saw Nathan for the first time. Despite all these thoughts racing through her mind, she pushed all her emotions down and let out a sigh. She paused before gncing back up and meeting his gre again.

  “Well if you knew I was in here, why didn’t you come in after me?” Sophie asked. His face contorted into pure anger and her eyes shot back down to the ground as she felt her body tremble. Had she ever spoken to someone like that before? Now her urge to run away had disappeared entirely as she felt her chest tighten and her heart pound harder. She could feel her body turn to icy stone as Sebastian raised his voice. Regret filled her entirety.

  “Sophie, that’s not the fucking point! The point is that you seem to be flitting about tely and I can’t keep track of you! Do you like driving me insane? Do you like causing me this pain?” He snarled. Sophie winced as he threw the fshlight down, the gss shattering on the ground. She watched the gss skitter across the pavement of the sidewalk and found herself wishing that she too could just shatter and disappear into the night. After a moment, she looked back up.

  "I'm sorry, Sebastian. I usually come out here though, so you don't have to worry about me." she said, her voice barely a whisper. Sebastian sighed.

  "Yeah, yeah. Fine. Come on." He said, rexing a bit. He reached out his hand, but Sophie acted as though she didn't notice and forced herself to continue forward, walking next to him. He retracted his hand slowly as he followed. If Sophie had looked at him at that moment, she would’ve noticed his eyes flickering red for a moment. But instead, she looked back up at the sky that looked almost as if it were a completely different world. The stars were dimly lit outside of the forest, blocked by the lights from the town. How was it that everything seemed so distant in that forest? Like it was a completely different world? Sebastian gnced over at her and then up at the sky before clearing his throat.

  "You know, the stars are much better when you go to the countryside... maybe we could make a day trip sometime." He suggested trying to change the mood. Sophie didn't avert her gaze but nodded in response.

  "Sure..." She said, her mind wandering off. Sebastian narrowed his eyes but said nothing as he turned his head away from her, trying not to show his suspicions. He knew Sophie’s mind was wandering again. Sophie’s mind flickered for a moment to a sunny field with two people she didn’t know, calling her name. She closed her eyes for a moment as she tried to hold onto the memory, the smell of flowers and grass filling her senses, but it vanished almost as quickly as it had come. Her eyes shot open to see Sebastian staring at her intensely as he held her face in his hands. She hadn’t realized they had stopped. It was hard to tell in the light, but his eyes looked as though they had changed to the red colour she had seen before. Her heart began to pound heavily as he leaned towards her, maintaining eye contact. Sophie’s eyes widened as she recoiled instinctively. Sebastian’s expression darkened but he released her face and turned away, Sophie feeling her heartbeat return to a regur rhythm. They said nothing further to each other. When they reached the apartment building, Sophie turned to face Sebastian.

  "Sebastian?" she asked. Sebastian turned to look at her, smiling sweetly. His eyes had returned to their original colour, which comforted Sophie a bit.

  "Yes, Sophie?" He replied cheerfully. Sophie cleared her throat.

  "I... uh... I really appreciate you caring about me, but you really don't have to worry this much." She expined. Sebastian's face faltered for a moment, but he regained his composure and smiled again.

  "I will always worry about you Sophie, and I will always care for you." He replied. Sophie frowned. As much as one might find this sentence a sweet and caring phrase to say, one may also find these words to be like poison, tightening around them and causing them to freeze up, or run. While Sophie did feel this urge, she fought it down to speak up.

  "Sebastian. Look, it's very sweet... but I'd like to have some breathing room." She said carefully. Sebastian's smile completely disintegrated again, and his eyes seemed to flicker red once again, before his expression grew morose.

  "Please don't push me away, Sophie... Ever since we found you in that wreck I’ve been so worried about you... Please give me the comfort of seeing you safe at least…" He said gently. Something deep down in Sophie's heart felt wrong, but she still felt bad about what she had said. Perhaps she had been a little harsh to Sebastian. She smiled then nodded.

  "I never said we couldn't be friends." She said, before turning and going up the stairs. Sebastian grinned.

  "That's all I need to hear." He replied. Sophie didn't turn back to look at him, but her smile quickly turned into a frown. Something seriously felt wrong. Despite her efforts to act normally she felt her pace quicken until she shut the door behind her.

  "That's all I need to hear." He replied. Sophie didn't turn back to look at him, but her smile quickly turned into a frown. Something seriously felt wrong. Despite her efforts to act normally she felt her pace quicken until she shut the door behind her. She sighed as she pressed herself up against the door, finally rexing. She removed her boots from her feet, and put her bag down by the door. She gnced through the peep hole, her blood turning cold. She could see Sebastian standing there, staring back. Even in the old buildings hallway light, Sophie swore she could see some red glinting in Sebastians eyes. Sophie looked away, moving away quietly and heading to her kitchen. Her hands shook as she picked up her kettle, pcing it on the stove and turning it on. Part of her wanted to go back and check the peephole again to make sure Sebastian had left, but part of her didn’t want to confirm if he was there. She took out some tea, trying to shove the image she had seen out of her thoughts. She fixed herself a cup of tea, heading over to her patio. She looked out at the night sky, the stars shining brightly, though not as bright as they had in the park.

  “Nathan…” She said, her voice barely above a whisper. A new name. A new person in her life. It had been so long since anything had changed here, and a fire burned within her. Was it anxiety? Or excitement that for once, she hadn’t had the same day that she always had.

  Sophie woke the next morning to some light spilling in through the curtains of her patio. She had fallen asleep on the couch for some reason. She rubbed her eyes, looking around her apartment. Still the same old apartment. She stretched her now twisted spine out, feeling it snap and crack as she did so. She let out a sigh of relief as she managed to pop the knot in the base of her neck out, and rexed. She gnced at the clock. It was already 10 am, she was much ter than she normally was for her visit to her sister. By now she would’ve already been at the hospital. She got up quickly, running to her closet. She looked in, noticing how everything seemed to be dresses. She made a bit of a face. Normally this wouldn’t have bothered her, but she wore a dress every day of her life since coming to Marigold. She rummaged around, finding a pair of darkwash jeans and a longsleeved light blue ce shirt. The colr was a bit higher than she was used to, but hey, maybe today was all about doing something different. She put on the shirt, the neck of the shirt bothering her slightly, but she was determined to keep it on, at least for the morning. She slipped her boots and jacket on, wrapped the scarf around her neck (which seemed to help with the neckline of her shirt), grabbed her bag and headed out her door. She practically jumped when she almost ran into her neighbour… why couldn’t she remember his name?

  “Good morning Sophie!” He chirped, then gave her a once over before raising an eyebrow, “No dress today?”

  Sophie fidgeted with the hem of her shirt a bit as she avoided his gaze, “No, not today. I felt like doing something different.”

  Her neighbour stared at her for a moment before he finally spoke.

  “Why?” He asked. Sophie knitted her brows as she looked up at him, confusion clear in her face.

  “Why?” She repeated, asking him the same question back. He ughed a bit.

  “Why change something that works for you and makes you comfortable? You definitely don’t seem comfortable in that shirt.” He remarked. Sophie looked down at her outfit and shrugged.

  “Ah, well, yeah I’m not too sure myself. Something in me told me to change it up today I guess. Maybe I’ll go out and get some more shirts and pants or something.” Sophie stated. Her neighbour just smiled, cocking his head to one side.

  “With what money?” He asked. Sophie paused. She supposed she had never considered that before. She didn’t have a job, and she didn’t have any money to her own name. She was provided a home in the town and the people in the town dropped off her groceries every day… at least she was pretty sure they were dropping them off. She thought for a moment, then changed the subject.

  “Were you outside my door all night long?” She asked. Sebastian’s eyes shone for a moment, the look of amusement still pstered on his face.

  “Of course not, Sophie. That would be strange, would it not?” He asked. Sophie searched his eyes for a moment, then nodded, smiling back at him.

  “It would. One might even say that’s in the stalker territory.” She replied. Sebastian shrugged.

  “I mean, we live in the same building.” He retorted as he turned away. Sophie felt a chill run down her spine. Why did that answer make her think he most certainly had been outside her door all night. Sophie followed behind him, both of them heading out for the day.

  “Well, I’ll see you ter then.” Sophie said, waving before heading down the street. Her neighbour said nothing but waved back as she walked away. She paused, taking a moment to gnce behind her. Her neighbour was still standing there, and when their eyes met, he waved, smirking at her. Sophie lowered her hand and turned back around, her pace quickening as she continued her walk. Once she reached the hospital doors, she hurried into her sisters room, sitting down in the chair and letting out a sigh. At least in the hospital she would be alone… or as alone as she could be before she headed out to the park. She gnced around, remembering everything that had happened yesterday.

  “Nathan” She said. It was funny how she could remember Nathan’s name and not her neighbour’s. She sat there for a moment as she thought. Why did his name keep slipping her mind? Sophie looked over at her sister, sleeping in the bed. She was almost envious. At least her sister didn’t have to deal with all this drama. Sophie sat in thought for a while, before she noticed the sun’s position outside the window had clearly changed. She gnced at the time. Somehow, a few hours had passed and she hadn’t even noticed. Her stomach growled. That’s right, she hadn’t even had breakfast today. Sophie stood up, said her goodbyes to her sister and headed back out of the hospital. She gnced in her bag before remembering she had been in such a hurry, she hadn’t even remembered to pack her lunch. She’d have to go home then. As this thought crossed her mind, she happened to be passing a café. A man suddenly stood up, handing a bag to Sophie.

  “Hi ma’am. I accidentally ordered a second sandwich. Would you like it?” He asked. Sophie looked to the bag and then to the man.

  “Oh, uh…” She started, but the man just waved and walked away quickly… actually… he was practically sprinting away. Sophie stared at the bag, confused. She slowly pulled out a sandwich made on artisanal bread with some turkey and lettuce inside. She put it back in the bag, considering it must have just been her lucky day. She continued walking towards the park, ready for her afternoon visit. She found herself wondering if something else strange would happen today. Sophie walked down the sidewalk, admiring the afternoon sun. It really did seem like a perfect town. It hardly ever rained here, and it was never unbearably cold… She wondered how long she had been here exactly as she couldn’t recall any snow falling since she had come to Marigold. and any time she found herself in need or in want of something, it always seemed to appear… that being said, it was a bit of an eerie town. She didn’t know really any of the other inhabitants other than her neighbour, no ones faces seemed that recognizable to her. As if they were just faces in a crowd. She wandered through the woods towards the ke. It was odd that she never seemed to be able to remember anyone here… but maybe that was just because of her condition. Sophie sat down at the edge of the ke, sticking her legs into the water. It was warm out today, and the water was pleasantly warm as well. She let out a sigh as she rexed a bit. At least she knew she wouldn’t be watched here. She picked up her sandwich, tearing off a bit of the bread and throwing it to the swans swimming in the water. They ate it up hungrily and she began to eat her sandwich absentmindedly as her thoughts drifted away.

  Sophie must have been there for hours as the sun began to lower behind the trees, casting a golden glow through the forest. She pulled herself off of the ground and brushed the grass off of her pants, turning around. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Nathan leaning against a tree, reading a book quietly. He looked up, casting her a grin.

  “Well, it’s about time you snapped out of it, Miss Dreamy” He teased. Sophie looked around.

  “Nathan? What are you doing here?” She asked, “I thought I wouldn’t see you again”

  Nathan shrugged as he walked towards her.

  “Just wanted to make sure you’re okay. You are okay, right?” He asked. Sophie shrugged.

  “Yeah, it’s been a bit of a weird day but nothing crazy…” She said, looking towards the setting sun. Nathan nodded, walking towards her.

  “So, how’s your sister?” He asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm “I hope I didn’t mentally scar her too much with my baseless threats yesterday.”

  Sophie shot him a look.

  “Very funny. She’s fine… well as fine as she can be right now”

  “Because she’s in a coma”

  “Well… yes. So you’ll have to expin to her how we know each other when she wakes up”

  Nathan raised his eyebrows at Sophie’s statement.

  “Ah, I see. So you’re hoping I’ll be around that long?” He asked. Sophie’s face flushed. She did assume that… or hope that… Nathan would keep visiting. It was strange that before yesterday she felt like she had been just going through the motions, just walking blindly through life. Now she felt like she had woken up, and it was really all thanks to Nathan… Part of her questioned her sanity, seeing as how he had just kind of uprooted her life and threatened her sisters life. Even if it was a bluff, it still wasn’t the best introduction. She cleared her throat.

  “Oh, well… I guess I just assumed that you would… Are you going to be?” She asked. Nathan let out a sigh.

  “I don’t know… it’s kind of hard to get in here, you know. There’s a lot of… paths I have to take just to get here. Honestly, it was a fluke I found a way in the first time, and today I almost didn’t get here.” He said. Sophie nodded.

  “I see. Yeah, that makes sense then.” She said quietly, looking down at her feet. She looked up at him quickly.

  “But… if you could come back… even if it’s just every now and again?” She asked. Nathan looked over at her, shocked at first but smiling after a moment. This smile wasn’t his usual grin, that seemed to be almost a mask that he wore to hide his true feelings and intentions behind. This smile felt warm as the setting sun reflected off his eyes and features.

  “Yeah. I’ll see what I can do.” He said. And Sophie felt deep down that he did mean that. She smiled back, before picking her bag up and sitting it on her shoulder.

  “I should probably get back then… Until next time, Nathan.” She said, sticking her hand out. Nathan looked at it, confused at first then a look of amusement crossed his face as he shook it.

  “Until next time, Miss Dreamy.” He said, his regur grin pstered across his face. Sophie smiled to herself as she left, gncing back to look at Nathan, just once. But she didn’t see him standing in those trees anymore. Disappointed, she turned back around and headed back out and made her way back home.