Chapter 2 Stranger
Rrrrrriiinnng! Rrrrrriiinnng!
The alarm rang loudly, waking Elaine from her afternoon nap. She lazily reached out and turned it off. It was 5:00 PM. She lay on her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
“Uhhh…” she sighed, sitting up and glancing around the room, only to remember that this wasn’t her old one.
“It’s going to take a while to get used to this place,” she muttered. But then another thought crept in what’s the point of getting used to it when next week I’ll be leaving for...
She frowned. Herbert Wilbur? Was that even a school’s name?
Elaine stood up, went to the bathroom, rinsed her mouth and face, changed her clothes, and went to look for her mother.
“Mum!” she called as she walked down the corridor. No reply. Her mom wasn’t in the house, nor on the porch. “Mum?” she called again, louder.
She decided to check the back of the house and found her mother crouched down, her back turned.
“Mum,” Elaine called again.
Her mother turned slightly. “What is it, dear?”
“I’m going for a walk.”
“Where to?”
“Just somewhere I thought I saw earlier. Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon.”
“Don’t get lost,” her mother warned gently.
“I won’t. It’s just a straight road for the next four hours,” Elaine said with a grin, already heading off.
“Be careful!” her mom called after her.
“I will!” Elaine shouted back without turning around.
Her mom sighed softly and turned back to what she was doing.
\---
“Uhhh,” Elaine let out a long breath as she walked along the lonely road. “I’m sure I heard the sound of running water somewhere.”
It was getting dark, and the cool evening breeze brushed gently past her face. She had tied her hair up in a messy bun to keep it from flying into her eyes. There was something beautiful about this place calm, peaceful, serene. Yet, something about it felt... off.
After a few more minutes of walking, she began to hear the distant rush of waves crashing against each other. A smile tugged at her lips. She started running toward the sound.
The path grew narrower, surrounded by tall bushes on either side. The sound seemed to come from beyond them. It took effort to push through the thick greenery, and when she finally did, her foot slipped.
“Ahh!” She tumbled down a steep slope and landed with a soft thud on sand, not the hard ground she expected.
Groaning, she stood up and brushed off her clothes. Then she looked up and gasped.
The sight before her was breathtaking.
A vast river stretched endlessly, disappearing into the night’s horizon. The sand sparkled faintly under the stars. The dark sky above glimmered with constellations, and the soft breeze carried the faint scent of water and salt.
Elaine couldn’t help but take off her sandals and step forward. The sand was cool beneath her feet, and when the waves kissed her ankles, she spread her arms wide and closed her eyes.
“This is peace,” she whispered, releasing a deep sigh.
“Meow.”
“Huh?” Elaine blinked, looking around. She listened for a moment, but the sound didn’t come again. She was about to return to admiring the view when she heard it once more.
“Meow.”
Turning toward the sound, she spotted a sleek black cat sitting near the bushes.
“Such a cute little creature,” she said softly, stepping closer. “Come here, kitty.”
But the cat just stood there, staring directly into her eyes. Something about its steady gaze sent a chill down her spine, yet she couldn’t resist how beautiful it was — its fur glistened, and its green eyes almost glowed in the dark.
Elaine crouched down, reaching out to pet it
when a large hand suddenly reached out from the shadows and grabbed the cat first.
Elaine yelped and stumbled backward, falling onto the sand. “Ow—” she started, but the words died on her tongue when she looked up.
A boy stood there, half in shadow. For a heartbeat, Elaine forgot how to speak. He looked down at her, expression unreadable, his voice calm yet oddly sharp as he said:
“Don’t go touching the first strange thing that tries to touch you.”
Before Elaine could react, he was gone.
She scrambled to her feet and looked around the beach, but there was no sign of him nor of the cat. The vast shore was empty, silent except for the sound of waves.
The sky had turned completely dark.
Heart pounding, Elaine took out her phone and called her mother.
“Hello?”
“Elaine, where are you?” her mother’s worried voice came through the speaker.
“Sorry, I just walked a little too far.”
“Come back soon. It’s really late already.”
“Yeah, I will but it might take a while. I’m far from the house.”
“Just come home.”
“Okay, Mum.”
The walk back was anything but peaceful. The darkness felt heavier now, and with no streetlights, she relied on her phone’s flashlight to guide her.
When she finally reached the house, she spotted her mother sitting on the front porch, waiting.
“Mum, I’m home,” Elaine said softly.
Her mother stood, relief washing over her face. “Oh, thank goodness. I was so worried something might’ve happened or that you got lost.”
“There’s no way I could’ve gotten lost,” Elaine said with a smile. “It’s a straight road for the next four hours, remember?”
Her mother chuckled and reached out to touch her cheek. “You’re freezing. Come inside.”
“It’s nothing,” Elaine said. “It was really nice out there. I even found this beautiful place it didn’t look like anyone ever goes there.”
“Really? What kind of place?”
“I’ll show you next time.”
“Next time?”
“Yes. Next time, we’ll go together.”
Her mother smiled warmly. “Alright. Let’s have dinner.”
\---
That night, Elaine couldn’t sleep. Maybe it was because of her nap earlier, or maybe her mind just wouldn’t rest.
Her thoughts kept circling back to the beach and the stranger.
“‘Don’t touch the first strange thing that tries to touch you,’” she whispered, frowning. “Weird.”
Wait… was the cat the strange thing? But he touched the cat.
“Did he really say that, or was I imagining things? No, I couldn’t have imagined that face…”
She turned to her side, clutching her pillow, her mind replaying the image: the long, curly black hair that brushed his nose, the deep gray eyes, the soft pink lower lip, and those breathtaking freckles that dotted his cheeks and n
ose.
“There’s no way I imagined that,” she said, covering her face with the pillow but the warmth rising in her chest said otherwise.