The Unknown

Chapter Seven

Stephen's hand found mine and I let him lead me. My mind wasn't able to process where he was taking me, so I just let my feet do the walking and trusted that Stephen wasn't about to lead me off a cliff. 
We walked for what seemed like forever but was only about five minutes. When we finally reached the edge of the forest he turned towards me with a mischievous smile.

"Okay, so you trust me right?" He couldn't contain the smile he was wearing and it caused the weight on my chest to lift a tad. I nod my head and he reattained the hold on my hand and led me into the woods. My eyes widened as we walked through the massive trees. Sunlight seemed to have trouble reaching the floor and was only able to wedge itself through small slits in the tree tops. The ground was surprisingly clear of branches but wore a blanket of needles and leaves. I listened to the crunch of them beneath my feet and focused on that sound. I decided in that moment it was my favorite sound. The crunch of the leaves beneath my feet as I let Stephen lead me. We walked for another five minutes and Stephen came to a halt that ended up with me face planting into his back.

"Sorry, but we are here!" He faced me and threw his hands up in the air. I looked around and didn't notice anything special about the spot we were in other than the fact that it was a small circular clearing that contained no trees and hardly any needles or leaves. I looked back at Stephen and my face must have revealed my thoughts.

"I know, it's nothing special. But, trust me when I say that it does wonders to your mood." Stephen walked over to a fallen log at the edge of the clearing and sat down. He patted the spot next to him and waited for me to walk over. I followed and sat next to him and we both became very quiet and that's when I noticed what was so special about this spot. The birds were heard all around, but I couldn't spot a single one. I heard the wind rustle the leaves above but didn't feel a the slightest twitch of wind. I could smell the bright scent of flowers, but no color was to be seen. This clearing contained all the great things in life, and it hid all the bad. Nothing seemed capable of touching you here.

"I think I get why you like this spot." My voice was uneven due to the recent crying event.

"Yeah. I come here all the time when my day turns out to be sour. There's something about it that seems so..."

"Freeing." I finished.

"Yeah," He looked up to where the sky would be but instead a canopy of leaves takes it's place. "So, you feel like sharing?" 

And suddenly the words flowed from my mouth, not a single thing was left out. I explained how I saw Victoria in bed with another man, which got a dropped jaw, and then how I went to the market and ran into the mysterious man. I explained my embarrassment when I was almost trampled and nervousness when I saw the same man running across the lawn the following morning. I conveyed my frustrations and embarrassment to Stephen when I found out that the mysterious man was the prince and the entire time I didn't feel like he wasn't listening. Stephen had a knack for listening to people, better than I did. He was someone who you could open up to and wouldn't freak out along with you. When I was done my throat was sore from all the talking. I realized that lately that's all I've been doing. If I'm not careful, something might slip.

"Wow, that's quite an eventful past few days." He swings his feet back and forth matching the pace of my own. 

"You have no idea." I laugh, "But I don't understand. The past few days shouldn't have happened to me."

"And why not?" He looks over with an amused look.

"Well, the things that happened are things that don't fit me. The way I responded, the way people looked at me. I mean Stephen, the way the prince looked when he saw me standing in the kitchen. I've thought it over and over, because I keep thinking that I had to have misread it, but he was delighted. He seemed genuinely excited to see me."  I let my hands fold in my lap as my feet come to a stop. 

"Can I say something without you interrupting?" 

"Yeah, of course."

"I think you underestimate yourself. You are talking as if you're someone who is terrible to be around, someone who is boring and flat. Mae, I've known you most of my life and let me tell you, you are far from being boring. You're fiesty and strong and smart. You have this wit about you that is attracting and addictive."

"That's what scares me. I never would have described myself as that." I whisper. 

"Life is about figuring things out, and sometimes those unknown things are about ourselves. To me, it seems you've got some discovering to do."