The Tear of Celeste

Chapter 2: Trouble

Trouble, the answer was trouble!

When you had wandered out to see the shooting stars it had not been that far away from where you lived. You had walked to your destination and were planning to walk back.

You didn't see a reason to bring your phone, wallet, or anything really! Just the clothes on your back.

Right now you just wanted to go home, but since you were in the middle of an unknown forest, you knew that you had to locate a way out. If you wandered the wrong way you could just end up further away from civilization, and there was no clear path from the bunker to suggest which way to go.

Luckily it was early morning, the sun peaking over the trees and lighting up the clearing and forest around you. The trees themself were also not that tall, meaning you had a chance to look over them if you got up high enough.

So you quickly climbed that hill that was used to hide the bunker, hoping it was high enough so you would be able to see what direction you should go.

You got to the top, looking first in one direction, noticing just more and more trees, but they got taller in a way that suggested the whole forest was slanted, and the highest point was that way. So you turned around, hoping that meant the other side was lower.

It was. It stretched out in front of you in such a way you could see all the way down to where the forest turned into fields, and see a town in the distance. It was small and not one you recognized.

But knowing you had no better option you got down the hill and started walking.

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You have gotten into trouble before, wandering around as much as you did it came with trouble. Sometimes wandering to places you should not, other times get lost, and most of the time the trouble comes from you wandering off without telling anyone.

But it also had its benefits, some of which you could use now. You knew how to navigate and travel in a forest, how to follow what direction you needed to go, and had the stamina to walk the distance without needing breaks.

You soon found your way out of the forest and made it to the side of a road. Looking at the town it was more like a large city, but still, the best option you had.

You started walking along the road toward the town. It was still a bit of a walk so when a car passed by you tried to see if you could hitchhike, but the first car just passed you. Not that you could blame them, there were lots of stories about dangerous hitchhikers.

The second car did stop, rolling down the window on the passenger side to look at you. You leaned down and started asking if they could help you get to the town when they just scuffed at you and drove off again.

What was that all about?

You shook it off and kept going, but the next two cars that stopped for you did the same thing. You didn't even get to the part about waking up in a bunker! And no one even said a word to you before they drove off! It was starting to piss you off.

So you stopped trying to flag people down, it seemed like people here were quite rude, so what was the point?

But a few cars later and you having walked almost half the way to the town, getting sweaty and tired, another car stopped by itself beside you.

The man behind was an older-looking gentleman, a concerned look on his face as he saw the state you were in.

He asked you a question, but not in English, and because you were not expecting that you didn't catch what he was saying or in what language.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" You asked, stopping up and looking at him, catching your breath. You were having a bad feeling about this whole situation by now but tried to ignore it. Surely you could not be in THAT much trouble.

The man looked at you with a surprised look, blinking and taking a second to think about his words before he asked again, in English this time, but with an accent "Are you alright dear?"

You got tears in your eyes, feeling rather hopeless. "No, I'm not!" You told him, quickly wiping your cheeks, embarrassed that you were crying in front of a stranger. "I don't know where I am! I'm just trying to get to the town to find someone to help me" You told him, feeling more lost than ever before in your life.

The man gasped and quickly opened the side passenger door for you. "Oh, dear! No worries! How about I take you to police station, yes?" He was looking at you with so much worry and kindness, that it just made you cry even more.

You thanked him as you got into his car, you were aware that getting into a stranger's car could be dangerous, but seriously, what other option did you have at this point?

He asked for your name and you gave it to him, drying your tears and trying to take deep breaths to calm yourself as he started the car up again.

"How old are you?" He asked you, glancing over at you before putting his eyes back on the road. You looked younger than you were, you always had. I might be one of the reasons he had stopped the car. A young girl walking down the street alone, covered in sweat and dirt and looking rather dehydrated. It made you wonder why no one else would help you.

"I'm 24," You told him, having calmed your crying enough to talk more clearly. "Thank you so much for helping me! I am really lost!"

The man nodded, giving you a warm smile as he drove toward the town. "Where are you from? Not that I can drive you there, safer to take you to police first, yes? Just more help to know" He said, clearly having to think about the words he was using.

You tell the man where you are from, but when it became clear he did not recognize the town name, you told him the closest big city to your home, hoping he would at least recognize that.

He seemed to do but just looked more worried hearing that. He asked you if it was from a certain state, to which you said yes. That worried you, had you somehow traveled out of state? It certainly looks like it judging from the man's face.

"Are you on vacation?" He asks, his voice just as worried as his face now. His foot ever so slightly pressed down more on the gas, making the car drive faster. He was in a hurry now to get you to the police station it seemed.

"No!" You told him honestly, worried even more yourself now. "I just woke up here!"

You looked out the window as you entered the village, looking at the buildings. They looked foreign, and you started to have a sinking feeling in your stomach. Your brain was denying the idea, surely you could not be in this much trouble, but your heart knew that something was seriously wrong.

"Sir," You asked in a very quiet tone as he drove through the city. Your brain might be denying the idea, but it at least knew that it had to ask. So you slowly turned to him, asking the question you honestly at this point didn't want to hear the answer to, because you knew it was bad.

"Where am I?"

The man looked very troubled, just as you didn't want to hear the answer, he didn't want to tell you. But as he parked in front of what you assumed to be the local police station, he sighed, knowing that you needed to hear the answer.

"... Very far from home, I'm afraid," He told you, turning to look you in the eyes as he said the words you didn't want to hear. "You are in Germany"

Yep! You were in A LOT of trouble!