Aspen Heights, Book 2: Forgotten

Ben

I walked as quickly as I could through the thicket of undergrowth, listening for any signs of Elita. I had already been in there for awhile, probably about 10 minutes. I realized that I should have thought to bring a watch. I got a bit lost in my thoughts, that is until I heard a sound. It was distant and faint, but it sounded like crying. A girl crying. It had to be Elita! "Elita?" I called, following the sound. And then I saw her. Other than the fact that she was sobbing there wasn't a thing out of the ordinary about her. She was looking like her usual self in a blue pajama top and matching shorts. She was sitting on a log, her knees curled up to her chest and her head in her hands. "Elita," I said, quietly this time so as not to startle her. "Ben?" she replied shakily, lifting her head. Her eyes were wide with fear, her lip trembling. "Elita," I repeated, not sure what to say. I sat down next to her on the log. "I don't know what's happening," she choked. "It's ok," I whispered, pushing her hair out of her face. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down. Her face was streaked with tears and she was gasping for air. I had never seen anyone cry so hard in my life! "I'm so confused...and scared Ben," she whimper, turning to face me. "I know," I replied. "She threw her arms around me and cried onto my shoulder. We sat there for a long time, Elita still crying. I stroked her hair and whispered into her ear, trying to comfort her. We had been slowly sliding farther down the bark until we were on the ground, our heads the only thing left on the log. "It's ok Elita. It's ok," I murmured. She was laying on her side now, still weeping onto my shoulder. I could feel the warm tears soaking into my T-shirt sleeve. I completely forgot about the others, in fact I completely forgot about everything. I had lost track of time. It could have been a few minutes or a few hours, I had no idea, and I didn't care.