The Woods

Part 13

    When he woke, sunlight streamed through the waterfall that covered the entrance of Astraea's cave. The clear water shimmered as the bright rays hit it, creating a dazzling scene. Astraea was still asleep, along with Bridget, and Quintin soon found that he had nothing to do. He didn't want to wake either, and he didn't want to leave yet, so he stayed, watching the waterfall until Astraea finally let out a small "Good morning" He smiled at her. Her face was lopsided from laying on the ground, and her eyes were only half open.

"Finally. You sleep like a rock." She let out a sound that sounded halfway between a laugh and a choking sound.

"How long have you been awake?" She asked groggily.

"Enough for me to get annoyed with how long you sleep." They laughed, but stopped suddenly when Bri let out a groan.

"I'll fix breakfast," Astraea said, and Quintin looked at her quizzically. He only ever had lunch and dinner. His family couldn't afford enough food for three meals. "It's easy in the woods," she said, reading his mind. She disappeared out the waterfall, and Quinn was left with Bri and his latest friend called Boredom. When you lived on a farm, there was never time to be bored. If you had nothing to do, you helped with your siblings' chores. And that never happened, seen as you had too much to do already.

He began to fold the blankets neatly and slide them into place in the cave wall, and, as he was doing so, caught sight of something. A small crack in the rock that went from his head to toe stretched along beside him. Cautiously, he slid his fingers in it and opened the hidden door. Inside, he rows and rows of different liquids, and in the far back, a small piece of parchment that was covered in a layer of dust that proved how long it had gone untouched. He unraveled it, sneezing as the dust flew to meet his nose. On the piece of paper was a map of not only the woods, but also of Lighthill.

He located the cave, and, just as he did so, Astraea stormed into the closet, causing him to drop the map.

"What are you doing in here?" She asked suspiciously.

"I- I was bored," she grabbed his arm, shaking her head as she did so.

"Next time, don't go snooping around. You never know what you could find." She shoved him out the door to the room, but he was just able to peek through the door as she knelt and grabbed the map. As her hand made contact, the paper exploded to a million fragments. She came out of the room and grabbed his arm. "I think it's about time for you to leave. You ask too many questions anyway. Bri was awake and was carried by Quintin out of the waterfall. He saw Astraea turn from them behind the waterfall, and he knew it would be the last he saw of her dark hair. She would never let him willingly back into her home. He set Bri down and they grabbed each other's hands. Whatever was on that map had been important, but it had just looked like a normal map. He wondered about why she would get so angry until they got to the edge of the woods, when things got even more complicated.