The Hues of Liza

Chapter 1: The Orange Hues of Daisy

All I could hear was the crunching of the leaves, fallen branches and my labored breathing as I trudged through the forest of redwood trees. I hadn't realized how long I had wandered through the forest until I got a peek of the sunset through the crown of the trees above me. The beautiful hues of orange, red, and blue shown through and warmed my face as I found a tree that had fallen over. I walked over to it, tripping on an imaginary rock in the process, and rested my poor legs. I pulled water out of my backpack, took a sip and noticed that the white noise of the chirping birds had silenced. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in as I heard a crunching noise. I turned to my left where the loud noise had come from, startled, and saw a deer grazing for vines on the roots of the trees surrounding us. It seemed as if the deer hadn't even noticed me sitting only about 10 feet away from it. I put the plastic cap back onto the bottle and placed it as quietly as I could back into my backpack, trying not to scare the deer away from its peace and started to make my way back to the trail I had wondered off of.

The closer to the trail I had gotten the more I started to notice that the birds had started softly chirping again. I could feel the crunching of leaves and twigs again and had a slight feeling of being watched. I turned around to check my surroundings, I had only seen the trees and a squirrel here and there. I felt a shiver go down my spine and the song of the birds came to a sudden stop, freaking me out completely. I heard a snap behind me and turned around quickly seeing nothing but the empty trail I had just paraded, I turned back around and started to make a hasty way out of the forest completely freaked out.

I started to see the area I had parked my car and reached into the side pocket where I had kept my keys and struggled to pull them out as my hands started to shake with anxiety. The feeling of eyes on me had yet to fall and I felt more panicked by the second. The loud jingle of my keys pulled me out of my thoughts as I reached my car, stuck the key in my 2003 Jeep Liberty and hopped in. I threw my bag into the backseat, started the car, and headed out towards the highway, more than ready to just be home. I pulled into my driveway as I noticed my roommate, Adam, was home and had left the front porch light on for me. I hopped out and started to make my way inside, as I stepped inside, the aroma of tomatoes and basil filled my nose.

Adam stepped out from around the corner with a raised eyebrow and soft smile taking over his lips. "Where have you been Liza? I tried to call you!" He said worried but also knowing exactly where I went. "You know where I went Adam," I said with a slight laugh as I started to head towards my bedroom. "smells like dinners almost ready. I'm going to hop in the shower and I'll be out in a bit to join ya." I closed the door behind me, still a little shook from the hike I had just taken. I tossed my backpack into my desk chair and stepped into my bathroom and started the shower up. I opened the tiny towel closet to the right of my sink and pulled a fresh grey towel out as I stripped my sweaty clothes off and tossed them into the hamper at the bottom of the closet. I stepped into the shower and scrubbed the dirt and grime off my body and out of my hair, turned off the shower, dried myself off, and wrapped myself into a towel. As I stepped into my room I felt the new but same feeling I had felt towards the end of my hike-- Eyes. I went to my window and closed the curtains because I felt the already closed blinds weren't enough. I grabbed some comfortable shorts and a tank top threw it on and wrapped my towel around my hair, too bothered to brush and blow dry it right now.

Walking out of my room the smell hit my nose again, I turned the corner out of my hallway and headed to the dining room. Adam was still moving around in the kitchen so I walked in and went to help out. I pulled the bread out of the oven, sliced it, and pulled the plates and silverware out onto the table. We sat down and started to eat in silence, I didn't want to make eye contact with him because I knew the question that would be headed my way if I did. I finished my plate before he had so I went to start cleaning up in the kitchen as I heard his chair rasp from under him. Damn, he knows I'm not gonna stop doing the dishes now that I've already got suds covering my hands. He came in and sets his bowl down next to him as he hops up onto the counter. Adam and I have known each other since middle school, we have been best friends ever since we both got in trouble for chewing gum in our world history class and were placed in lunch detention together. He was like a brother to me, always looking out and trying to protect me from the inevitable.

"Do you miss her?" He said with glossy eyes looking at the wooden floor, referring to my sister. "Honestly?" I said as he looked up to me, "there isn't a moment I'm not thinking about her. Even on todays hike I couldn't help but take a second to recognize the beauty in a simple sunset like she did. Did you see it? It held her favorite shade of orange today." I started to reminisce about the warmth of the sun touching my face almost as if Daisy herself were giving me a comforting touch. I hadn't noticed I had started crying until Adam wiped the quiet tears from my cheeks. I sniffed, placed the last dish on the drying mat and dried my hands, "I'm gonna turn in early I've got an essay to finish and I'd like to fit in a couple of chapters from my book." He looked defeated as he nodded his head and returned a light "night." I hadn't waited for him to finish his one worded response, I had already headed back into my room. I moved my bag out of my chair and placed it next to my mini-fridge, then opened the door to the fridge and grabbed my favorite bottle of light pink liquid out. I snuck out of my room and darted to the kitchen for a sweet something and a wine glass and quietly ran back to my room returning to that beautiful glass bottle. I poured myself a glass and broke open the pack of sweet goodness, powdered donuts, a treat my sister showed me two years ago when we first got this house.

Daisy was my sister, best friend and adventure buddy. She lived her life romanticizing nature and seeing the beauty in everything. We were born only an hour apart, her being the oldest, she was the prettiest too. Her and Adam had started dating about junior year of high school after her prom date had gotten sick, Adam had offered to be both of our dates. After that, they started hanging out more and then eventually became madly in love with each other. Daisy and I were similar in some ways but completely different in others, we both loved to adventure and be out in nature, loved the same foods, and we were the same size and looks of course. We both had dark brown hair and eyebrows, my brows being a bit fuller than hers, my hair curly and hers straight, my eyes green with gold specs and hers a light brown with dark specs scattered throughout her iris. Our music tastes were different as I had preferred to listen to calming acoustic and alternative rock and her the normal pop station and rap. I hated the rap but if it meant she was around again I'd be willing to bear it. To have her back I would do anything.

It was my fault, I was the reason Daisy wasn't around anymore. The month she disappeared she was acting really weird, like every step she would take was being recorded and watched. I had noticed she was taking hikes more frequently and her and Adam would get into a few arguments a week, which for them was unusual. I should've said something when she first came home panicked but I figured she was just being her normal tired self after an adventure. I had pushed her at the end, we had gotten into an argument before she stormed off into her car and drove off. I tried calling, hiking her normal spot, police, everything. The only thing to turn up was her car parked but still running at our favorite hiking trail, the one I would hike when I missed her the most. Daisy had gone missing. I had counselors, police, and even Adam tell me to stop searching for her because as hard as it was to face, Daisy was probably dead. It had been a year and I still hadn't given up hope to find her.