Marigold

Chapter 2 - Meira

Ashton pulls open the doors to Jewel's Cafe and I spy Amber behind the counter. 

"Hey girls, what can I get for you?" she asks as we approach the counter. 

"One of those PSLs I've heard everyone rave about!" says Ashton, "Maybe it will bring me three hotties!" She fans her face as I roll my eyes. 

"How about a hot green tea," I ask looking at her. She nods and gets to work on our drinks. 

"So what are you two up to on this gorgeous spring day?" Amber speaks up to be heard over the espresso machine. 

Not being one for small talk, I turn towards the windows and pretend not to hear the question. Ashton on the other hand is an extrovert and has no problems telling strangers all about her life or mine for that matter. "Meira here just had to fix the flower beds by the library. It looked like someone burnt them." After a slight pause she added, "You can't shift into anything that breathes fire can you?"

Amber laughed, "No it wasn't me. I don't know what I'd do if I could breathe fire."

"Any ideas who would do that?" Ashton insisted.

"No, but I'll keep an ear and an eye out and let you know if I find out anything." She charged my card and handed over the drinks. 

"Thanks," I said quietly and head to the door. Ashton follows me out talking rapidly about something I'm not listening to. My mind thinking about my past and the family I left, hopefully, far behind. 

We find a bench along the Main Street to sit and sip on our drinks. The spring weather felt perfect for being outside. I hummed quietly while sipping my tea. 

"That good huh?" asked Ashton, "You sure you don't want to try my drink? Find yourself some men... It seems like this city is great at making unusual matches." Ashton held her cup out towards me. 

"Ash," I sighed gently pushing her cup back toward her, "You know I've sworn off guys. I've had more than enough that my parents tried to shove down my throat. I don't need any magically following me around. And besides, I'm technically engaged." I look away up the street glad no one was close enough to hear me. I was getting too comfortable here in Silver Springs and needed to be careful not to get myself caught by getting to know people who may be working for my parents. 

"Girl, your family is messed up, but it doesn't mean all guys are. You'll meet the right one one day and see. And don't stress so much. This is a little nothing town on the other side of the country from where you left. It'll take your parents ages to find you here if at all," Ashton states placing a hand on my shoulder. 

"A year is longer than I've stayed anywhere else. I really should move on. I told you when we first met and you wouldn't leave me alone, I don't do friends and I don't stay for long," I move to stand up and Ashton follows. This is one of those rare times that Ash is quiet and its a bit unnerving. 

"Can you please say something happy? This silence is grating my nerves and they already feel raw from thinking about my past." 

She looks over to see I'm serious. "Hmmm... You can legally hunt for unicorns in the state of Michigan," she shares. 

"Really?"  I ask.

"Well with a license, but you can buy those," she says. I start to smile as she continues, "The US government has a plan in place for a zombie apocalypse."

"Surely not?!" I say feeling better.

"Yep, all the contingencies for how to keep the president safe and the world turning. But I don't think there's one for aliens yet." I can't help it, I laugh. 

"I think we will find aliens before zombies, but okay..." Ashton laughs with me. 

We continue to share random facts as we head back toward the cottage Ashton and I share. I lucked into finding not only someone who needed a roommate, but someone who I could consider a friend within the first week I found Silver Springs. Having a bed sure beat sleeping in a park. I mean camping is fun but only for a short time. The only downside to our cottage was that it looked toward the cemetery so some people worried the ghost would be a problem for us. 

As we walked I started to smell something like smoke. "Hey Ash?" I ask, "Do you smell that?" 

"Like something is burning, yep." Ashton said picking up her pace and heading toward the smell. "Let's look before we call the fire department."

We walked another block up and rounded a corner, "Are you lidding me right now?!" I cried out. Another flower bed was there looking chard, "Who has a problem with flowers and keeps burning them? They haven't done anything wrong!"

Ashton looked closer at the bed. "Um Meira, do those look like giant feet of some kind?" she pointed to the black marks. 

I bent to get a closer look and they did resemble some type of animal feet, but each mark was at least three feet wide. "They do, but what type of animal is that big?"

"I have no idea," she answers.