I was not a happy camper and when I found my brother he was going to get an ea full. Jason probably thought it was funny, getting me lost out in the woods behind Gran's house. He was such a sore looser. I should have known he would do something mean like this, he never asks me to play with him anymore.
Its not my fault I always knew where he and Hoyt were hiding. When it was my turn to hide he would listen for the noises I made, its just, when it was my turn to be 'it', I could hear a little bit better than him or Hoyt. It was also probably the reason no one wanted to play with me.
My mood plummeted from angry to sad like a stone in water.
I rounded a large oak and found myself in a clearing of sorts. It seemed a little strange to me that nothing grew here but tall grass when there was a thick wood all around. I walked out into the glade and looked around. In the center, was a sort of haze, like you see in the distance when its really hot out. But it was big, like the size of a door. I don't know why, but I felt drawn to it like opposite ends of a magnet.
I held my hand out to hover in front of it but it didn't feel any warmer than the surrounding air. I bent down to pick up a long blade of grass and stuck it in the haze. It disappeared completely. I gasped and tumbled backward on to my rear end, dropping the blade of grass in the process. I had never seen something like that before, it was like magic!
A slow smile spread across my face as I stood back up. Reaching out, I stuck my fingers into the portal (because what else could it be), and wiggled them around. A pleasant warmth touched my fingers as soon as they disappeared and traveled up my arm. A giggle escape and I clamped my free hand over my mouth. Without another thought, I walked forward through the portal. The warmth from before engulfed my entire body and more bubbly giggles erupted from my throat. And then a blinding white light swallowed me and when I opened my eyes I was in a forest.
It wasn't like the forest around my parents house, or even like the one around Gran's house. There was something extra in the trees, in the grass and even in the air. I spun around and threw my head back as laughter bubbled from me.
"Sookie?"
I stopped my silly antics and turned to see the most beautiful man I had ever seen in my life. He looked like an angel with the way he glowed. He had long blonde hair pulled into a complicated braid and thrown over his shoulder, it was the exact shade as my hair but I don't think mine would ever look as good as his. The man (angel), walked forward to me and I found my feet moving, without realizing it, I was running toward him. Drawn like I had been to the portal.
As I finally reached him, I flung my arms wide to envelop his legs into a hug. Just touching him filled me with love and happiness. Even though I had never seen him, or anyone like him before, I couldn't help but feel I knew him. Maybe he was my guardian angel, and so I asked him.
He chuckled (like chimes in the wind) and knelt one knee to the green grass so that he was level with me. He was even more beautiful up close. I could have sworn he and Jason shared the same eyes, though my brother's eyes had never held such kindness in them.
"How did you get here, child?"
I smiled at him and moved my hands to hold his. "I was playing hide an' seek in the woods behind Gran's house with Jason and Hoyt. But I got lost and then I found a clearing with a portal. Is this heaven?"
His smile reminded me of Aunt Linda.
"No, this is not heaven and I am no angel." He said. "I'm afraid I can't tell you just now, but when you are older I will tell you all about this place. Right, now you must leave. It is dangerous for you here."
My smile faded. "I don't want to leave." I told him. "I like it here."
"Your family will miss you if you stay."
I would miss Gran, and Grandad, and Daddy, and Jason (even though he's mean) and Mommy, but, "You'll be here with me won't you?"
His smile saddened and I moved my arms to loop around his neck in a hug. I didn't want to see him sad.
"One day, Sookie, you might return." He stood up and pulled me with him so that I was sitting in his arms.
I buried my head into his shoulder. "But, I'll miss you." I didn't want him to see me crying. Not when he was so beautiful.
He rubbed my back in a way that reminded me of Grandad sometimes. "I'll always be there for you. All you need to do is call my name."
I sniffled and pulled back to wipe the tears from my cheeks. "What's your name?"
He placed a finger under my chin and lifted until my eyes met his. "Fintan."
I smiled a watery smile and repeated the name. "Will you always come if I call you?"
His hand moved from my back to the top of my head. "I will always try my hardest to come when you call."
His hand on top of my head started to make my scalp tingle and my eyes droop. "I love you, Fintan." I said as my eyes closed and my head came to rest on his shoulder.
"And I love you to dearest granddaughter." He murmured in my ear.
I wanted to ask him why he had called me that, but sleep was too heavily upon me and I finally dozed off into sweet dreams of playing with Fintan in the magic forest. When I would awake an hour later on my Gran's couch I wouldn't remember the encounter. I would wonder why Gran seemed so nervous and her thoughts so odd. Who would wring their hands while they thought about a grocery list. And several weeks later, on the night my parents drowned, I would draw a picture of a glowing man with a blonde braid. I don't know why, but Jason would recall how I was crying and saying how my guardian angel had died and I wouldn't see him anymore. I would remember years later, Gran being as white as a sheet when I told her his name.