AN: Starting a new story when I have others that need to be updated is a running trend with me sooo yay! Hope you guys like this. I am not sure how long it will be, that all depends on whether or not people enjoy it and want to see how far I can take this idea.
Chapter One.
xox
My summers with Sam were so precious.
Little things would remind me of the few precious years I had spent with Sam. The smell of summer, the blooming flowers, and especially the fireflies that danced in the evening skies. Leaning against the wooden balcony of my grandmother's home watching the fireflies glow gracefully. The soft breeze blew the scent of the summer flowers and also brought me back to when I first met Sam.
Mercedes visited her grandmother in the summer, every year, but she would never forget the first summer she had met him. It was a beautiful afternoon and Mercedes had wandered off, allowing her grandmother to do the gardening on her own. She didn't really like planting flowers or pulling weeds, but she loved flowers, especially the wild ones, plus, she was bored. The little six year old thought she saw something at the edge of the wooded area that surrounded her grandmother's backyard, so she decided she would follow it, plus what if it was an adorable kitten? Surely it would be lonely if it lost its mother. Mercedes pouted and began her journey, stopping inside to grab a chunk of her grandmother's famous sweet bread, she loved it, so would the kitten, at least she hoped. She tied the bread in a cloth and hurried in the direction that she saw the tiny kitten.
The young girl was pretty good at navigating through the forest, even for her tiny size. She stepped over roots and avoided sharp thorn bushes. She heard the scurrying ahead of her and began to call out. "Here, kitty, kitty!" She sucked her tongue against the top of her mouth making a clicking noise to get the kitten's attention. Though she didn't hear the soft mewing of a kitten, she was determined to find it. It suddenly became darker, as the tree leaves above her head became thicker. She shivered at the sudden change in air, though it was hot the trees provided a cool shelter as well as a cool breeze that rustled the suddenly quiet forest. Frowning, she lost her nerve. The kitten was probably on its way back to its mother now anyway, why else would it be in such a creepy forest?
Mercedes backed up and hit something with her heel and tripped, falling on her bottom. She cried out and lost her grip on the bread filled cloth. "Ouch," She rubbed her rear end as she stood. Her bag was gone. She stood and looked left and right and realized she was lost. Tears threatened to fall from her now blurry eyes. She began to walk in the direction she thought she came from, but the forest didn't get any lighter, and the silence was overwhelming, soon, Mercedes was too scared to move, so she found shelter under a giant tree and covered her face with her arms and began sobbing. She would never see her grandma again, she would be lost forever. The realization of the six year old struck her so hard she began wailing.
"Hey. Would you stop that already?" The voice was gentle although the words, not so much. It stopped the girl in mid-whimper. She inhaled and looked around, wiping her arms free of tears, on her pants. She looked around once more until her teary eyes rested on a tall figure who walked toward her. When the light finally hit him, she could see he was a man, someone that was here to save her. "Y-you found me!" She scrambled to her feet and rushed to him, unable to contain her happiness.
He quickly dodged the young girl's attack, which ended badly for her, she face planted into the tree that the man was just standing behind. The man winced and carefully peered at her to see if she had bloodied herself, but she didn't, she was just passed out. He sat next to her then and waited for her to wake up, pulling the clothed package from his side. He opened it and tore a chunk of bread off and nibbled on it. It was...sweet. The girl stirred and he hurried and shoved the piece in his mouth quickly and chewed and swallowed before she opened her eyes.
"Hey, that was mean." She pouted.
"You barely even have a bump. Here." The older male handed the little girl her bread in the cloth without touching her skin.
"Are you here to take me home?" She asked, sitting up and rubbing the not-so-barely bump on the side of her head.
He waited a moment before responding. "I could lead you back to the forest entrance, if you wished."
"Thank you!" She reached out for him, to thank him again and he dodged by rolling away some. "Do not touch me, unless you want to be stuck in the forest forever."
"Why?" She asked, finally noticing that the man was wearing a simple t-shirt and pants, and that he had golden brown hair, but his face was covered by a strange mask.
"If you touch me, I'll disappear forever." He stated. Mercedes's eyes widened. She didn't want that to happen. She didn't want to be here forever! She nodded slowly then. "O-okay."
She hesitated, she didn't know how to thank him. "Want some of my grandma's bread?" She asked.
"I had some already, but if you would offer me some, I would love to have some more."
Mercedes pouted, she guessed that's where her bag went when she took her first tumble. "Okay." She halved the loaf and handed him the bread, her hands under the cloth holding the bread up to him for him to choose which half. He picked up the smaller piece. "Okay, let's go. It's already late, and you shouldn't be here past dusk." She allowed him to lead the way nibbling on the larger piece of the bread.
The two of them made their way out of the forest and the stranger came to a stop at the edge. Mercedes turned and waved to him with a smile. "I'm Mercedes, thanks for taking me home." She placed the rest of the bread down on the ground. She heard her grandmother calling her name and hurried to find her. Her grandmother spotted her running towards her and she exhaled a sigh of relief. She hugged her grandmother who smothered her in kisses and then pulled Mercedes away from her so she could pinch her granddaughter's cheeks. "Don't you ever wander off again without telling me. You could have gotten lost!"
"Ouch,ouch,ouch, I'm sorry, grandma!" Satisfied with her granddaughter's apology she sighed and released her crab pincer grip on the young girl's cheeks. "Go wash up for dinner." Mercedes scampered off towards their house to do as her grandmother told. Sighing, her grandmother stood and looked around before following her granddaughter soon after.