AN: I'm eating chocolate-covered strawberries right now. You should try them too, they are great ;)And I have to give LEO a big hug – that's the online dictionary I'm using ;) I'd still be somewhere in the third chapter if I hadn't got that site…
It took some more days than I though to get this one finished. My list of things I shouldn't do while writing is growing. Newest entry: "Never read Fanfics with more than 20 chapters before you haven't done ONE of your owns yet."
And this chapter turned out tobe MUCH longer than I thought. Oops. It was hard to find the perfect place to stop writing /
Chapter 14 – Game
A cold but gentle touch on my cheek woke me up from my dreamless slumber. "Wake up, my angel." A voice sweet as silk whispered into my ear.
Slowly, I tried to open up my eyes again, stretching my arms as I did. "How late is it?" My voice sounded sleeply.
Edward's cool fingers traced a line from my ear to my chin. "It is around five in the afternoon, dear. You've been sleeping for almost an hour but now, I think, the others got plans what to do now."
I rolled myself on the back, blinking so that my eyes could readjust. I was still lying on Edward's towel, he had covered my body with my own one. As I sat up and pulled my towel around me, I glanced at Edward. I couldn't read his facial expression – he gave me a loving smile but in his eyes was something else…
I reached out and put my hand against his cheek. He leaned in to it. "Is something wrong?"
He gave me one dazzling smile. "No, everything's fine. Actually…" Edward leaned forward so that our lips were only mere inches apart "Actually, it's way better than just fine." Only a heartbeat later, I felt his marble lips on mine.
"I think, we should go and change back in our normal clothes. Tyler and Mike came up with a game and since it doesn't involve swimming…" He trailed off and was on his feet only a second later.
I took his hand and when I was standing on my own feet again, I could feel his gaze on my body, taking in every imperfect little part of it. I felt the heat rising to my cheeks, almost setting them on fire, and self-consciously, I draped myself in the towel that almost hid my whole body.
"I'm sorry." Edward whispered, a ruefully smile playing on his lips. "I'm going to miss that sight." He added almost too quiet to hear.
Almost.
With one of his strong arms around my waist, we joined the others who were already gathered at the fireplace.
"Ah, finally you chose to join us." Mike wasn't too happy to see me in Edward's arms - that was clear.
"Hey, I needed to wake up first." How long were they already standing here, anyway?
"Yeah, sure. And have a make out session with Mr. Cullen." Although Lauren was only whispering, I could clearly understand her. I could already feel the blood rushing in my cheeks again and I didn't think about what I was saying until the words had left my mouth: "Are you jealous?"
In a protective manner, Edward put his second arm around my waist, holding me against his chest. Before any other word could be said, Eric was between Lauren and me.
"Girls, as much as I'd like to see you two in a catfight, just calm down for now, ok? I don't want anyone to get hurt."
I took a deep breath and looked away from Eric and Lauren. I should've looked at my feet, since Emmett was standing directly where I wanted to look – he was covering his mouth with his hand, trying to fight down the laugher. Something told me that my cheeks would be red for some time now…
"Thanks, Eric." Mike said. "But now to what we were planning… Last night, Tyler, Eric and I were thinking about we could do this late afternoon. Well, we came up with a game – we're going to pair up and have to do several tasks on several places in the forest. The first team wins and doesn't have to clean up tomorrow morning. I'll give tasks which team cleans up which part of the camping ground – but trust me, no one really want to arrive at the finish as the last one."
When he reached the end of his little explanation, no one looked comfortable. The last one to arrive at the finish… I got the feeling in my gut that those would have to clean the bathing-cabin. I had nothing against cleaning up but nevertheless, I really hoped I wouldn't arrive as the last one.
"Any questions left?" Eric asked after a short silence. As no one answered, he announced: "Ok, since there aren't any questions, let's get changed in normal clothes. We will meet again in about fifteen minutes right here."
Everybody was heading to their cabin – everybody but Edward and me. I'd do the same as everybody else, but the strong arms of my beloved vampire formed a cage around my waist I couldn't possibly escape from.
"Edward?" I asked while my hands drifted to his, trying to gently pry his arms open.
I felt his silent laugher in my neck. "Yes, love?"
"Would you please let me go? I still have to get into my normal clothes." Trying to escape his arms was as promising as trying to bend steel with my bare hands.
He let his nose stroke against my neck. "No, I don't think, I'll let you go… You look beautiful the way you are dressed right now."
I felt the familiar heat on my cheeks again, forgot about my plan of escaping him by using my physical strength and turned around to look into his eyes.
"So, I don't look good in my normal clothes than?" I asked. I tried to sound hurt but what he had said right before… It sent millions of butterflies around my stomach.
He looked deep into my eyes, letting his breath fan across my face. "Don't be ridiculous, Bella. It's just… Well… I don't see you like that very often." He bent his head down so he could kiss the soft spot underneath my ear.
I had to pull myself together if I did not want to get lost in his touch. Or his words on the other hand. I had to come up with a good plan.
"Edward?" I asked once again. I couldn't be sure of his attention right now: He was stroking a line from my ear down my neck and back again.
"Hmmm?" It sounded as if I woke him up from a pleasant dream.
"You won't get any kiss from me for at least half a day unless you let me go now." Better be real: I couldn't really keep away from kissing him for more than a few hours, I was positive about that.
Edward pulled away until his gaze met mine. He had a disbelieving glint in his eyes that soon became one of amusement.
"You know you can't stick to that threat." He said in his most velvety voice, trying to drown me in his pools of gold.
"That's what you think." I whispered, grinning.
"Oh, really?" He asked, his breath and voice almost rendering me helpless.
Almost.
Only one or maybe two inches before his lips met mine, I put my index and middle finger in front of my lips, stopping his movement. His brows slowly furrowed in disappointment.
"No kisses if you don't let me go." I repeated once more. I couldn't hide a smug little grin from my face, although I ached to meet his lips and to get lost in his touch once more.
"You're unfair, my love."
"Just like you, my beloved vampire." Now, both of us were smirking.
Three or four heartbeats later, I could feel his touch around my waist vanish and a second later, he was standing in front of me again – but this time, a few feet parted us. "Feel free to leave, my love. I'll find another way." The smug grin was once again evident on his face.
"Of course, you will." I smiled. With those words, I turned around and met the other girls back in our sleeping-cabin.
"What's going on between you and Cullen?" As soon as I opened the door, Jessica attacked me with her questions. "I mean, until some minutes ago, you've been sleeping right next to him and just now, you refused to kiss him?" She gave me a look that said I was insane. "That's just like… refusing to receive the jackpot after you won it!"
"Jess, I have my reason. Recently, Edward tries to get back on me because of what happened this morning. I just have to be on my guard now." Alice shot me a grin.
"Get back on you? Why?" She was already in her normal clothes – jeans and a long-sleeve shirt – and was packing away her towel.
To my surprise, Angela answered. "Being smart isn't a boy's trait. They never know when they just have to accept their defeat." Angela stated without even to look up from her swimming bag. For a moment, it was silent in our room but only a few heartbeats later, we fell into a long laughing fit. On this trip, Angela never ceased to surprise me. The shy Angela from school was out of all recognition.
About ten minutes later, we stepped out of our girls-only-cabin. Being in my normal clothes was somehow comforting. Although it wasn't exactly cold outside, wearing only a bikini was just a little… too little.
The boys were already gathered again, standing around an unlabeled tin box in their middle. Edward was in faded out jeans and a long-sleeved light brown turtleneck that fit perfectly to his figure. Alice lightly poked me into my side, stopping me from ogling.
"Ah, the ladies… Good to see you again. We were getting worried that you might have lost your way back to this spot…" Mike mused. Nevertheless, he was quickly silenced by the glares he received from us girls.
As we came to a stop next to them, Edward carefully reached for my hand, giving me a warm smile as I looked up to his eyes. I let my hand slip into his one.
"So, ok. In this box, we have several pieces of paper. On each paper, there is a name. We will take two pieces of papers in one round and those two have to pair up as a team. Understood?" As nobody said anything, Mike went on with his explanations. "When we are paired up, we will head into the forest. Don't worry: There will always be a path to follow so nobody will get lost." I heard Lauren stifle her quiet laugher but chose to ignore it. "The first team we will get from this box is the first team to walk into the forest. There will be several spots where you can find a sheet of paper that will tell you what to do. There will always be five tasks at every spot, so no one will have the same task as any other team. Ah, and before I forget about it: If you think you found something another group will have to find, you are allowed to hide it."
I had to admit: That sounded interesting – although walking through a forest was involved. Roots, slickly stones,… I sighted. However, I wondered when they put up those spots?
"Well, I'll begin to form the teams…" With that, Mike reached into the small, tinned box and took two pieces of paper from it.
I could feel Edward's hand tighten around my small hand and I started to stroke soothing circles on his back. As far as I knew my luck, we wouldn't end up in a team together.
"Our first team is: Tyler and Lauren. Just take the path right behind me."
As soon as he said it, both of them were on their way.
"Our second team… Edward and… Alice." He couldn't hide the self-confident grin from his face as he announced my beloved vampire and my best friend as a team.
Edward leaned down to me, putting a loving kiss on my lips and underneath my ear. "Be safe, my love. I couldn't stand it if anything would happen to you." He voice was merely a soft murmur in my ear. I gave him a small smile and squeezed his hand once, then he had to let go. Only a few seconds later, Alice and Edward were behind the first rows of bushes and trees, out of sight. My hand felt empty.
"Our third team: Eric and Angela." They smiled at each other, than took off, following the others.
"Fourth team… Oh." He shot me a grin I couldn't really return. "That would be you and me, Bella." Oh, great. But to be honest: I already thought something like that. It's just my kind of luck.
Without much enthusiasm, I walked to his side, waiting to take off.
"Well, that would leave you two as our last group… So… Have fun, Emmett, Jessica?"
Saying 'Jessica looked uncomfortable' was an understatement. Shyly, she looked up into Emmett's eyes, biting down on her lip. Only one heartbeat later, she was by my side, whispering: "Bella, can't we switch partners? I mean…"
"No, Jess, sorry. Bella is with me." Apparently, Mike could hear her. The look she shot him was almost heart-melting but maybe this was his kind of punishment to her since she had so much fun shoving him this morning. But on the other hand, maybe it was just his wish to spend some time together with me – away from Edward. Another sigh escaped my lips.
Emmett smirked at me but before anybody else could see it, he said: "After you, miss. I'll keep my hands by myself and believe me when I say: I won't bite."
That last remark sent shivers down my spine but made me smile at the same time. Jess was feeling a bit better – at least, it seemed so. But who could resist a Cullen's charm? I couldn't think of anyone.
Mike and I were already walking since five minutes when we reached the first task-spot. Jess and Emmett had to wait several minutes until they were allowed to take off, too. Something about fairness, I believed.
Hum… I wondered, where Edward was? I was pretty sure he wouldn't be one of those who would have to clean something up – naturally, Alice and Edward would arrive as the first team. But didn't Edward say that Mike wouldn't get even only one minute alone with me? I mean: I have nothing against Mike, he's a nice boy, but nevertheless…
Lost in thought, I stroke the back of my right hand – the hand Edward had held in his hand back at the camp.
"Zoned-out again, huh?" Mikes voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
"Eh… What? Sorry, yes." I gave him a sheepish grin. He was already used to my zoning out – it happened pretty often when I was filling the racks with new stuff at his shop.
He let out a sigh and faced forward once again. "Hey, that's our first task-point." He pointed to a small box, hanging on a branch of a nearby tree. A yellow card was at it's top.
"Ok, it says…" Mike fetched it and began reading. "I'm grey. Come and get me."
Mike and I looked at each other as if a giant slug had fallen down from heaven.
"What?" I asked, dumbfounded.
"I'm grey. Come and get me." Mike read out once more, clearly bewildered.
"Who chose the tasks for the cards, Mike?"
"Tyler. And one of those tasks was thought up by Eric, since it would be unfair to everybody else if Tyler would get his own task…"
"OK…. So, we have to… search for something grey?" I asked.
"Apparently so, yes." He put the yellow card into his back pocket and started searching on the ground.
Grey… Where to find something grey in a patch of green? While thinking about it, I lifted my head and looked into the trees. Green leaves, green moss, green fir needles, green stuff covering the branches, … It made me smile. Several months ago, I didn't like all that green stuff around me – I was used to brown – but now, it just felt like home.
"Hey, maybe it's this one?" Mike asked.
Oops, I was zoning out again.
I looked at what he had found: A stone, almost grey. But only almost.
"Well, Mike, that looks a lot like green, actually."
He frowned and I could hear footsteps coming nearer. Emmett and Jessica should be on their way to this task point.
Then, it hit me. On the way we took, there was a tree that looked pretty much like the color grey.
"Wait a minute, Mike!" As fast as I could, I got back on the trail, back to the tree. Sure enough, I even found a small piece of bark at its roots. Definitely grey.
"Hey, Bella, already working on your first task?" Emmett greeted me as I happily examined the small piece of bark in my hands.
"No, actually we dissolved the mystery of our first task. Have fun with your one!" I said merrily and got back to Mike.
"Here. That's grey." He took a look and after a slight nod, he put the piece of bark in a small box.
The moment Jessica almost stumbled to our place, we took off again, heading to the second task point. She didn't look too uncomfortable anymore and I had to smile.
Well, maybe it wasn't the worst thing to be paired up with Mike. I mean, if Edward and I'd be in a team, I would definitely be alone with him – what leads to that tiny, almost inaudible voice in my head that tries to remind me of: Don't be alone with him.
I let out a long sigh.
"Are you ok, Bella?" Mike's concerned voice took me once more from my thoughts about Edward.
"Yes, everything's fine, Mike. I was just… In thought."
"Yeah, you're doing that pretty often. May I ask you what you are thinking about?"
I had to smile because of his question. Why do so many people want to know about my thoughts? I couldn't really understand them.
Mike crossed his arms behind his head. "Ok, then, let me guess: Daydreaming about Edward again?"
"Uhm… yes."
"What's going on between you two anyway? I mean. First you act like you just forget about everybody else and the next moment, you don't even let him kiss you."
That startled me and I stopped walking. Had everybody been looking when I stopped Edward from kissing me?
I gave him a suspicious look. "Everything's just as always between Edward and me, Mike. It's just…" I took a moment to think this through. Should I really tell him? Well, it wouldn't hurt. "Edward tries to get back on me because of this morning. Really, Mike: Sneaking in was the stupidest idea you two could get." I had to snicker as I recalled the memory of Edward and Mike, pinned down by us girls.
"Oh, please, don't remind me." But while he said it, he was snickering himself. "That was excruciating. But… Bella?"
We were already walking again. "Yes?"
"Where did you learn to growl? I mean… I never heard you doing that, it sounded pretty… well…" He was on the loss of words and by now, I was laughing freely. So he really was frightened back then.
"Let's just say that I have pretty good role-models, ok?" At least, as far as their playful growls were concerned. My memory went back to the first time I heard Edward really growl – a guttural snarl that let all the hairs on my arms stand up. My memory was better than I would have thought: Even only remembering it, it had the same effect on me.
"Are you cold?" Mike asked, looking down on my arms.
"No, just remembering something. How far is it to the next task point?" Better change the subject.
Mike shot me a skeptical glance, then looked into the forest in front of us again. "Not far. But I hope our next task is… less stupid than the last."
I just smiled and after a few more minutes, we arrived at the next task point.
After we stumbled through some ferns, which blocked our path, we saw Lauren and Tyler in the small clearing ahead.
"Ah! I just can't find it!" Lauren complained. Apparently, they had a task similar to the one we had to solve.
"What are you searching for?" Mike asked with a small grin on his face.
"As if we would tell you, Mike." Tyler shot my partner a knowing look.
Mike just whistled innocently and got a blue paper from the small, tinned box at one of the trees. "Okay, let's have a look."Since Lauren and Tyler shouldn't know what we would have to do, I stood next to Mike, glancing down at the paper in his hands. It said: 'Draw a grizzly.'
Mike and I exchanged a long, skeptical glance. "A grizzly?" Why not a rabbit, a bird, anything but a grizzly?
"Eh… Yes. Well, you're better than me in drawing, so: Here's your pen. Good luck."
I had to pull myself together if I didn't want to smack him. Me? Drawing a grizzly? Good joke.
"Mike? What if it doesn't look like a grizzly? Are we dismissed at the end of the game and have to clean up the bathing-cabin?"
"I think so, yes. So… Please give it your best shot."
I sat down beside him on the fallen tree, starting to draw. Oh, I really hoped none of my vampire friends would see this…. Piece of art.
"Do you really think the teeth of grizzlies are so… huge?" Mike asked when I finished the drawing by adding the "details".
"I don't know. I've never seen a bear but I was told they are kind of… huge, scary and definitely lethal. So… Why not add huge teeth and claws to this lovely piece of a bear?"
Mike suppressed a chuckle and took the picture from my hands.
"It's a good thing that we took those cards to write the tasks on… We wanted to take the smaller ones but just imagine how small your picture would have been then."
"Small enough so that no one could see that it should show a grizzly. Would be helpful, don't you think so?"
He gave me a warm smile and put the drawing into his back pocket.
"Hey! Tyler, Lauren! Haven't you found it yet? Whatever it is you are searching?" Mike asked.
Lauren frowned. "No. Are you sure it's supposed to be found?"
"Yes, it is. Maybe someone of the other groups hid it? Oh, wait a moment." My looked thoughtfully into the treetops. After a few moments, he looked back to Tyler. "Hey, you started first into the woods and this is task point two. Were the two Cullens already faster at point one?"
I couldn't hide the big grin from my face and so, I turned around. Poor Lauren. If their… item was hidden by Alice or Edward, they were facing hard times.
Tyler just let out a long-drawn sigh. "Yes, they were. They solved their task almost immediately."
As I turned around again, carefully showing nothing more than a smile, Tyler didn't look too happy. Somehow, I could understand him.
"Hey, maybe that was just an easy one they got. Probably they'll have more problems with the next tasks?" I proposed. That seemed to lighten up Tyler's mood.
"Yeah, maybe you're right. But anyway, we have to search on." As soon as Tyler had said those words, Mike led me back on a small trail through the high ferns.
"It's working out better than I thought." Mike said, while we made our way across many roots and loose stones.
"Huh?"
"Well, there are only four task points in this forest, but five groups. Two groups are in our back, two still to come. Somehow, I get the feeling that we will see the Cullens at the finish, so there are only Angela and Eric left. Do you think we could manage to arrive at the finish before they can?"
My brows furrowed. He was right, it was working out good. But I doubted that we would be able to be faster than Angela and Eric.
"We can try?" I offered.
He just smiled and walked on.
"Oh, come on, Eric, that's not a maple leaf, that's a leaf of a birch." Even before reaching the task point, we could hear Angela.
"Yours isn't a maple leaf either, Angela." Tyler retorted.
"Hey, you two." I greeted as we reached them in the small clearing. Well, it was more of a ' very small place without many trees', but let's call it a clearing.
"Hey, Bella!" Angela greeted, while climbing a tree to get another leaf. Eric waved in our direction, then positioned himself next to that tree, carefully eyeing Angela.
Mike went straight to the small box and took a blue piece of paper from it. "Write down five animals, which are living in this forest." Mike let out a long sigh. "Eric? Remind me to never let Tyler and you choose the tasks again, okay?"
Eric just grinned in our direction and then helped Angela to hop down from the tree.
"Five animals… Hm… Rabbits, mice, deer… Can you think of anything else?" Mike asked.
"Don't forget the birds, Mike. And…" Ducks? No. That would be 'birds', too. "Worms?" I said without thinking.
Mike gave me a disgusted look but wrote my answer down. "I ever thought girls would think of cute animals first." He murmured.
"So, this one is solved, too…" He said louder – so that even Angela and Eric could hear him. Both shot him an unhappy glance.
"It's a bit too easy, don't you think so?" I asked while we were on our way to the last task point.
"Hmm… Somehow, yes, it is. But maybe you're a talisman?" He grinned at me and winked.
"Me? A talisman? Yeah, wishful thinking." I retorted. I got the feeling in my gut that this conversation was going where I didn't want it to go. Better be fast and change the subject…
"How are things with Jess and you, Mike?" I asked as casually as I could. Better remind him of his girlfriend now.
He gave me a sheepish smile. "Sorry, I'm starting again, don't I? But well… Jess and me… She's a really cute girl."
Somehow, his comment startled me. Starting? So… He knew why I started the topic. I felt the typical heat rise to me cheeks.
"Cute? That's all?" I asked.
He let out a laugh. "No, of course not. She's fun to be with, always cheering me up – even after our… involuntary shower this morning – and… well.. She is always there for me when I need her." He added the last words almost whispering. It conjured a smile on my lips – Jess and Mike were really close to each other as it seemed.
"And what about you, Bella?" He smiled into my eyes.
I blushed and looked at my feet. I couldn't really find words to describe Edward's and my relationship.
"Ah, okay, you don't need to say anything. I've already a good guess. But one question: Is he always like this?"
I raised my brow. "What do you mean, Mike?"
"Well, like this. Always around you, looking after you and doing those things… Just take this morning. I never fought against Edward – at least not physically – but I have the good impression that no one, especially not a girl of your size, would be able to hold him down like you did. And later at the waterfall… Let's forget about him showing off all the time but when he came out of the water and you greeted him with your towel…" Mike looked amused down into my eyes. "He really has to love you to endure all those things you girls did to us. Is he always acting that way towards you?"
Once again, I felt the stupid blush in my cheeks. Nevertheless, I had to smile. "Yes, he is. Always." I was almost whispering.
Mike chuckled next to me. "Okay, now I understand why he got you and I didn't."
We went several minutes in comfortable silence, then he asked: "Bella?"
"Hum?" I was on the edge of zoning out once more.
"I hope you'll get a happy ending with him. But… Whenever you need a shoulder to cry on, just come to me." He smiled but looked into the bushes in front of us.
"Mike…" I said warily, but he interrupted me once more.
"Hey, I mean as a friend. I think, I'll just have to surrender as far as Cullen is concerned." He winked at me and I had to laugh. Sometimes, it was really easy to like Mike.
"I hope the same for you and Jess. You two are a really cute couple."
His eyes sparkled. "You think so?" I just nodded – only a heartbeat later, we arrived at our last task point.
Maybe that was the reason why Edward let me go with Mike? Maybe he knew that Mike would… 'give up' – even though I was sure he'd never let Edward know voluntarily.
"So, last task. Hmm…" Mike was standing next to the task box, holding a pink piece of paper in his hands. "We have to search for a 'perfect' crutch. Shouldn't be too hard, what do you think?"
"Depends on your interpretation of the word 'perfect'. But let our search begin, maybe we will be able to arrive as the second group?"
While speaking, I let my eyes wander through the woods surrounding us. The sun was setting and so, the search wasn't an easy one – the light faded and the different greens of the forest all looked kind of grey – different shades, but it made the search harder. I set my feet carefully – the path had stopped and the ground was covered in leafs and stones. Sure enough, just when I thought I found a nice little crutch, I felt myself losing balance. My foot was tangled in a stupid root.I braced myself for the fall, throwing my arms in a protective manner in front of me – hopefully that would stop my fall before I could hit my head or something like that.
"Ow!" The ground was harder than I had expected.
"Bella!" Mike was by my side as fast as he could make his way towards me. "What happened?"
"Oww… Just a stupid root." Had the ground always been so hard? I couldn't recall the last time I had a meeting with it. "Outsh." I got up and leaned on a nearby tree, searching for my lost balance. My hands had stopped the fall but they looked that way, too. The skin on my palms was scratched, but luckily, it didn't bleed. Nevertheless, Edward wouldn't be happy. I was absolutely positive that he would see it as soon as I'd come in his sight.
"Are you okay?" Mike asked when he saw my frown.
"Yes, thanks for asking. Just some scratches. We should search on, it's getting dark already and we still have to get to the finish and back to the camp."
I heard him chuckling low next to me. "Scared by the night?" He asked.
"No. But scared by loose stones, stupid leaves and tangling roots – while it is dark and I'm in a forest. I have enough problems with those when it's a bright day." And Edward isn't righ next to me.
Mike laughed out loud but restarted his search for the perfect crutch. A few moments later, I joined him again – although I was even more careful now.
"Here, that should be one." Mike said and hold a tiny crutch in front of my face.
"That's pretty… small, isn't it?"
"The task didn't say how large it should be, did it?" He answered with a smug grin.
"No, it didn't."
That was when we heard voices from the path behind us.
"Did you hear that?" Mike asked.
"Yes. Sounds as if Jessica and Emmett are close-by." Wow. Lucky Jess. I could imagine that Emmett had to solve the most of the tasks – they could never be so fast if she would have to do all those on her own.
"We should hurry, then. Please don't get me wrong but that's a thing don't like about the Cullens: They are always much too fast for my taste."
With that, we made our way as fast as possible to the finish – whereas 'fast' is a very subjective term. To me, it was fast, since we were in a forest and the light was fading. Mike tried to hurry but that wasn't easy since he had to wait several times for me.
As we left the last ferns and trees behind us, we came to a meadow. Well, it wasn't like Edward's and my meadow at all. Just a patch of green surrounded by even more green. No flowers, just grass. Nevertheless, there was one thing that let me forget about everything else: My personal god leaned smiling on a tree on the other side of the meadow, arms open and waiting for me to join him.