Every Girl's Dream

Chapter 2

The rest of the week dragged on and on, each day chugging along slower than the day before. Elli's shifts seemed to take an eternity, the hours stretching into years, decades...She could practically feel herself growing old. She wondered if the days would even bother to change, or if they would just pause indefinitely on one and stay there forever. The boredom nearly drove her insane! And then, just when it seemed that the world would stop turning altogether, Monday came. It came at long last, with sunshine and fresh flowers and a warmth that beaconed to Elli through her window the moment she opened her eyes.

Today, the only day of the week that she didn't have to slave away over a hot oven, was the day she would make her escape and head for Moon Mountain. Just for a few hours, that was all. Just long enough to collect her thoughts, to live a little bit, and what a perfect day to go! She could almost hear the sky calling her name, saying, "Elli, dear! Come play with me! You know you want to!" And that was all the encouragement she needed.

With a new spring in her step, Elli leaped out of bed, pulled on a freshly laundered dress, and bounded into the front room, where she met Jeff sitting at a table with a cup of coffee and the day's newspaper.

"Good mor-ning!" she sang, scurrying to the coffee machine to pour herself a mugful. Jeff looked up from his reading and smiled, both delighted and bewildered by her cheerfulness. Just the day before, Elli had been dragging her feet and barely speaking at all, let alone singing.

"Aren't we the happy one this morning!" he beamed as he watched her take a sip from her mug and sit down beside him. He just loved to see her in a good mood; it made him feel so...warm.

"Why yes! Yes I am," replied Elli. "Because I've decided, Jeff, that I'm going to take a one-day vacation!"

"Is that so? Where to?"

"To Moon Mountain. It's only a little ways away from here."

Jeff reasoned for a moment, and, upon seeing the pleading look of hope and anticipation on Elli's face, caved in.

"I guess that would be okay."

Elli's insides did a flip-flop as excitement surged in her brain, for these wonderful words bought her ticket to freedom! With a squeal of utter delight, she set her coffee cup on the table (spilling a bit upon impact), sprang from her chair, and flung her arms around Jeff's neck.

"Ohhh! Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she cried shrilly, and ran back to her room to brush her teeth, remembering to plant a kiss on Jeff's cheek first. He turned a deep shade of scarlet.

For the first time in many days, the minutes seemed to whiz by, and Elli almost feared the day would end before she even got a chance to walk out the door. So she hurried at the sink and brushed her teeth quickly, then ran a comb through her hair and raced outside with a quick goodbye to Jeff and Grandma. At last, at last she was free from the chains that bound her to her work, day after boring, uneventful day.

She practically skipped down the cobblestone walkways of the village and kept going until she reached the woods, where she turned left and started up the path to Moon Mountain.

There it was, finally, after so much dreaming. And--oh!--what a sight to behold! Surely the surrounding meadows had never looked as beautiful and inviting as they did on this perfect day! It seemed every flower sported a fresh bloom, each a different color, mocking the image of a rainbow in the grass. The deep creeks and rivers that cut through the terrain like narrow blue roads trickled merrily in a sweet, hypnotic lullaby. Even the top of the mountain, as crooked and pointy as it was, looked serene and somehow poetic against the sapphire backdrop that was the sky. Obviously other people agreed that this was a wonderful place, because a fisherman's tent and a small cabin were just barely visible in the distance.

Elli sighed and slowed her pace as she walked along a cleared path, admiring the scenery all the while. Entranced by all the sights and sounds of the mountain, she meandered over to one of the rivers and sat on its bank so she could watch it run. Never before had she ever felt such incredible tranquility! It was as if just being exposed to the fresh air and goodness of nature had refreshed her body and spirit, like a long, cool bath for her soul. She could nearly fall asleep right where she was...right then...right...there...

Suddenly, the snapping of a twig pulled Elli from her reverie, and she whirled around to see where the sound had come from. But she couldn't see anything; just the lovely landscape around her, and a few squirrels and sparrows here and there. Normally, she would have shrugged off the noise, assuming it was nothing, but the fact that she was all alone in unfamiliar territory--beautiful as it was--made her more wary. She pushed herself up from the ground and brushed the grass and dirt off her dress, then moved deeper into the meadow, near where she had heard the strange sound.

Finally, she came upon a quieter, more secluded area of the fields, where there was an even greater abundance of flowers and trees, even a rabbit or two munching on the grass. And in addition, there was something...no, some i one /i ...standing by a small, sparkling pond. It was a young man, probably in his late teens or early twenties, with light brown hair--sun-kissed with blonde in some places--that fell just below his shoulders and was tied back gently so that a few stray locks still framed his face. Elli could see his eyes clearly, even from as far away as she was, and couldn't help noticing that they were a lovely shade of ice blue. But what she noticed most of all was the large hawk perched delicately on his shoulder, perfectly content to just sit there, unblinking. It looked almost like a stuffed toy, only too realistic.

Glancing up, the man realized that he was being watched, and muttered, sounding rather annoyed, "Can I help you?"

Elli could tell immediately that he was very antisocial, and considered apologizing and walking away, but for some reason she couldn't move or speak. So she just stood there, wordless, in a kind of stupor as he stared at her, willing her to go away.

"What do you want?" he snapped, embarrassed, Elli assumed, that he had been spotted. Finally, words came to her, but not words that would actually answer his question. They were the words she felt like saying, the words that just popped into her mind and inevitably poured out of her mouth:

"That's a very pretty bird."

The man gaped at her in what Elli guessed was disbelief for a moment, then shifted his weight onto one foot and said, "...Thank you."

"I don't recognize you. Are you from the area?" more reasonable words came to her now. But for some reason her question seemed to make the handsome stranger rather uncomfortable.

"No," he replied cautiously. "I'm just passing through for a while." Obviously, he didn't want to say any more, so Elli decided to let it go, even though she was intrigued by his response and wanted to know more about him.

"Well, welcome," she said. "I'm Elli. I work at the bakery in town. You should stop by sometime."

Then, feeling suddenly warm in the face, Elli opted to leave, to get out of there and go home. She didn't know why, but a blush had begun to crawl into her cheeks, and she felt very, very stupid whenever she went red.

"But I have to go back to work now," she lied, as her excuse to get away. "See you."

With that, she turned and began to walk away, a bit shaky for some reason, and was in the process of mentally kicking herself for her awkwardness when she faintly heard the young man mumble, "I'm Cliff."

Elli paused, but didn't turn to face him again, because once more she was unable to move.

"If you even care," he practically whispered, and Elli supposed he had not meant for her to hear what he had said. Wanting desperately to disappear, to melt into a puddle and sink into the ground, to teleport herself back to her bedroom, Elli stayed frozen and closed her eyes.

And, though she fought as hard as she could, her lips betrayed her and she called out from where she was, "I care."

And finally, her legs began to work again, and they took her home as quickly as they could.

A/N: Believe it or not, I am going somewhere with this story. This is not going to be one of those girl-meets-boy-and-they-fall-in-love-and-start-dating stories, as you may have thought. I won't be writing for a few days, but when I come back with my next chapter, I think you'll be able to better see what I'm doing with this little piece. Till then, thanks for the reviews!