Hope Anew

Chapter 13: Light and Shade

"Hope?" Sayid interrupted her thoughts as he called quietly through the shelter's entrance.

Hope looked up from where she sat on the bed with her writing and smiled. "Yeah, come in, Sayid."

He ventured slowly into the shelter, allowing the setting sun to shine in, and Hope offered him the aeroplane chair with a wave of her hand. "How's it going?" she asked.

"Well, thankyou." He smiled in a reserved way, "And yourself?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said suspiciously. "What's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

Hope laughed a little, "I mean that for a former member of the Republican Guard, you're surprisingly bad at concealing things."

Sayid hung his head and grinned for a moment in a bashful way. He composed himself quickly. "I have come to check on you," he said simply. "Shannon told me of your conversation the other day, and I wanted to make sure that you are alright."

Hope smiled appreciatively, "I'm doing fine, Sayid. I know Shannon's a little worried about me, but actually I'm kind of relieved that it's done. I'm not waiting anymore, and that's a huge weight off my mind. I'm sleeping better…"

"I wanted to ask you about that also," Sayid interrupted. "Your dream – I'm told that it is becoming clearer."

"Much," Hope nodded. "I think I have the general idea, but there are still some details that I can't get. Like who's the scary guy, and where's my baby now?"

Sayid nodded sympathetically, "I'm afraid I have no answers."

"It's okay," Hope smiled. "It's not your job to save everyone, Sayid."

Sayid looked at her seriously, "Only those that I care about."

Hope smiled warmly at her friend, glad for his company. "I don't need saving," she assured him. "I just need a little time."

"Well, that I can give you," he said, standing to leave. He gave her a grin, "You have about two minutes before we all head to the caves for story time."

Hope laughed, "I'll be there." As he reached the entrance, Hope called out to him. "Sayid."

He turned with a questioning look, and Hope stepped forwards to hug him tightly. "Thankyou," she whispered.

Sayid pulled back, looking confused. "I don't understand – thankyou for what?"

Hope smiled, "For always looking out for me."

Sayid smiled back, saying softly, "Of course – we are family."

Hope nodded appreciatively, gave him another quick hug, and watched him slowly leave the shelter.

Hope shuffled around the shelter, pulling things out of her small suitcase as she searched for the book of fairytales.

"Hope, we're leaving!" Claire called as she passed Sawyer's shelter on the way to the caves path.

"I'm coming," she called back, finally laying her hands on the book and turning quickly to exit the shelter. She stumbled a little over the bottle of herbs that Locke had made for her. Hope picked it up, eyeing the mouthful that lay in the bottom.

"Hope, you're two minutes is up." Sayid said, waiting with Shannon outside the door of the shelter.

"Okay, I'm coming." Hope walked quickly out of the shelter, carrying the book and almost empty bottle of herbs. Shannon and Sayid greeted her at the entrance, and the group of three brought up the rear of the group on the path to the caves.

"…seeing the poor girl's bruises, the King and Queen were finally convinced that she was indeed a real Princess…" Hope recited from the book of fairytales.

The crowd around her were enraptured, and Hope noticed the peaceful look on Shannon's face as she heard about the girl in rags who turned out to be more than she seemed.

"…permitted her to marry their son as soon as a royal wedding could be arranged, and the Prince and Princess lived happily ever after." Hope closed the book gently, and enjoyed the calm silence that usually followed the end of a story.

As conversations began again, Hope stood to talk to Locke. He sat alone in the shadows, carving something out of a small piece of wood.

"Hope," he said in greeting as she sat quietly by his side.

"What are you making, Locke?" she asked, gesturing to the wood in his hands.

"It's a gift for Aaron," he said, turning towards her to tell a story of his own. "The other day he was playing near me on the beach, and he kept pointing way out into the water. I was looking and looking, but I couldn't see what he was pointing at. Then, all of a sudden, a dolphin leapt out of the water – I've never seen him laugh so much. So, I'm making him a dolphin to play with."

Hope smiled at the man's generosity. "It's really nice of you to do that for him, Locke."

His concentration returned to his work. "And what can I do for you, Hope?"

Hope held up the bottle that she had brought with her from the beach. "I was wondering if you could make me some more of that herbal mixture. It's really helping with the details of my dream, and there are still some things that I can't see yet."

"No problem," he reached out his hand for the bottle and smiled in his fatherly way. "Were you planning on finishing that?"

Hope looked at the small amount in the bottom and shrugged. She removed the lid and drank the rest, noticing that she had misjudged the amount – there was far more in the bottle than she had expected.

"You better run," Locke said lightly, taking the bottle from her hands.

Hope looked confused, and then caught a glimpse of Sayid's back disappearing into the trees – the group was heading back to the beach.

She stood quickly, "I'll see you later, Locke. Thanks."

Locke smiled at her retreating figure and went back to his carving.

As Hope caught up to the others she could sense that something was wrong. The entire group ahead of her were still and silent. She looked around slowly and cautiously, trying to find what was blocking their way, and was confronted by a pair of dark eyes. A boar stood ten feet to the right of the group, eyeing them calmly. They all knew what could happen if the boar sensed that they were a threat, and they stood barely breathing as it sized them up.

Without warning, the boar ran at the group, causing them to scatter in all directions.

"Head for the beach!" Sayid yelled, struggling to help Shannon along.

Hope ran blindly, hearing the sounds of others running behind her. She turned around once to see the boar following them, and swerved sharply in an attempt to lose it. It was growing dark, and Hope knew she had to try and direct herself back to the beach. The sounds of other people grew softer, and she risked looking behind her again.

Hope slowed to a stop. There was nothing but trees behind her. She looked around for a familiar place as she caught her breath, but she had not been in this part of the jungle before.

"Hello?" Hope called quietly into the trees. "Is anyone there?" She was afraid to be in the jungle after dark, especially when she was alone. She silently hoped that someone was looking for her.

Hope gasped as she turned to see the boar standing behind a nearby tree. She stood silent, slowly backing away while trying not to attract its attention.

Hope never let her eyes stray from the animal; watching it closely as she walked backwards. Her foot hit a tree root and she fell backwards. She pulled in a sharp breath, expecting to hit the ground hard, but she kept on falling. She saw a rocky wall pass in front of her and she knew that she had fallen backwards down a small cliff. She hit the bottom in a heap, feeling a sharp pain in her head as the darkness swallowed her.