Mud sloshed along the side of the tires as the small, yellow car pulled up, a moving van following behind.
A girl hopped out of the backseat, smiling as she gazed up at the large house she would be calling her own.
Well, not entirely her own.
Upstairs, lived a retired librarian, who claimed to be a ringmaster for a great mouse parade.
Downstairs, lived two old women, Ms. Mara and Ms. Kelly. They used to be great actors in their time, but now, spent their days with dozens of small Deerfox.
The girl, Hildaline, stood on her front porch, wearing a yellow rain jacket and boots.
She weaved past the movers, who were bringing in the furniture from the moving van.
She walked past the dead flowers in the garden, grabbing a stick on her way.
She closed her eyes, walking with the stick pointed out, as if she was following it.
She passed a grove of apple trees, and up a hill that overlooked her home.
A Raven landed on a rock nearby, cawing loudly.
"AAAAAHH!" Hildaline shouted, throwing a rock near the bird to scare it away.
"You scared me!" She exclaimed. The Raven didn't move, watching her as she huffed, closing her eyes once more. She opened them, looking at the bird once more. "I'm looking for an old well. Have you seen it?" The Raven gave her silence. "Not talking, huh."
She walked away, following the weaving path up to the highest part of the hill.
She stopped, feeling rotting wood under her feet.
"Careful!" A voice yelled, startling Hildaline. She turned to the voice.
A masked figure on a dirt bike rode towards her, causing her to screen, jumping out of the way.
The figure stopped, and pulled off the black helmet on his head. A boy, around the same age as Hildaline. He had messy brown hair and dark eyes.
"Lemme guess, you're from someone… dry and barren." The boy looked at the stick in Hildaline's hands.
"What?" Hildaline put her hands on her hips, stick in hand.
"That's just a stick" The boy pointed out.
"It's a dowsing rod…" Hildaline corrected.
"Right, a water witch."
"Why were you following me?" Hildaline pointed her stick towards the boy.
"Oh, no, I wasn't. I was just following the Raven." The boy corrected.
"I don't like being stalked. Not by psycho nerds and their stupid birds."
"He's not mine. He's kinda feral. I do leave bird seed out for him though."
"Look, if I'm some water witch, then where's the stupid well?"
"Careful! You stomp too hard, and you'll fall through!" The boy pointed at the mud underneath her feet. Hildaline moved, and the boy swept the mud away with his gloved hand.
The rotting wood. The boy carefully removed the wood top and the two gazed into the well.
"It's so deep that if you fell through, it would look like nighttime in the day." The boy said, causing Hildaline to glance at him.
"Where do you live?" The boy asked suddenly, causing Hildaline to sit up.
"Oh, my family just moved in over there." She pointed towards the house in the distance.
"I'm surprised she let you move in…" The boy frowned. "My grandma owns the place. She doesn't like letting families with kids move in."
"What? Why?" Hildaline asked.
"I'm not really supposed to talk about it. I'm David." He rubbed the back of his neck.
"I'm Hildaline."
"Weird name."
"Hey!"
"It's unique though." David assured, gaining a glare from Hildaline.
"David!" An older woman called in the distance.
"Ah jeez." David frowned.
"I think someone's calling you." Hildaline folded her arms.
"Yeah. It was nice meeting you, water witch. Just, wear gloves next time." David pointed to his own black gloves.
"Why?"
"That stick of yours is poison oak."
Hildaline gasped, throwing the stick to the ground, as David rode away on his dirt bike.