As I was planning this chapter I realised that it would be extremely long as a lot of things need to be set up for Act 2. So I was planning to split the chapter into two parts. However a whole lot of RL stuff jumped up and pummelled me a little so I thought I should make it three parts so you would actually have something to read for a change. Many apologies to all who are following the story – I seem to excel in being slow to update.
xoxox
Gently closing the door of her beloved yellow bug, Emma locked up the vehicle – old Bostonian habits dying hard – and left the verge of the road to walk across to the edge of the forest that surrounded Storybrooke. Locating the entrance to a barely used trail that meandered amongst the trees, she shoved her hands into the pockets of her jacket and began to make her way down the path.
By the time Emma had reached the secluded grove which lay at the end of trail, the sharp edges of her anxiety had become less jagged as she approached her destination; the small grassy grove, almost completely enclosed by the clusters of trees that reached up, trying to touch the sky, and a large cluster of time-worn boulders that claimed one end of the copse. Tendrils of sunlight threaded through gaps in the overhead canopy to dapple the floor of the forest with warm and enticing pools of light. The gentle susurration of the wind through the treetops and the distant chirps of contented birds hidden amongst the leafy branches only seemed to enhance the somnambulistic atmosphere which permeated the area.
Emma sighed contentedly as she walked out onto the grass. This was her special place, a place she had stumbled across some time ago when she had been part of a search party trying to track down someone...or something...back when...that time when...well, she just couldn't quite remember exactly how she had discovered this secluded location. Even though her recollection of how she had stumbled upon this location was nothing more than a hazy memory lurking in the deepest recesses of her mind, all that really mattered now was that she had found this place and it seemed to bestow upon her a feeling of serenity that bordered on a complete acquiescence to life and all its foibles. As far as she was aware no-one else knew of this place and so it was truly a place she could call her own. Whenever she felt that she needed to relax, clear her head or try to think of some way to solve a problem she had encountered, this was where she could indulge in such activities without any fear of unwanted intrusion. She had told no-one about it – not even her beloved son, Henry – so she almost felt as if this was her own personal glade.
Softly sighing to herself, Emma wandered over to her favourite spot near the tumble of rounded boulders. Lowering herself to sit on the ground with her back against the reassuring bulk of the granite, she tilted her back against the rock and closed her eyes. The broken canopy above her allowed rays of sunlight to dance over her, trailing small kisses of warmth over her face. If only she was here enjoying the moment at a time when she was less perturbed by conflicting emotions – it only...then it would be a perfect way to spend a solitary hour or two.
Emma sighed again, more heavily this time. Opening her eyes, she moved her head forward and stared at her hands that she had unconsciously clasped and rested on her knees. She had a difficult decision to make, the most difficult decision she had to make since she had reluctantly given up Henry for adoption all those years ago. So many thoughts, ideas, conflicts of emotion were racing through her mind at an ever-increasing rate Emma was certain that her brain would implode from the intensity of the turmoil of her feelings but she knew that it all really boiled down to what the answer to one simple question. Should she leave or should she go?