Meetings
Emma hesitantly stepped off the bus. The only sign of human civilization was a small diner to her right.
"I'm gonna end up buried in the woods," she muttered to herself.
She glanced into the diner, seeing only the person behind the counter.
Probably not a great idea. She continued walking down the road, still seeing no sign of humans. She walked a few more steps, turning around to look at her surroundings. When she faced the street again, she saw a sign. She was so startled, she actually spoke out loud.
"What?"
She stepped forward, examining the sign.
"Welcome To Storybrooke" She rubbed at her eyes, making sure she wasn't seeing things.
"I could've sworn…" She stared at the sign, already having recognized the name. Well, this was it. She took a deep breath. And stepped over the red line.
How did she not see this before? An entire town was spread out before her.
"Welcome to Storybrooke," she whispered. She checked her watch, seeing the time. 6:30 am. The town was fairly quiet. A light rain was falling, wetting the streets. Moonlight gleamed off the pavement, as well as the yellow lights from the shops. Well, the two shops that were open.
She slowly walked through the town, watching the gray light slowly envelop the town. She sat down on a bench, just watching the little town start coming to life. Cars began traveling the road, she could see shop owners entering their stores. A flash of movement caught her eye, and she turned to see a young woman hurrying down the sidewalk. She brushed past another woman, looking down as she passed. The other woman looked to be a few years older. Short dark brown hair, dark brown eyes. She saw them exchange some short words, before the younger woman hurried away. Her eyes were still downcast when she passed the bench.
She glanced back, seeing Emma sitting. Watching her curiously.
"Hello," the woman said, walking back towards Emma.
"Hey," Emma said back. She looked down at the ground, not willing to meet the woman's gaze.
"You know, I know almost all of the kids in Storybrooke. And, you're not among them," she commented.
"No," Emma answered. "I'm new."
"Ah, okay. You wanna tell me your name? Or you want to just have me call you 'kid?'"
Emma smiled a little, looking up at her.
"I'm Emma," she said, holding out her hand.
"Lovely to meet you Emma. I'm Mary Margaret," the young woman introduced herself.
"Who is the woman you were just with?" Emma asked curiously. "You seemed to be scared of her."
"Oh, that's Regina," Mary Margaret exlained. Her voice was lower, quieter than it has just been. Like even mentioning this name would curse her or something.
"So Emma," Mary Margaret said cautiously. "What are you doing in Storybrooke?" Emma quickly read through Mary Margaret's play.
"I came here to escape," she said vaguely. Mary Margaret nodded, instantly sensing the younger girl closing down.
"Okay Emma. Do you have a place to stay?" she asked, redirecting their conversation.
Uh Oh. Busted. Emma quickly tried to think of an answer.
"Uhh, well…" she trailed off, unable to think of a way to get out of this situation. Mary Margaret gave her a knowing look.
"Well, I have some extra room at my loft," she suggested. "You can stay there." Stupid as it sounded, Emma was actually surprised. She simply wasn't used to offers like that.
"Oh, really? I mean… like you don't have to," she stuttered. She was tripping over her own words. Mary Margaret simply smiled.
"Tell you what. I'm actually going to the hospital. I volunteer there every weekend. You wanna come with me today?" she offered. Emma couldn't help but smile.
"Sure," she said, hopping off the bench. She walked in front of Mary Margaret, not noticing the sad look the woman had on her face.
"Where's the hospital?" Emma asked, looking around the town.
"Over there," was the reply. Emma fell behind Mary Margaret, wondering just what would happen now. In the silence, it finally hit her. Lily… the book… Emma looked up at Mary Margaret, strolling ahead of her.
"Maybe," she whispered. "Just maybe."
"Oh, hello Mary Margaret," the nurse greeted. Mary Margaret smiled slightly, before heading over to the volunteer sign in sheet.
"I see you have a friend," the nurse observed.
"Yes, this is Emma," Mary Margaret said, pushing Emma forward.
"Emma is one of my students. Uh, she needed some volunteer hours, so I brought her here," she explained. The nurse nodded, greeting Emma.
"What do you do here?" Emma asked. She curiously peeked into a couple of the rooms.
"I generally just sit with the patients," Mary Margaret. "I don't know… something in me tells me they know I'm there. They may be unconscious, but even so, another human presence can be reassuring." Emma nodded in understanding.
"I used to believe that if you wished hard enough, you could talk to anyone you want," she admitted.
"I used to have conversations with my parents." She was about to say something else, when a patient caught her eye. She touched Mary Margaret, causing the woman to stop.
"Can we go in room 108?" Emma asked, gesturing to the man in the room.
"Oh, sure," Mary Margaret said, following Emma into the room.
"He's a john doe. Been like this for as long as I've been here. It's funny, I always thought we would've been close if I'd known him."
Emma headed over, and sat in one of the chairs. Mary Margaret took a place in the other. She took the man's hand looking at his face. He had short brown hair, handsome face, an air of strength.
"Oh, I have an idea," Emma announced, rifling through her backpack. She pulled out a large book, showing it to Mary Margaret. The woman narrowed her eyes, staring at the book.
"I could've sworn I've seen that at one point," she said.
"My friend gave it to me," Emma said, opening it. "I thought we could read some." Mary Margaret smiled.
"That's a wonderful idea. Go ahead."
"Once Upon a Time," Emma began.
Emma was almost done with the story. Mary Margaret was still holding the john doe's hand. There was something about him. He was comforting. Sure, she'd never met him technically, but whenever she visited, he was a warm presence.
Stop being stupid.
But, as Emma got to the last few pages, she could've sworn she felt his hand move.
I hope it's obvious who the john doe is.
Next time… Emma continues to settle in Storybrooke. Mary Margaret can't seem to shake the man in the hospital.
Thanks for everything.
R&R
NightLightning21
