Chapter 5. Gift

The lights were blinding. The sirens were deafening. Everything around me was destroyed. I cried. I was alone, I couldn't do anything. Then everything was dark…

I woke up, sweating. It had been a nightmare… again. It was strange, I hadn't had nightmares in a while. I wanted to believe they were finally gone, but I was wrong. I would never manage to escape them. I looked at the clock. Eleven o'clock. At least this time wasn't that early.

I went downstairs in hopes of not getting a reprisal from my aunt for not waking up earlier to help them. To my surprise, the store was empty. How strange, what if acustomer came and there was nobody to attend him? I was wandering through the kitchen without knowing what to do, when I saw a note on the table.

"Dear Vaughn,

Julia and I are going to eat at Taro's house today. Elliot has insisted so much that we haven't been able to decline his offer. Today's work is done, and the store will remain closed so…You can take the day off! And, please, stay out of trouble.

Kisses,

Mirabelle"

Great, and what the hell am I going to do now? The idea of staying home was tempting, but what could I do there? Sleeping wasn't an option, we had no television, and the only books we had were Julia's stupid romantic novels. In the end, I ended up going out for a walk, but now the question was where to go. I could go to the Diner but, after what happened last time, discarded. What about the beach? No, Denny would certainly be out there eager to talk to someone about his last big catch. What did I have left? I looked around and spotted a path that didn't look familiar. I walked until I ran into a bridge. I didn't remembered seeing a bridge here before. Looking at it closely, it looked fairly new. Did Gannon build this bridge recently? There was a sign next to the bridge. "Forest". Mmmm... It sounded like a place not many people would go.

The forest was completely empty, it was only me, surrounded by big trees covered in white. The views were more beautiful than I wanted to admit. Yeah, I hated winter, and I hated the snow, but seeing all that nature painted in white made the atmosphere cleaner, more relaxing and peaceful. It was hard to say but, it was at moments like this when I realized that I really liked this island. I hated big cities, I always had. All the tall buildings… I felt like I couldn't breathe. I needed my open space. That's one thing me and the animals had in common. Even if cities had much more things to do or places to go. Even if I could pass unnoticed there, not like here, where everyone knew me. Here… it seemed like there was someone who liked having me around. I hadn't met many people who felt that way, but then again, in this island I had Mirabelle, Julia, Chelsea… Wait… What? Why the hell am I thinking about Chelsea? That stupid girl… Speaking of Chelsea, where is she? Normally, at this time, she should be here, bothering. Maybe she is busy with her farm... Should I... go help her? But what you're thinking, Vaughn ...

"I'd better go home," I mumbled to myself as I sighed.

I was turning around to head home when I bumped into something. I looked down and found Chelsea sitting in the ground as she he had fallen from the hit. Really, this girl was everywhere.

"You," I said as she looked up at me. "Are you following me or something?"

She got up really quickly, hastily collecting her things. She seemed in a hurry.

"Sorry Vaughn, I-I really have no time to talk today." Having said this, she left running desperately, so I continued my way, mumbling things to myself.

"What the fuck is wrong with this girl… uh-"

Suddenly I felt like I had stepped on something. I bent down and found what seemed to be a broken necklace. Oh, damn it. Probably it was Chelsea's, and it fell when we bumped into each other. And I had broken it. Great job, cowboy.

I searched for Chelsea for a long time, but she was nowhere to be found. I was completely alone. All of a sudden, when I was about to give up, I heard some noises near me. It seemed as something was… barking?

"Hey, c'mon, no need to fight, I've brought enough for all of you!"

It was Chelsea's voice, but, who was she with? I rushed towards the noise and to find Chelsea sitting on the floor, surrounded by three wild dogs. I approached them slowly.

"Chelsea… are you all right?"

She turned around roughly. "Oh, Vaughn!" And then, the three dogs came running to me a little bit exalted. "Oh, don't worry, they're friendly. They won't hurt anybody."

I reached down and slowly began to fondle one of the dogs. At first, it was reluctant, but once it saw that my intentions were good, it started fiddling with my hand.

"It seems that you're good with animals," interrupted Chelsea.

"It's my job, after all."

"I see…" she smiled warmly. We remained silence for a few seconds.

"Why are you here? I mean, with them…"

"Oh," she started. "I ran into this pack a while ago. Gannon repaired the bridge yesterday, so I decided to explore the area. And then I found them. They looked hungry, so I went home to collect some food and came back to fed them." Her face took a sad expression. "I think they don't have anyone to rely on… So, I think they count on me now."

"That's why you were such in a hurry?"

"Yeah, I can't leave them like this, alone." She recovered her smile. " Guess they think I'm part of their pack now."

"Uh.."

The dogs, which had become more affectionate, approached me and began to nibble and play with my clothes. Chelsea giggled. "It seems you're part of the pack too. Maybe the leader of the pack?" she teased.

I pulled down my Stetson. "Yeah… Whatever."

"Vaughn." I looked up to face her. Her expression was so sincere that it made me feel warm. "Let's play with them!"

"… Guess I don't have more work to do today, yeah."

I really don't know why I accepted. There was something in her expression, in her voice, that didn't allow me to reject her proposal. Plus, these dogs specially reminded me of myself: Lost, misunderstood, homeless, without someone to love them.

Chelsea, on the contrary, was cheerful, carefree, loved by everyone. She was the helping and caring about whoever needed her type of person. That, I must admit, was something I secretly admired.

We stayed with the dogs for a while. Chelsea was delighted, playing and goofing with them. The dogs ran and barked happily. She sure had a good hand with animals too. I nearly did anything. I just sat there to watch the scene. After several minutes, she sat next to me.

"Phew. I'm soooo tired! It's been a while since I ran around like that. Well, it feels good to exercise like that every once in a while, but oh my god I can't feel my legs!"

"It can't be so bad."

"Agh, believe me, it is… Can you please hand me my bag? I need to restore energy."

"Uh, sure…" I looked around me but didn't see any bags. "Where did you put it?"

She straightened. "It's not that difficult, Vaughn. I left it he- WHAT? NO!"

Suddenly I saw one of the dogs sniffing and biting Chelsea's bag, while she stood up and ran towards it to get it back.

"Oh no, please! Stop it! This is not for you!" she screamed.

Finally, she managed to rescue her bag. She sat on the floor and opened it, searching for something. I was a bit confused, the dogs weren't dangerous, then why did it treat Chelsea's bag like that? I approached her to see what was happening.

"No, please, tell me they are alright, please, please…" she mumbled.

"Everything alright?" I asked, but she didn't seem to hear me, as she was absorbed on what she was doing.

"Here they are… Oh my, this is a disaster…" she continued.

"Chelsea, what are you doing?" I insisted, and this time she did hear me.

"Oh… sorry Vaughn, I was so absorbed that I…"

"What's this?"

She pulled out a small box with a bow from her bag. The box was deformed and slightly broken by the dog's bites and.

"I had something for you. Well, it wasn't nothing big, but…" She opened the small box to reveal some homemade chocolate. The presentation had been spoiled completely, but I could appreciate the effort and dedication she had put on it. "Today is Harmony Day… So I wanted to thank you for your work. I'm really grateful for all you've done… But this… this is horrible…"

Her voice broke with every sentence, and I could feel that at any time she would burst into tears. I didn't know if I could stand to see her cry. I took one piece of chocolate and looked at it closely. Actually, it looked good. She looked at me, surprised and a little frightened.

"Vaughn, y-you don't have to eat this, really, I shouldn't have done this, I don't even know if you like these things…" she mumbled.

"I don't like sweet things." She looked at me with a sad face, and then she looked down, while she nodded understandingly. "But I feel like eating something sweet today."

I ate the piece and her face brightened, bringing her a smile again.

"I know you love milk, s-so I added as much of my best cow's milk as I could. Hope it is okay…"

"Um…"

"S-Sorry. Did I add too much sugar?"

"No, it's good." Actually, it was really good. It's true I didn't like sweets, but these ones were delicious.

"Really? Are you really being honest, Vaughn?" she asked nervously.

"Yeah, yeah… I am."

"Yay!" She started screaming and jumping all over the place. "I wasn't sure if you would like my cooking, it is a relief that you did."

"You like making these?"

"Well, I don't usually make sweets, only on special occasions. You know, to give them as gifts."

"Uh…" Wait, that reminds me of something. "Hey, by the way Chelsea, I think you lost this earlier."

I took the broken necklace from my pocket and handed it to her. She looked at it with a nostalgic look, but she was reluctant to take it. I was a bit confused.

"Isn't it yours?"

"Oh, y-yes, it is."

"Mmm, sorry I think I stepped on it and broke the chain."

"Uh, no, don't worry, it wasn't your fault. It was already broken… It's been like that for a while," she said, quietly.

"If it is important to you, you should keep it safer. You're not gonna fix it?"

"Well, I don't know how to fix it, exactly, so I always keep it in my pocket. I didn't notice that I dropped it. But, em.. I'm glad you found it, thank you."

I looked at the necklace. It sure meant something special for her, I could see it in her look, and if she continued keeping it in her pocket she would lose it for sure someday.

"Want me to fix it for you?" I asked her, determined.

She looked at me a bit insecure. "You'd do that for me?"

"It's no problem. Hold on a second."

She just nodded. It took me a few minutes, but I managed to fix it. "There, just like new. Do you want me to…"

"If you don't mind, sure."

She pulled back her hair and I carefully tied the necklace around her neck. My cold hands slightly touched her skin, making her shiver, which created a strange feeling in me. Chelsea turned around to face me. She had recovered that sincere smile of hers. That smile that I was already used to see.

"J-Just keep your eye on it from now on," I said.

"I will. This necklace belonged to my mother. This is my only keepsake of her… The fact that you fixed it, it's the best gift you could have given me. You helped immensely. Thank you, for everything you've done today."

"Yeah… Glad to hear it."

The atmosphere between us was strange, we remained in silence, she was looking at me, smiling tenderly, while I tried to cover my face with my Stetson, as always. However, it wasn't awkward at all, as it had been until now, something had changed.

"Uh, Vaughn.. I…" she started.

Suddenly, I felt something biting my leg and pulling my pants. Ouch! I had completely forgotten about the dogs. I looked at Chelsea. By her face, I could say she had forgotten too.

"Never mind," she said as she shook her head. "Hey, let's continue playing! But this time don't leave me alone, uh?"

She didn't leave me time to answer as she left running with the dogs following her. Before joining them, I took another look at the box with chocolates that Chelsea had made. A gift, uh? It was the first time someone gave me something. I grabbed another piece of chocolate and bit it. Damn it, it tasted really good.

After all, every gift which is given, even though it might be small, is in reality great, if it is given with affection.

AUTHOR NOTE: Sorry for the late update guys (you know, university and those things), but here it is, finally, chapter 5!

Yeah, I know, it's not one of my best chapters, but dear inspiration doesn't want to visit me, so... I promise next one will be A LOT more interesting.

Again, thank you Cyanote for your review and everyone who is reading this. And, as always, sorry for the possible grammatical mistakes (if you find any, please let me know so I can fix them) and reviews are appreciated! Thanks for your support!