Believing in the Moment (and carnivorous flowers)

 “We have arrived!” Fawn announces grandly, flinging the door open.

“Aeugh!” A loud crash emerges from the kitchen and so does Miss Fae.

“You almost had it, dear!” she calls over her shoulder. Then she turns to us. “Welcome back, girls! It’s so kind of you to come to keep Anthe company.”

“I know, right?” I grumble. “Sacrificing our own sanity.” I sag against the doorway, completely and utterly spent before the sun has even cleared the treetops. “Fawn, I think you sap all my energy.”

“No way!” she yells. “You just need to believe in the moment!”

“Right, right,” I moan. “You do that a lot better than I do.”

“GET! OUT!” A shriek comes from the kitchen, followed by a loud crash. “You’re loud!”

“Look who’s talking,” I mutter. “You’re a lot louder than us.” I pause. “Ann,” I add loudly, just to annoy her.

“Go away! My name isn’t Ann!” she wails.

“Is Miss Fae helping you learn to walk? Fawn wonders aloud. “That’s so nice!” She beams at Miss Fae and the deer shuffling awkwardly into the cafe.

“Why are you already back?” Ann moans.

“We’re gonna give you a tour of Summer Falls!” Fawn says excitedly. “It’s gonna be sooo fun!”

“Of course,” Ann mumbles. “Why can’t I be left alone for once?”

“Trust me, it’s worse than it sounds,” I sigh.

“That is not reassuring!”

“No, it's gonna be so fun!” Fawn screeches. “Let’s go!” She grabs Ann and drags her out the door. Surprisingly, I am finally allowed to be an independent person, and she doesn’t grab me. But I can’t help but wish, just a little, that I’m the one she’s grabbing.

Besides, she’s fast, even when dragging a wailing ex-deer. I have to sprint all-out just to have a semblance of keeping up, and then I fall behind quickly. It may have to do with the fact that I always stood in the corner and hid during P.E. in elementary school and blatantly refused to join any sports teams.

“That’s the granary, the apothecary, the mill, the tannery, the bathhouse, the market square, the town hal-”

“How does this help me learn about this town at all!” Ann shrieks, yanking her hand out of Fawn’s.

“Huh?” Fawn looks at her with the most innocent eyes I’ve ever seen.

“She’s clueless,” I mutter to Ann. “Don’t bother.”

“What should we do next?” Fawn squeals. “Ann, So-So, is there anything you wanna do?”

“Wow, you asked my opinion instead of dragging me somewhere,” I mumble. “I don’t even know what kind of stuff there is in this town.”

“We should visit Miss Apothecary and help her with her garden!” Fawn gasps. “I love helping Miss Apothecary!”

“You mean the sus lady with the giant carnivorous flower?” I yelp.

“Yep!” Fawn beams. “Wait, what does sus mean?”

“It basically means suspicious… whatever. You can go do that. I’m not even going to try and get close to that thing.”

“What?” Ann yells. “Will someone explain the situation to me? I am completely and utterly in the dark! And I’m the only one!”

“Right, right, sorry, I forget you’re a newbie,” I wave my hand dismissively.

“You aren’t exactly a local here either!” Ann growls.

“Stop fighting! Let’s go!” Fawn grabs both of us this time. She’s not as fast dragging us both, especially with us protesting vehemently (look at that, I used a big word) but her grip strength is scarily strong.