Chapter 28:

Chapter 28: Woman in the Woods

Howl


I watched her from the bushes while she continued her song. She had an amazing voice, even better than Ms. Clare’s. She looked about Ms. Clare’s age, her hair was a snowy white along with her dress, and her skin was a browner color. I had never really seen a person with a skin color like that; closest person I could think of was Leona but her skin is a lighter brown. The woman’s eyes were sky blue but she had dark circles under them, Ms. Clare has usually said that’s usually due to lack of sleep. My eyes were the same underneath too, I don’t get much sleep. She finished her singing and started to walk off. “Wait!” I shouted as I stood up from the bushes. She turned around wide-eyed, “I really liked your singing!” She didn’t respond, but her face started getting really red. “Uhhh….H-How long were you standing there?” She asked. “Long enough to hear your amazing singing.” She put her hands on her face and groaned, “I can’t believe someone heard me…I’m so embarrassed.” “Huh, why?” She turned and started running off. “W-WAIT!” I ran after her, catching up rather quickly. “I’m sorry if I embarrassed you,” I said as we ran side by side, “I did think your singing was great though, honest.” She stopped running, forcing me to make a hard stop. But as I stopped, I accidentally rammed into a tree and fell. “Owww.” I groaned. The woman looked over me, “I-I’m sorry!” She said as she helped me up, “A-Are you hurt?” I cracked my neck and smacked off the dust from my clothes. “Yeah, I’ve been hit way harder.” “That’s good….I think?” “Now that I caught you, why did you run?” Her face shot red again, “Oh, right. I’m sorry, I’m very shy and nervous around people.” “I see, but all I did was compliment your singing.” “That’s another thing, I usually don’t sing when other people are around. The only other person beside you who’s heard me sing is my husband.”

“Hm-hm. Well, you do have an amazing voice.” I responded. “T-Thank you.” She said. “So, what’s your name?” I asked. “Huh? O-Oh, my name is Avery.” “Hello Ms. Avery, my name is Ferral.” We shook hands, her being rather hesitant at first. “Ferral? What an interesting name.” I smiled, “I know, pretty cool, huh?” She gave me a slight smile back, “Yes.” I looked down and saw her basket, “So, what were you picking out of the trees?” I asked. “These? They’re apples.” “Oh, I’ve eaten those before. They’re really good.” “They are, aren’t they.” She started twirling her hair slightly, “So are you out here by yourself, or is someone else with you?” She asked. It took me a second to think if I did come out here with someone….then I remembered. “OH MY GOSH! Ezekiel and Belle, I left them back at the school!” Just as I was about to run back toward the school, I heard them faintly calling out my name. I was going to run after them but looked at Ms. Avery. “Hey, do you wanna meet my friends?” I asked her. She looked at me with a nervous expression, “I-I don’t know. I think I’d be too nervous and squeamish.” “Nah, you’ll be fine. They’re nice people.” She shook her head, “I don’t know….” Their voices got closer, and Ms. Avery started taking steps backward. I looked at her and grabbed her free hand, “Hey, you’ll be fine, I promise. Besides, how are going to get over your shyness if you always run off?” She stopped and looked at me, then gave a long sigh. “You sound like my husband. *sigh* Alright, I’ll give it a try.”

I called out to the twins and heard them quickly rushing over toward us. “Ferral!” Belle shouted, “Oh thank God you’re alright.” “Yeah, Clare would’ve killed us if something bad happened,” Ezekiel added. Once they got close enough, they noticed Ms. Avery and started to come up more cautiously. I looked at Ms. Avery, red as a tomato, and then back at the twins. “Buddy, who’s that?” Ezekiel asked. “This? This is Ms. Avery, I found her here when I heard her sing.” “H-Hi.” She waved nervously. “You found this random adult woman out here singing and your first instinct was to follow it?” Belle asked, one eyebrow raised. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I?” They looked at each other and then back to me, “Fair enough, should've guessed.” They walked over to Ms. Avery, “Hello, I’m Belle, and this is my twin brother Ezekiel.” Belle introduced “How’s it goin’?” Ezekiel said. “H-Hello, it’s nice to meet you two. My name is Avery.” “What a beautiful name,” Belle responded. “A beautiful name, for a VERY beautiful lady,” Ezekiel said as he walked over to her side and looked her up and down. “Uhh….I’m flattered, but I’m already married.” “Ah. Damnit.” I walked over to Belle and leaned over toward her. “I don’t get it.” She looked at me confused, then scoffed. “Oh Ferral, never lose that innocence.” I was so confused. What does THAT mean? “So you say you have a husband, right?” Belle asked, “Where is he?” “Well’s he back at our cabin. If you want, you can come to meet him.” Belle and I agreed, but Ezikel pulled us a few steps away from Ms. Avery.

“Red flags you two.” He whispered. “What? What’d you mean?” I asked. “You’re really gonna trust a woman you randomly met in the woods? Who lives with her “husband” in a cabin? HAVE YOU TWO NEVER SEEN ANY FORM OF SCARY MOVIE???” “He does have a point Ferral. We don’t know anything about this woman,” Belle said, “She could be a bloodthirsty murderer.” “I trust her,” I responded. “Your judgment is skewed,” Ezekiel told me, “You’ll befriend a literal psychopath because you didn’t know better.” “She’s fine guys, I know she is.” “Let’s just play along, okay?” Belle interjected, “She looks like a regular person, we can easily fend her off.” Ezekiel sighed and agreed, then we all turned back around; Ms. Avery was twirling her hair again. “Alright Ms. Avery, we’ll come with you.” “Really? O-Oh okay. I thought you might not have trusted me.” “We do, right guys?” They looked away, muttering. “Alright then, follow me.” 

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