Chapter 7: One Touch of a Petal

Grace scooped a big chunk of mint ice-cream as she sat outside with Gwen. They had walked to the convenience store and back. Tim was nowhere to be found when they returned. Grace teared up, “I can’t believe it… He’s actually gone…he didn’t care.”                                                                                      

“Maybe it’s for the better,” said Gwen. “Come on, let’s finish our ice cream.” Grace pulled a face; the cold made her brain ache. Even ice cream had a limit for happiness.

She was so miserable right now. Her day had gone amazingly well, only for her to lose the one relationship she had hoped would last. “What happened to the prince charmings we always talked about when we are young?” Grace muttered. She shoved her spoon back into the container. “I keep thinking of the play that we’re supporting, about happily ever after, and I wonder if I will ever have that...”        

“Wait, you didn’t seriously think that you and Tim were meant to be?”                                            

  “In this generation, he was such a rare find. He was always loyal; he was sweet; he never yelled at me; he-”                                                                                                                                                                  

“He piggybacked on your success while complaining about it; made you feel like you could never accomplish anything; stayed in a dead-beat job because he was comfortable; and wasn’t willing to fight for you…I think that says a lot,” Gwen muttered. 

“I’m gonna be honest, since the first time you complained about him, I knew it wasn’t going to last.”

“Don’t say that, he might still change his mind…He might knock on the door-”                                   

  “And if he does, I will kick him so hard that he won’t be able to sit for a year!” said Gwen. “I still can’t believe what he said to you. You had it easy? EASY!? You fought for this promotion. You had to deal with people stabbing you in your back. You’ve had to grieve for your mother. But yeah, sure, you had everything on a silver platter.” Gwen shook her head.

“If you had a choice,” Grace scooped some more ice cream and popped it in her mouth. “Would you leave this world for one such as the story books?”                                                                                      

“In a heartbeat,” Gwen muttered. “And you?”                                                                                             

   “I don’t know…I wouldn’t mind visiting a world different than my own, but I like my life here. My job, my friends, despite...” Grace swallowed hard. She pulled out her phone.

“Never mind, I have got to show you this dress.” Grace handed over her phone and Gwen’s eyes widened.                                                                                                                                                                

“Ahhh! Please tell me you tried it on.”                                                                                                               

“With the model, they chose for the role? There’s no way that it would fit me…If it did, I probably wouldn’t have taken it off,” Grace stared at the stunning ballgown. It was an aqua-coloured dress with an intricate bodice. She loved the butterfly designs and the shimmering fabric that imitated the sea when it moved.                                                                                                                                                  

“I guess this has put me in such a fairy-tale mood.”                                                                                        

“I don’t blame you. Are you going to see the play?”                                                                                 

“It’s next week and we got free tickets.  Do you want to be my new plus one?”                       

“Yesssssss, duh!” Gwen slapped Grace’s shoulder. “Count me in!” Gwen suddenly yawned.  

“But count me out for tonight.” She stretched her arms. “The couch is all yours. Sleep as late as you want, it’s the weekend tomorrow.”                                                                                                        

“Alright, goodnight,” Grace watched as her friend went back inside. She focussed her attention on the stars, resting her head against the chair. She placed the container down and listened to the insects chirping away. The calmness of the moment was unbearable, her heart felt heavy. She was such a fool. A part of her really wanted to break down and cry, but her pride did not allow her to. She knew she was wrong about him. However, she had had so many incidents involving men and boys, that she was convinced that Tim was the best she was going to get, so she settled.

She heard a sound like a wind chime. She looked up to see the petals from a rose bush falling into the swimming pool. Petals were slowly falling off from the bush, journeying their way and dropping gently on the pool. She frowned. Was she seeing things again, or were they really glowing? Grace stood up and slowly walked towards the bush. Sure enough, each time a petal landed on the surface of the water, it made a sound like a spoon on glass – resonating through the garden. “I must be dreaming,” she whispered to herself and smiled. She reached out towards the glowing petals in the pool. Her fingers brushed against it.

Grace gasped as she felt an invisible force push her into the pool. She held her breath and spun around to come up for air in the chilly water. When she took in her surrounding, she was shocked. What on earth was happening? Instead of the edge of the pool, she was greeted with a beach a couple of meters away, and woods lining the horizon. Not to mention the fact that it was magically mid-day.

Grace swam to shore and coughed hard. The water tasted bitter. She was not at Gwen’s home anymore, that was sure. Grace pinched herself, trying to wake up, but realized that it was completely useless. She was not waking up yet. Her brain must be hallucinating to make up for the trauma of today. She took a couple of steps forward, there was a lot of detail for a normal dream. Perhaps she fell, hit her head, and was now stuck in a coma? That would not be good. She would lose her job for sure!

 “No, no, I am going to wake up in a few hours... this is just an overdose of ice cream” Grace squeezed the water out of her hair and started walking towards the open fields. The wind nipped her ankles and cheeks. However, the weather was fairly warm.

She stopped as she saw a large figure. It was not human, but it was not a beast either. As it turned around, Grace stumbled back. It had horns on the top of its head, the body of a man, but hooves for feet. It snorted at her like a bull. It was a minitour? Grace did not have much time to think as it started storming toward her. Dream or no dream, she wasn’t going to try and reason with it. She turned and ran in the opposite direction, jumping over rocks and branches. She pushed through the bushes and turned her head to see where the creature was but did not realize that she was at the edge of a clearing.

She fell forward, tumbling uncontrollably until she felt a familiar cold splash. Grace tried to swim up, but her legs started cramping up in the cold. She pushed the water down with her arms, but she wasn’t strong enough to get to the surface. She kicked her legs again but gasped in pain before she sunk down. Grace heard another deep splash and closed her eyes. She imagined it must be the creature ready to finish her off. She kept sinking but she held her breath, waiting for the end to come.

Something gripped her arm. She flinched and opened her eyes. It was the hand of a human tugging her upwards, not the minitour. They burst through the water and Grace gasped for air.                             

 “I’ve got you milady.”                                                                                                                                          

Milady? What a weird thing to say, but that was the least of her concerns. The man pulled her close to him and started swimming back to shore. “What’s a woman doing out here, on her own?”                     

“No idea,” Grace coughed again.                                                                                                                        

 “Almost there, hang on…Don’t drown on me now.

There’s no use rescuing a damsel if she drowns in the process.”                                                                                                                                                           

Grace gave a laugh. “I’ll try not to drown.” Her legs wobbled as her feet struck the muddy surface. She fell to the ground face first. “Urg…”

“This lake is incredibly dangerous…why on earth would you take a swim here?” another man asked. “I don’t know, maybe because I was being chased by a minitour!” Grace snapped. She shook her head. “Sorry, I…I am a little-,” she looked up and raised her brows. They were a bunch of men dressed in medieval costumes. All except for one, who was soaked through. He was busy putting on his shirt, but as soon as he saw her, he froze.

“Did I stumble upon some kind of medieval party or something?” she asked. However, the group of men remained completely silent. They were just staring at her with dumbstruck expressions as if they were just as shocked to see her. “What? Do I really render people speechless?”                                                                                                                                                    

“Geneva…” the blond man whispered. “I can’t believe it’s you…”