Chapter 1

Hang petunias around your doors and windows. The scent of them wards off monsters and spirits from other worlds.

It was another cool, breezy morning. The wind chilled the side of my face as I stood on the mountain ridge. I am waiting for the sun to rise over the flowering fruit trees in the fields below before heading to work for the day. This view up here is magical.

This is where I come to clear my mind and think. Today it’s not working. Something in the air feels different, even the trees are quiet.

Gazing down the mountainside at the red and pink sky, the sun has begun to peek out of the tree line. Below, a few deer grazed in the grass filled with morning dew. From this high up, you can see the hundreds of trees in rows across the plantation. The sight is breathtaking. The bright reds, pinks, and purples of the blossoming trees blend together in a forest of colours.

I close my eyes and clear my mind. I can sense the trees and plants whispering to each other, their roots are deep in the soil and are all connected – like one large web.

Believe it or not, but you can get a lot of news from the trees. News can travel far when you’re connected underground for miles and miles.

The trees on the other side of the property start rumbling and the ground begins to shake. .

The ground below me is shaking so hard I hang onto a nearby tree so I don’t fall over.

What is going on. Are we under attack?

Suddenly, the beautiful trees begin to fall over like dominoes.

Is something running through the forest?

I have to warn my family. I turn to run home, but hear a branch crunch to my left, startled I turn my head and farther down the overgrown path there is a tall man about 6.2 who looks to be about my age walking towards me along the edge of the mountain.

How did I not sense his footsteps in the grass?

The shaking has stopped and the trees that I swear I saw fall are now are standing tall, as if nothing happened.

Am I losing my mind?

The man hasn’t spotted me and continues to walk closer. As he approaches, I can see he has deep brown eyes and curly dark hair. I notice a tattoo on his very muscular right arm of a symbol I swear I’ve seen before.

When he finally spots me, he says, “Hi there” and waves at me.

“Hello” I say back a bit worried to see someone else out here especially after what just happened.

We also do not allow visitors on this side of our property. I can see that there was still a far enough distance between us that I could get away safely if I had to and it made me feel a sense of relief. He also didn’t stand much chance against me – I have some tricks up my sleeve.

“What a great morning for a hike” the mysterious man said continuing to walk closer to me.

Did he not feel the ground shaking moments earlier?

Aside from the small natural disaster that I might have imagined , he was right it was a beautiful mid-spring morning and after a long winter it was nice to that things were green and full of life from the now warmer temperatures.

“Did you hear anything weird just now?” I asked.

He raised his eyebrows and says “no nothing but the birds.”

I could hear the birds singing in the trees around us. Our orchard is home to many different species of animals and birds, almost like a sanctuary.

I smiled and nodded. I should be getting back to make sure my family is okay. But it’s almost as if a strange force is keeping my feet locked in their place. I am intrigued by this man.

He was right in-front of me now. I could feel my guard slipping, something about him made me feel like I had met him before, but nothing about him looked familiar. I think I would remember someone as handsome as him. I could feel my face beginning to heat up and my cheeks turning red at the thought.

He held his hand out and introduced himself. “My name is Charles; I just moved here. I found this path a couple of weeks ago and I love coming here and seeing the beautiful colours of the trees while they are flowering” he expressed. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

His presence here makes me nervous and also curious. We have secrets we like to keep hidden and him being here was suspicious, but I want to find out more about him.

My mind wanders, our family has to be cautious, we have made many enemies throughout the years.

Even though Charles being here was alarming he did appear to be harmless, and it didn’t hurt that he was incredibly handsome.

What is this pull I am feeling towards him? I could feel my face turning flush again and answer him. “My name is Paige.” I introduce myself “I live on the other side of those small mountains. This is my family's orchard.”

“Wow, really? You have a beautiful place here. Maybe you can give me a tour one day?” Charles asks “I would love to see the flowering fruit trees up closer. “

“Yeah, maybe sometime” I said crossing my arms. He seemed oddly curious about the orchard.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you around some time” Charles said as he began to walk away down the trail.

“Maybe” I say after him.

I watch him walk until he disappears into the trees.

Who was this guy and what was he doing this far into the forest?