If they did not show her where exactly the entrance of the trail was, Wendy would never have given a second glance to the thick forest, climbing up a hill. There was no real entrance—Wendy followed them blindly as they navigated through the trees.
There were trees. And trees. And more trees. They walked up the steep trail, Wisteria taking the lead far ahead of them, Wendy lingering in the middle, and Damien following close behind.
'We've been walking for almost an hour now,' Wendy thought, watching Wisteria as she walked far ahead of them. An unnerving thought popped into her head. 'They're not going to kill me or anything, right?' It was suspicious that they were helping her so easily. They had to have an ulterior motive. Everyone has one.
'Come to think of it…why am I even following them? I barely know them.' Wendy glanced up the hill at Wisteria, who had a bounce in her step as she walked, her grey canvas dress and long wavy hair swaying behind her.
Wisteria and Damien seemed to be around the same age, but Wendy did not remember seeing her at school before. And what her mother had said about Wisteria being able to hear the voice of God, along with the drawings in their living room…was that true? Or is that just one of those things that desperate people believe in?
'And him.' Wendy peeked behind her. It was like Damien had a permanent frown on his face, his brown eyes constantly narrowed. It did not make him unattractive, but she thought he would look much better if he relaxed or smiled every now and then.
'I think I remember seeing him walk home with Winston before.' Wendy closed her eyes. She used to stand by the corner, a few blocks from the school. Winston would always leave school much later than she did, and she would walk home first, but did not want to go home alone to their mother. Winston and Damien would come into view, before waving goodbye to each other when Damien turned the other corner. He looked much different back then than he did now—younger, more relaxed, more easygoing. He certainly did not have that knit in between his eyebrows as he did now.
But that's no surprise. The past year has changed people into different people. Wendy clenched her fists. I'm no different, I guess.
"Are you okay?" Wendy's eyes flew open in surprise when she felt Damien's hand on her shoulder.
"Huh?" she said, dazed.
"You stopped. Are you tired? Want to take a break?"
"No, I'm alright," Wendy said, shaking her head insistently. "Um, aren't you tired?"
"Nah." Damien began walking again, and Wendy followed beside him. "Wisteria really likes that place. She's been dragging me up there ever since we were kids. Sometimes, we'd come up here two or three times a day."
"Are you two…twins?" Wendy asked, unsure if it was appropriate for her to ask.
Damien tilted his head to look up the trail. "Twins? No. Just regular siblings."
"Then—" She stopped talking when Damien pointed ahead of them. Wendy looked up in the direction he was pointing. Wisteria was standing at the top of the hill, waving. Glints of sunlight shone through the trees behind her, giving her silhouette a warm, angel-like glow.
"Come on, slowpokes! You're going to miss it!" she called.
Damien grabbed onto Wendy's wrist. "If we don't hurry, she'll definitely complain for the rest of the day." He increased his pace, and Wendy followed behind him. "Come on!"
They broke into a run, the trees passing by in a blur, their feet hitting the ground without caring about the dirt that was staining their shoes. As they ran, a feeling of breathless exhilaration began to pool into her chest. What was this emotion?
'I've spent sixteen years in this world.'
"Come on, guys!" Wisteria called, stepping out of the thick forest and disappearing to the other side.
'But today is the first day…'
The trees were a curtain, a few flashes of light shining through the cracks. Damien parted the branches in front of them, an orange light hitting his face as he pulled her out of the shade, into the open air. "We're here," he announced.
'My life starts.'
The light hit Wendy's face and she squinted, shutting her eyes as the world brightened around her. She tried opening them, but it was too bright and she could only keep her eyes shut.
Out of nowhere, the red light turned dark as someone hovered a hand over her eyes, shielding her from the brightness. "You can open your eyes now."
Slowly, Wendy opened her eyes. When they adjusted to the luminosity, she gingerly moved Damien's hand away from her face.
Her jaw dropped as she took in the orange heaven around her. They were at the top of a cliff, with bushes of greenery forming a blanket under them. The sky was the colour of memories, bathing the world in a breathtaking sheet of warm light.
"Here it is! My favourite place in the whole world, at my favourite time in the whole world!" Wisteria said, smiling widely.
Damien watched a flock of birds flying by with a closed-mouth smile. The sky was lit up so brightly by the sunset that they could pick out every feather on their bodies. "It does never get old."
Wisteria turned to Wendy. "What do you think?"
Wendy did not respond.
"Wendy?" Damien looked at her, concerned.
She did not answer, having not heard a word they said. Wendy's mouth was still wide open, her eyes drinking in the view, her skin tasting the light breeze that was blowing past them.
Seeing the pure elation on Wendy's face made Wisteria smile softly. Damien reached his hand into his pocket, pulling out the slip that read, "watch the sunset." He raised his arm, the paper held high in his hand. He opened his palm, and it flew away with the wind.