Chelsy had helped a stranger with a twisted ankle to her tent. She had been drinking and playing her guitar.
When she opened her eyes, she discovered she was sleeping in her tent. ''But when and how did I get in here?'' She muttered to herself with her face depicting confusion.
She checked her time, and it showed five thirty in the morning. She peeped her head out of her tent and saw the handsome stranger sleeping outside. ''Oh my gosh. What happened yesterday with this quiet gancanagh?''
The Gancanaghs were male fairies from Irish mythology. They were known for seducing women with their strikingly handsome features.
Chelsy shut her eyes tight, trying to remember what she had done and said the previous night. ''I remember opening up a bottle of wine, and singing as well. I remember the stranger taking my wine and I..."
Chelsy's eyes opened wide as she remembered kissing the man. She held her jaws and opened her mouth wide. ''Jesus Christ. Chelsy. How could you kiss a total stranger? Are you crazy? What if he is a killer or some bad guy? Or what if he is married? You this silly girl.''
Chelsy bit her lower lip and tried not to make any noise. ''Chels, you are such an idiot.''
She cussed herself with her hand on her forehead.
She let out a deep breath, hurried, and packed her stuff in her rucksack. She couldn't leave the injured stranger without saying anything. She took out a page from her notepad and wrote.
''Dear Quiet Gancanagh. I am sorry I kissed you last night. As a peace offering, you can keep my tent, my fire essentials and some noodles in case you get hungry. I hope your leg gets better. I have left some pain relievers beside this note. Ensure you take them to relieve the pain in your leg. Your phone is fully charged as well. Kind regards, mountain fairy.''
She left the written note and a bottle of pain relievers and quietly left.
The sun had risen, and it cast a rosy hue on the sky. The early sun's rays poured through the trees and shone in the stranger's face. He fluttered his eyes and opened them. He looked around him and slowly woke up.
When he tried to stand up, he winced in pain as his ankle had become more swollen. He hopped on the other leg to check if Chelsy was still asleep.
He noticed that the tent was empty, and the rucksack was gone too. ''Was this girl all a dream last night or was it really some weird reality?'' The stranger muttered to himself.
He saw the note she had left and read it. He had a little smile on the corner of his lips. ''This girl is indeed crazy. Peace offering, huh?'' He scoffed.
The previous night, Chelsy had so much to drink and fell asleep on the ground right in front of the fireplace. He struggled with his injured ankle and lifted her to the tent.
Chelsy was of normal weight and not heavy to lift. When he took her into the tent and was about to leave, she clung to him like a koala and whispered in her sleep, with tears streaming down her cheeks. ''Please, don't leave me.''
The stranger felt so sorry for her and said in a more gentle tone than before. ''Shush now. I am right here. I won't go anywhere.''
Chelsy's hands were holding the stranger's hoodie jacket so tight. The stranger just laid by her side until she was deep in sleep.
After her breath was steady, and she was deep in sleep, he took her hands that were wrapped around his arm off of him.
He stared at her beautiful face as she slept. She was indeed like a doll. He gently pushed the strand of hair that was stuck on her teary face. He didn't know why he was staring at her so tenderly. He let out a sigh and stepped outside.
He laid down by the tent and slept off.
When he woke up the next morning, Chelsy was already gone. He swallowed one of the pain relievers she had left for him. He took his phone and switched it on.
As he was about to step out, something glittered in the corner of the tent. He stretched his hand and found a necklace with a world globe symbol on it. He remembered seeing Chelsy wearing it around her neck.
''This girl is not only crazy, but careless.'' He spoke with his tone depicting fun.
He picked it up, and put it in his kaki pocket. He stepped outside and picked up a little tree branch and started drawing a graph on the ground with some coordinates.
He took out a compass from his pocket to find out the direction he was traveling. He later checked his watch and entered some digits on the graph he was drawing on the ground.
After about ten minutes, he took out his phone and dialed a number. When the call got connected, he spoke in a commanding voice. ''Daniel, it is me. Are you in a secured place?''
When the person at the other end of the call heard him, he screamed and said, ''Hank, is this really you? Where the hell have you been for the past four days? Do you know you have been declared missing and probably dead?''
Hank's voice became colder and sounded even more dangerous. ''Are you in a secured place or not?''
Daniel could feel the chilling aura coming from Hank's voice, and he stuttered. ''Yes. Yes. You can talk freely.''
Hank took a deep breath, and then said, ''Listen to me. I will send you some coordinates of my location. I need you to get me out of here as soon as possible. Bring along Doctor Montegue, and ensure no one finds out where I am. Go to grandmother and tell her I am alive.''
Daniel agreed and asked Hank to provide him with the coordinates.
''Here are the coordinates. Forty six degrees, fifty two point five three minutes north, and three degrees, sixteen point six seven minutes east. Hope you got it right. Please, Daniel, get here as fast as you can. My leg is in a pretty bad shape.'' Hank spoke with his tone a little lower and softer than before.
As Hank gave the coordinates, Daniel was entering them into his computer. When he heard Hank's plea, he cleared his throat and spoke quickly. ''Do not worry H. These coordinates show you should be somewhere in Wolverton. We should be there in two hours maximum.''
Hank ended the call, and went back into the tent. The pain from his injured ankle gave him a fever.
Two hours had passed, and Hank was almost passing out from the fever he had. He could hear the blades of a helicopter from a distance. The sound kept coming closer and closer. With his blurry vision, he could see two figures approaching and a faint voice calling him.
One was his cousin Daniel, and the other person was his personal doctor, doctor Montegue. Doctor Montegue gave him a quick jab to his thigh, in order to prevent any infection. Finally, Hank passed out.
Back in Wolverton, Chelsy moved back to the hotel where her stuff had been packed. She went into the bathroom and stared at the mirror. She spoke with a determined voice. ''Chels, this is it. Tomorrow, it will be a new day, a new dawn and a new start.''
She took a pair of scissors from the bathroom cabinet, and stared at them. Her hair was black, curly and about twenty two inches long. She ran her fingers through her long hair and said. ''Chopping you off, means chopping the old me and starting afresh.''
She took the pair of scissors and cut off her hair around the nape of her neck. As she did, tears rolled down her cheeks as she said. ''Goodbye Ken, goodbye Wolverton.''
She cleaned up and went into her room. She picked up her phone and dialed her best friend's number. When the call got connected, Rachel answered. ''Hey baby girl. You are back already. Please switch the call to video so that I can see you.''
They switched the call to video. When Rachel saw Chelsy's new appearance, she shouted. Holy Mary, mother of God. Chels, what did you do to your hair? As much as I love your long curly hair, I do love this new Bob look of yours. You now look like a femme fatale.''
Chelsy gave a little chuckle and replied. ''Come on Rach. I do love my long hair as well. But I had to let it go in order to move on. You know my hair grows pretty fast. Give it a year or so. It will go back to its original length. Anyway, my train leaves tomorrow for London. I will truly miss you bestie.''
As she spoke, tears were threatening to fall from her eyes. ''No, no, no.'' Rachel interrupted. ''We are done crying, okay? No more tears from those pretty eyes of yours. So tell me, how did it go on the mountain? Did you have fun?''
Chelsy gave a mischievous smile and said, ''Girl, you won't believe what I saw on the mountain. I saw the most handsome man I have ever seen right there.'' Chelsy had a smile on her face saying this.
She went ahead to recount everything that had happened between Hank and herself on the mountain.
When Rachel heard this, she gave a squeaky chuckle and said, ''Oh my freaking gosh. Chels. You both kissed?'' She spoke with her eyes glowing with excitement. ''I hope you got his number.''
Chelsy gave a weird look and asked, ''And why would I get his number? It's not as if I was planning on sleeping with the man or dating him. I am done with men, with love and anything related to a relationship.''
Rachel let out a deep sigh and the countenance on her face changed to a sullen one. When Chelsy saw this, she asked, ''Rachel. Are you okay?''
Rachel was contemplating whether she should tell Chelsy about Ken's confession. I can't hide such stuff from my best friend. Rachel thought to herself.
She cleared her throat and said, ''Chels, Ken came to my office looking for you. He said that he would.''
Before Rachel could continue, Chelsy stopped her. ''Sis, please. If it has anything to do with Ken, I don't want to hear it. He is my past now, and let him remain there.''
Rachel smiled and said okay. The two girls spoke for a few more minutes and said goodbye. Chelsy called her brother to bid goodbye.
The next day, Chelsy took her suitcase and went to the train station. Her journey to London came to a start, and her horrible experience in Wolverton came to an end.
At the entrance to the train, Chelsy turned and looked at the streets and said to herself, ''I will make sure everyone that has hurt me in this city will one day pay.'' She spoke and moved onto the train.
What awaits Chelsy in London? Will she be able to handle the hustling and bustling of the new city?