Chapter Two: Him

The trees swayed in the wind, it was stronger than usual. So strong that Riley struggled to keep her balance as she walked by Lovers Lake. No one was there, the park was empty, probably due to the freezing temperatures. Riley walked down to the waters and looked at her reflection, a pair of blue eyes stared back at her. She looked at her reflection for the longest time, She crouched down and tapped the water making tiny ripples. A weird feeling came over her all of a sudden, she felt as if she was being watched. A chill went down her spine, and she shivered at the thought. Just to make sure she looked behind her, then she sighed with relief. No one was there, no one was watching her.

I’m just paranoid, she thought.

She looked back at her reflection and then at the sky, something else was in the reflection she hadn’t seen before. She saw a hawk flying low in the sky, she marveled at its beautiful markings. She had a weird feeling like she had been to this lake before. She closed her eyes and tried to remember. A vague memory of herself, and him, came clear as she opened her eyes again. It had been the last day she has seen him that they had walked this very path.

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“So lovely is the loneliness of the wild lake.” He had said his eyes filled with mystery.

She remembered she had laughed and teased him about his love for poetry. Now she understood why he liked it so much. If there was anything in the world that could bring comfort, it was poetry. The bird cry of the hawk came from up above and she looked at it once more. It was so majestic, it flying up there. How she wish she had wings to fly. She looked around once more, to make sure no one was insight.

Then she closed her eyes and chanted “Volpe”

She felt her body shift and opened her eyes again, she was now nearer to the ground. She looked into the lake again, and she saw herself, a black fox, looking up at her. This was her secret. She looked back up in the sky just in time to see the hawk dive down into a brush of shrubbery. Riley, on a hunch, raced after it. Her paws made no sound as she wandered through the woods, it felt peaceful here. No worries, just the songs of birds, and the beauty of nature. Putting her nose to the ground she searched for the smell of bird, any kind of bird. She smelled the faint smell of a hawk and knew that it must be near. She followed the scent to a cabin just outside the woods. She was just in time however, to see the hawk be surrounded by blinding light, and transform into a boy.