A Pearl Of Wisdom (#Wattys2016)

Chapter 5: A Dreamer

I am floating, I get dragged down below and see Maris' face and she is pulling me down. I can't get a breath. I try screaming but all that escapes are bubbles. I try struggling and pulling away from her. I feel someone trying to pull me up, he is struggling to overpower Maris. I can't see his face, yet I feel relieved that he is gaining ground and pulling me upwards.

"Anise, wake up"

I startle awake and see Hollis standing over me. I clutch my chest because my heart is still pounding.

"Are you okay? you don't look so good"

"Yeah I am fine, I just was having an unsettling dream."

"Really? what happened? getting chased by bad guys?"

"Yeah something like that, I guess."

"Well I guess it was good I woke you up then! but you really need to get ready we are going to check the boundary today and I am going to get the horses saddled up, so hurry up."

"Okay I will be down soon." Hollis left the room.

I take some deep breaths and try to get a grip on myself. I was just having bad dreams because of what Heath was telling me about mermaids. It is not real and Maris was really nice, she wouldn't hurt me. I mean I probably will never see her again. I mean I would love to go check the ocean again today but it looks too busy today. I need to collect the herbs for the hair dye today. I pull on my clothes and throw my hair in a braid and head downstairs.

No one is at the table except Bay.

"Hey Bay where is everyone?"

"Oh the guys are getting the horses ready and Dad is already in the orchard, and Mom is working on the laundry."

"Are you heading to school soon?"

"No probably not."

"What do you mean is it a holiday?"

"No I just feel like skipping today!"

I grab a piece of bread and put some honey on it. "Yeah I wish I was at school again it is a lot more relaxing then working! You should just enjoy the easy life you have and get to school!"

"Yeah, yeah whatever you say mom" Bay answers sarcastically as he heads toward the door.

He is for sure going through the teenage years right now, he can be so frustrating, although I wonder if it is just the fact that he is the youngest and knows he can get away with so much more!

I head outside and find Heath, Hollis and Wren getting the horses ready.

"Thanks for saddling Buttercup for me!"

"No problem, you know how much she loves Wane, they behave better if I saddle them at the same time!" answers Wren.

"I know I guess being real siblings really makes a difference to them because it is like they really know they are blood related." We got these horses and they were twins which is actually pretty rare. It was perfect because they were a boy and a girl. Most of the time we let them graze and we take them out for rides as often as we can.

Hollis and Heath go together on one side and Wren and I go from the other side to check the fences and edges of the property. We are checking to make sure that there is no wild animals or anything harmful getting on our property that could affect the orchards. Heath and Hollis both carry guns and they have come across bears, cougars, or wild animals. But for the most part it is usually clear. I don't really like using guns, my weapon of choice is a crossbow. It is highly effective and I just don't really like using guns, it could be the noise is so bothersome to me.

"Hey Anise, did you get a new necklace" Wren asks.

I grab my neck and see that the necklace had come out of my shirt. I should have known that Wren would notice right away.

"Oh no, I made this! you know the other day when I didn't find any fish I found some pearls and decided to put them on a leather string."

"Wow, you really found some large pearls, usually we find small ones or weirdly shaped ones!"

"Yeah I found a good collection" I laugh shakily.

"You could even sell those for quite a bit of money at the market!"

"Yeah but I would rather wear them because they are so pretty!"

We rode the rest of the property just chatting about nothing. When we finished we met up with Heath and Hollis and they both had an uneventful ride. After that I told the guys I needed to go looking for some plants to dye my hair.

"I can come with you if you want" Wren asks.

"Oh that's fine, I know exactly where I want to go! it is fine Dad will need you to start working already."

"Okay, well be careful because wild animals still can be beyond our property."

"Yeah, I know, I will bring my crossbow and I will be careful. I will try to be back really soon."

I gather up my bag and jump on buttercup and head out past our property into the wooded area that has a lot of different plants that grow well there. I ride for a while until I am deeper in. It is a bit creepy in here since it feels so dark and damp feeling. I find my first plant and start collecting. I hear some birds and jump. I think I am feeling jumpy after that dream. It really freaked me out.  I quickly move on to the next plant and gather them up. I really wish we could plant these closer to the house but we have tried they don't grow well on our property. I get all the plants and head back to the main road. I go to cross when an expensive looking carriage comes down the road. I stop and watch because I have never seen something so elegant. The carriage stops and a richly dressed men exits and yells to me.

"You there, come off the horse and come here".