Escaping to the valley

(Chapter 14: A visit to Ginger island)

(Fall 12)

(Willow's POV)

I haven't talked to Sebastian since our little argument a few days ago. Yeah, we'd nod or wave if we happened to see each other, but that was it. Neither of us made an attempt to actually talk.

For some reason, neither of us seemed to even want to talk to the other.

Which was only made more difficult by the fact that Abi invited Sam Seb and I to her place for her birthday tomorrow.

It's not like I hated Seb. Far from it, actually. He was still my best friend. But the fact that I wasn't sure how he was feeling about me was what scared me. What if he hated me? What if he never wanted to talk to me again? What if he didn't even want to see me again?

I was trying to ignore these questions in my head, so I thought it was best to head to the beach, and try to catch some fish.

When I got there, I was surprised to see Willy gesturing for me to come over to his shop.

He then told me that he had been trying to find a good time to tell me that he fixed up his old boat, and was wondering if I'd like to take a trip to Ginger island.

I've never been there before, so it seemed like it could be a fun idea. I did really need a distraction after all.

(Small time skip)

After a long ride on the ocean, we eventually got to Ginger island. "Woah!" I thought, as I watched colorful birds flying overhead.

"Yep. This was the distraction I needed." I thought, walking around the beach, and noticing some huge turtles blocking some of the paths.

"Man, those things are huge." I whispered, trying to find a place to go that wasn't blocked by a turtle.

While looking around, I happened to glance up at a tree, and noticed something sitting on it.

At first glance, I thought it was just another bird, but after getting a closer look, I noticed that it was a child. "Huh. People actually live here? Willy told me this place was deserted." I thought, before waving to the child.

The kid took one look at me, screamed, and disappeared into the trees.

"Oh... Kay? Lovely way to greet someone." I said with a laugh, before noticing a trail close to where the child had fled.

I didn't wanna stalk the kid. That'd be creepy... But I did wanna explore the island a little. So, I followed the trail until I came across a large treehouse. "Woah. I wish I had a treehouse like this when I was a kid." I whispered, slowly walking up the steps that led to the house.

When I entered, I saw another one of those birds looking at me.

"Hey, pretty bird." I said, as the bird happily squawked back.

I then looked around a little more, and almost jumped out of my skin when I noticed that kid, sitting up high, near the ceiling of the tree house.

"Jeez. I guess we're even now. We both scared each other." I thought, trying to catch my breath.

The child just stared down at me, with a mix of fear, and curiosity, before the bird started screaming "Walnut! WALNUT!"

"What the heck?" I thought, looking back up at the kid, who only looked at the bird, then back at me, and shrugged.

I just rolled my eyes, before thinking "Okay... I think I was some weird looking golden walnut when I was making my way over here. Is that what the bird wants?" before shrugging, and walking out the door.