In The Hart Of The Sky

Chapter 12: Unexplained Reasons

Sil's Perspective

"Ahh!" I screamed as I woke up in reality. I checked my hair. It was its normal length. I breathed a sigh of relief. It was just a dream. Well, more of a nightmare. It was still dark so I snuggled back under the covers. Soon I was fast asleep.

~*~

The next morning I woke up with a new found determination. I was going to push forward. I clasped the new necklace I made around my neck as I set out to school. I felt lonely as I walked to Luce's house. Usually I would talk to Hart, but... Whatever, it's in the past!

I spotted Luce disappearing over a hill as I made it to his house. "Hey Luce! Wait up!" I tried to catch up to him when Luce ran right in to me.

"Hi Sil! I missed you so much!" Luce tackled me into a hug.

I sat with a dazed expression. I thought I saw Luce over the hill, but Luce was right here. My mind must've been playing tricks on me. I shook my head and stood up. I put a smile on my face. "Hey Luce. You surprised me."

"Sorry about that. Would you like to come in? I haven't had breakfast yet."

"Okay, but not too long. School will start soon." I stepped inside Luce's house.

I sat down at the table while Luce sat opposite of me with two pieces of toast. He ate with a smile as we made small talk. When we came to the topic of what to do about the loss the table got unusually quiet.

"Should we find a new friend?" Luce suggested.

"No one could replace Hart!"

"So do we just become a two some?"

"I guess we do," I paused in agreement as we both sat in silence. "We should get going."

"Yeah."

We walked through old memories that morning. Hart's favorite puddle, the fence we leaned on, our debating spot, and finally our group gathering place. A circle of rocks by a small pond. We didn't speak a word as we neared the school building. Evercloud would never be the same without Hart.

"Bye Luce, see you during lunch." I waved goodbye before watching him disappear down a hallway. Today was going to be fun... I hope.

~*~

"Open your books to page 143. I want you all to read the chapter silently and then to answer the five questions at the bottom. You all must work by yourselves...get to it!" With that Mrs. Merrien turned around and started grading papers.

I couldn't take it any more! Students seemed to be staring at me constantly and I was getting stressed out by all of the work. Finally I stood up and walked over to Mrs. Merrien's desk.

"May I use the restroom Mrs. Merrien?"

"I expect you to take no more than five minutes Silhouette, am I clear?"

"Yes mam."

I then quietly took a bathroom pass and left for the girl's room. I carefully padded down the quiet hallways. I turned the last corner and gasped. There trembling in sweat was Luce. His eyes were shut as he curled up into a ball. I quickly was at his side.

"Luce, what's wrong?"

"It hurts," he whispered.

"Where?"

"Everywhere..."

"Here, try to stand."

I put an arm around his shoulders and slowly eased him up. When he stood up to his full height I nearly dropped him out of shock. Luce's head was at my waist. He shrunk!

"I can't take much more..." Luce mumbled.

With that he shrunk a few more inches and lost conscious. Luce was only three feet tall now. I carried Luce like I was cradling a baby. I left everything behind as I raced through the doors.

"Hey kid! Stop! You can't be out here!" Someone yelled at me.

I didn't turn back to stop. I just ran. I was on autopilot. It wasn't until I realized that I was at my house did I stop. Luce was still out cold in my arms. He was now only two feet tall.

I crept inside my house. My parents were still at work so the house was empty. I walked up the stairs to my room. Having no where else to lay him down I put him on my bed. He looked like a toddler with a mature face. It was a bit creepy, but at least he stopped moaning in pain. I decided to go and make him food for when he woke up.

I walked down the stairs to find my mom. How did she get off of work early?! She couldn't know that I was here! She would ground me for a month if she knew I skipped school, even if it was for a good cause. I couldn't exactly show her the baby Luce, she would freak. The phone started ringing. Mom walked over to answer it.

Hello... The school? What are you calling for?... Silhouette is still at school... Well she's not here!... Fine, I'll check... I don't want her school work, I want to know where she is... Just find her and bring her home... Goodbye. She set the phone down and started heading for the stairs.

I better make like a tree and leave. Wait, what about Luce? If she saw him she would know something was up. It was too late though. I went inside the bathroom and crawled out the window. I created an icy slide to safely slide down to the ground. Then I melted the ice to hide my tracks.

I then ran to the small circle of rocks that was our meeting place. I needed a place to hide. What if I hid in plain sight? Yes! I decided to encase myself in an icy bush. I gathered moss and leaves into a pile. Then I sat down criss-cross-applesauce. Slowly I made ice roots by my bottom and a coat of icy leaves to disguise me. I combined the ice with the leaves and moss to give my icy bush a green hue. Soon I was an ordinary bush.

I felt sleepy. Using that much energy must have drained me. I'll just take a quick nap. I was soon out like a light.

~*~

It was some time before I woke up. I slowly looked around. Oh my gosh! It was nighttime. I overslept! I quickly melted my bush and ran home to check on Luce. My parents were probably asleep by now anyway.

I crept inside my house using the back door. It was super dark, but I didn't dare turn on a light. I snuck up the stairs to my room. I got in and closed the door behind me.

"Luce," I whispered.

I couldn't find him so I decided to crash on my bed. As I pulled the covers over myself I heard a muffled ouch.

"Sil is that you?" A tiny voice squeaked.

"Luce?"

Slowly a miniature Luce crawled out of the covers. I fainted.

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Hi my fabulous readers! So just to make it clear Sil growing up was just a dream. She's still only 14.

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Bye for now my Air Heads!