Her Rebel

The Universe

"Al, do you remember when we were kids and I was complaining about...gosh, I don't even remember what it was actually. Anyway, I was unhappy, and you drew a bunch of planets and stars on a piece of paper and gave it to me. Do you remember that?" Addy asked. She stopped walking and looked at him.

Al smiled. "Of course, I remember," he replied.

"And do you remember what you said to me?" She clutched her hands tightly behind her back, waiting for his reply.

"I said something about giving you the universe," Al said. He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck and grinned. It felt a little embarrassing now. He felt like telling someone they could have the universe and giving them a piece of paper was kind of silly. Then again, maybe it wasn't silly if the other person was a child. Perhaps the real problem was that he didn't think of Addy as a child any longer.

"Something like that..." Addy said. Her voice trailed off. They were walking in the woods behind the Pack Mansion. Nobody was around. Al had initially been worried about running into a patrol, but the longer they walked together the more his worry faded. He started to just enjoy the fresh air and the time he got to spend with Addy.

Although, somewhere in the back of his mind was an echo of the suspicion he'd felt only a couple hours ago. He could still feel the telling buzz on his lips. "Your dad always calls you his stars, so I thought it'd cheer you up," Al continued.

Addy smiled. For a moment, she glowed. In a heartbeat of a second, the sun pierced through the trees just right, illuminating Addy's smile like she was an angel. Then it disappeared as she kept walking. "It did cheer me up. It wasn't because of my dad, though," Addy said.

"What, then?" Al asked, following her. He struggled to step over a fallen tree that was covered in spongy moss.

Addy didn't look back as she answered. "I've always thought the answer to that question was really obvious, but I guess you never have."

Al paused, his hand resting on a tree branch beside him. He clutched it tightly. The bark dug into his skin. There was something about how she said that...it made his stomach twist and his heart beat faster. He had no idea why. Or maybe he was in denial.

He jogged to catch up with Addy, following her through the trees. It seemed strangely easy for her. She wove between the trunks and leaped over the underbrush, her feet never catching on a stray root and her skin untouched by biting branches. Al had almost fallen multiple times and definitely had some stinging cuts.

But he had always known that Addy belonged in nature. It was like she was born here, from a different world than he was. To be honest, Al preferred staying in the Mansion where his family was. It felt safer, easier for him. But then, from his comfortable window seat, he'd look outside and see Addy beckoning to him from a field of flowers, grinning widely. There was nothing he could do; he'd always follow her outside.

"Come on, slowpoke," Addy called over her shoulder, "We're almost there!"

"Where?" Al yelled back. She was some ways in front of him now. He remembered the days when she was the one to struggle to catch up to him. What had happened? When?

"Just trust me," Addy said, "I found it yesterday." Al caught up to where she was waiting for him. He heard the little stream before he saw it.

"We have to cross. Come on," she said. He frowned. "The rocks are slippery, so be careful."

Al sighed. "You know I'm going to fall in, right?"

She grinned at him from the other side of the brook. She'd sprung over it like an agile deer in two quick bounds. "If you do, it's not like you'll die. What's a little water going to do?"