Lasted • Tuck Everlasting

The Strangers

The wind blew in my hair as I trudged through the woods, searching for Winnie. "Winnie!" I called, realizing that it was past noon. Birds chirped when I suddenly heard the melody of the woods play. A smile formed on my face as I smiled, my feet starting to move in a pattern.

I danced through the trees to the lovely melody, letting my hair fly around. When the song finished, I realized I was still in my soon-to-be wedding dress.

My body sank to the ground as I took off my pink flower crown. Footsteps overtook my hearing as I looked up to see a man. He looked down at me with a bit of fear in his eyes.

"Excuse me, are you lost?" The man asked as I looked at him.

I scrambled to my feet and wiped off anything that could be on my dress. "That's exactly what I was gonna ask."

I started to walk past him but he stuck his hand out. "Hey, you shouldn't be here right now!"

"But these are my woods!" I argued as I tried to get by.

"I don't care who's woods these are, it's not safe for you to be here." The man said quickly as he held me in place.

I took a minute to study his features. He appeared to be twenty-two. I tried to look past him and I saw a spring. "May I get a drink from that spring?"

"Of course not!" The man shouted as he let go of me and scratched the back of his head.

"Why? I'm thirsty." I argued as I ducked underneath the man's arm and walked towards the spring. "It's just water."

"Look, you need to leave right now." The man said as he picked me up and carried me away from the spring. "You're very odd." The man complimented as he released me from his grip.

"I've been called worse. Charlie Foster." I introduced as the man shook my hand.

"Miles Tuck." The man introduced as we held hands for a brief moment. There was an awkward pause.

"I just ran away from home!" I blurted out, trying to break the silence.

"How's that going?" Miles asked in a monotone voice.

"Well, so far it's just a bunch of trees and a beautiful melody," I explained as Miles looked me up and down. "What?"

"You're in a wedding dress." Miles pointed out as my eyes grew wide slightly. "Are you getting married?"

"To a stranger," I said as I looked at the trees. "I don't want to grow up this quickly. I'm only nineteen."

"Believe me, you want to grow up," Miles said as we looked at each other. "I need to go meet with my family."

"May I come with you? I never have anyone to talk too." I blurted out, forgetting about Winnie for a second.

Miles thought about my request. "Only if you really want to," Miles said as we wandered off. We walked through the green forest until I saw a woman sitting on a rock. "Stay here. Come out when I call for you."

"Understood, Miles." I acknowledged as I stood behind a tree.

Miles snuck up behind the woman and put his hands on her shoulders. "Ma!" The woman jumped in her seat and let out a little scream. She smiled when she realized it was only Miles. "Are you trying to get us caught out here?" Miles whispered as the woman looked at her son.

"You know me, Miles." His mother smiled as she stood up.

"It's a bad habit, I know." Miles laughed.

"Hey, can I have a proper hello here?" The woman asked as Miles dropped his bag on the ground.

The two hugged as smiles washed over their faces. "It's great to see you Ma!" They broke from the hug. "You're as pretty as ever!"

"And you don't look a day over one hundred and five!" The woman complimented as I raised an eyebrow.

"Funny, sometimes I actually pray that I'll wake up with grey hair and a pop belly." Miles sighed as Mrs. Tuck let go of him.

"Speaking of your father, he's back at the cabin getting everything ready for your visit!" Mrs. Tuck explained as she picked up Miles's bag.

I looked to the side and saw Winnie hiding behind a tree. My feet raced over to her as I embraced her. "Charlie-"

"Ma!" A voice shouted as I looked back to see a boy embracing Mrs. Tuck.

The two hugged as his mother smiled. "Jesse! There's my sweet boy!" The two split apart as Miles looked at Jesse.

"Listen, there's something I have to tell ya." Jesse rushed as Miles cut him off.

"I see you're still climbing trees." Miles scoffed as Jesse looked up at his older brother.

"I see you still can't take a joke." Mrs. Tuck quickly pulled their heads apart.

"Boys!" Mrs. Tuck had to yell at her sons. She then turned to Jesse. "You had to tell me something?"

Jesse's face turned red. "Right, um, hear me out. Do you know how you always say good things come in small packages?" Jesse asked as I was pulled in front of the family by Winnie.

We caught everyone's attention. "Hello!"

Jesse ran over to us in a panic. "Not yet!"

Winnie looked up at me with a big grin on her face. "We climbed a tree! I saw the top of our house! It was great!" Winnie explained.

"I thought I told you to stay behind the tree!" Miles said frantically as he facepalmed.

Mrs. Tucks was in shock. "She followed me here. Can we keep her?" Jesse asked his family.

"A child! I always knew that this day would come! That someone would discover us, but a child! And a bride, Miles what were you thinking?" Mrs. Tuck frantically asked her sons.

Jesse ran over to Winnie as I stepped back from everyone. "I thought you said they'd like me?" Winnie asked the boy.

"She's not just a child, she's also my friend," Jesse explained as Miles walked over to me and tried to think of a plan.

"Boys, please tell me your friends don't know anything about the-" Mrs. Tuck started as I cut her off.

"Water?" I asked as Miles put his hand over my mouth as Mrs. Tuck panicked.

"Is this about the magic spring water?" Winnie asked as Miles's eyes widened.

"Oh boy, Jesse!" Miles yelled as Mrs. Tuck called her sons over to her.

"You told them about the water?" Mrs. Tuck quietly asked, mainly addressing Jesse.

"This isn't my fault!" Jesse whispered as Miles rolled his eyes.

"It never is," Miles said as I held onto Winnie, giving the family privacy. "Ma, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Unfortunately yes." Mrs. Tuck sighed as she turned to look back at us. "Please know that as a mother, I don't approve of what we're about to do."

Suddenly, the world became dark as Miles knotted his jacket around my eyes and threw me over his shoulder.

I screamed as I tried to be released. Jesse did the same to Winnie as she screamed too.

"Let's get them to the cabin! Your father will know what to do!" Mrs. Tuck commanded as Jesse carried Winnie.

"Winnie are you okay?" Jesse asked quickly as she yelled in a lower pitch.

"If she can scream, she can breathe!" Mrs. Tuck said quickly as everyone started walking.

"Don't worry, we'll explain everything at home!" Miles reassured as he carried me off to his home.