In the Eye of the Storm

Chapter 19

Caroline awoke the next morning to find someone moving around in the kitchen behind her. Startled she spun around in her seat but calmed down as soon as she realized it was Helena. Helena jumped at Caroline's sudden motion but managed not to drop the match that she was using to light a candle by the window. Caroline watched her light the candle and leaned back in her chair stretching out her neck. After lighting the first candle she seemed to decide to light a few more throughout the kitchen and placed one on the table in front of Caroline. She sat down at the table across from Caroline and neither of them said a thing for a while just taking in the half-darkness.

"I have to go." Caroline was the first to break the silence, "There is a place, out in the woods, that my grandfather used to visit during planting season. I have no clue what is out there but... but I think it might contain some of the answers I need."

Helena nodded her head in agreement, "I think you need to do what is best for you but, I think you need to be aware of the responsibility you hold. You may not have asked for this power but you were given it regardless and you need to find a balance between making yourself happy and those around you happy. As much as I want to tell you to simply follow your heart and do what makes you happy because, by god you've had enough unhappiness in your life, I can't because you have a responsibility to the people of this village. Do they deserve your sympathy? No, most of them do not but only the most bitter would be able to say they all deserve to be ruined for it. So I want you to find happiness but make sure it is happiness that doesn't come at the cost of your guilt for others."

Caroline was glad for Helena's honesty and despite not enjoying the advice she had been given she knew it was what needed to be said. She nodded at Helena and twisted her hands together atop the table.

In a soft voice, Helena asked, "When are you leaving?"

Despite not liking her answer Caroline knew what she needed to do, "Now, I guess."

Helena bobbed her head in agreement and pressed her lips together, "Okay. I'll pack you up some food. I can't give you much but enough to get you through a few days. I'm not sure what is out there so I don't know what you need."

She moved near silently through the kitchen laying things out on the table. It did not take her long to assemble a pack for Caroline and the sun was barely above the horizon when they stood in the kitchen with nothing left to say but goodbye. As she picked up the pack Caroline realized she had one last request.

"Is there any way I could borrow Little Red Riding Hood?"

Helena gave her an odd look but retrieved the book for her anyway. In the time that she had spent at the house, the children had read that book so many times over that she was sure she knew each word by heart despite not being able to read them herself, but who knows maybe it could help her learn?

Caroline made her way to the door and paused in front of it, "Thank you, for everything you have done for me."

Nodding Helena accepted her gratitude, "I want you to come back here after the harvest. There will always be a place for you in our home."

Eyes damp Caroline nodded and let her gaze drift over the room in front of her taking in the small room that had begun to feel like home. Finally, her eyes settled on William asleep on the couch.

"Are you not going to say goodbye to him? He will be gone before you return."

Caroline shook her head, "I know he will be, but this won't be the last time I see him. He may have been born in the city but this is as much his home as it is yours or mine, he will be back. What is the point in saying goodbye when it is not the end?"

Helena smiled and opened the door for Caroline. Surprising herself Caroline wrapped her arms around Helena and pulled her into a tight hug. Helena hesitated for a moment before putting her arms around Caroline and stroking her hair. Caroline sighed before pulling away and backing out the door.

"Thank you."

The only response she got in return was a smile full of warmth and well wishes. With one last glance inside at the sleeping William, she turned around and set off down the path. In the early morning quiet she could hear the door shut behind her. The sound set a feeling of regret fluttering through her stomach but she pushed the feeling away. She did not have time for such feelings, in the end, she knew she was doing the right thing and everything else would sort itself out later.

The only direct road Caroline knew that led to the forest was through town so she followed the same path she had taken with William and the children earlier the previous day. Her strides were confident and her body was relaxed as she made her way down the dusty road. With each step she took her shoes kicked up a cloud of dust and she couldn't help but marvel at how dry the ground around her appeared. She had assumed that after the storm the whole town would have been soaked through but it seemed as though the water had come down so quickly that most of it had run away in rivers leaving little to be actually absorbed into the soil. The days that followed while she was unconscious, though cloudier than could be considered a sunny day had shown tremendous heat for that time of year and had further worked to evaporate any liquid that had been left after the storm. This realization did nothing but solidify Caroline's resolve.

Caroline wasted no time along the way and so arrived in town much sooner than she had expected. She gazed around but the town had not changed much since she had left the previous day. She was unsure of what exactly she had been expecting considering the later hour they had left the day before and the early hour that she had arrived that morning. To her it seemed like such a long time had passed and so much should have changed but, the rest of the world had a funny way of staying exactly the same when a person had seemed to change so much.

Despite having not changed much from the previous afternoon the town did not appear to be too much the worse for wear. While Caroline, William, and the children had been helping out with the grocery store much of the rest of the town had pitched in to clear most of the debris that was scattered throughout the town and do what repairs they could to keep most of the buildings standing for another night. Maybe it was the hour or lack of sleep that had made Caroline so easily impressed but she could not help but gaze in wonderment at what everyone had accomplished. She was completely taken aback by the way the people of the town had come together to put everything back in place.

All through town Caroline's gaze jumped from building to building as a growing sense of determination boiled within her. She would do what she could to help these people. Maybe they hadn't been the kindest to her in the past but she believed in her heart that they deserved a chance to make up for their mistakes just as she hoped to make up for her own. Maybe this would be a turning point for them, and for her. Maybe together they could make things right.

At the end of Main Street, she was forced to face her fate. Before her the trees towered, extending all the way to the heavens. She could not help but be intimidated by their size. In all of her time living in the town, she had never had a reason to enter the forest before and had no idea what to expect once she set foot inside. Gazing past the first line of trees into the darkness it seemed to be an entirely different world. Standing at the edge Caroline almost turned and fled from her spot but she forced herself to stand still. With a level gaze she settled her eyes on a tree a few meters inside, she took a deep breath and entered the forest.