A Great While Ago

Chapter Six -- Noelle

Rhys steps out of the window, slowly climbing down the exterior of my building. He looks up at me expectantly.

"Rhys, there is no way I'm gonna do that." I tell him, shaking my head slightly.

"Why not?" He asks, as if it is no big deal.

"What if I fall and die?"

"If you fall, I'll catch you." He looks at me, his sly smile and reassuring eyes.

"I don't know," The two sides of my head debate with each other, one telling me to climb out the window and one telling me to just tell my parents that I want to go see a movie with Rhys.

"Please," he looks at me hopefully. I look down slowly.

"Fine," I say with a quivering voice. "Let me just lock my door so that my parents don't know that I left,"

"Way ahead of you. I already did that," He looks at me with a tilted head and the hint of a smirk, his signature look.

"Oh," I don't understand why he would lock my door without my permission, but, as always, I don't say anything.

He checks his watch. "The movie starts in 20 minutes,"

"Yeah, yeah. I know. You're just trying to hurry me up." I swing one leg out of the window. Then the next. My hips turn, and before I know it, I am climbing down the wall.

"Good job," Rhys gives me a pat on the back as I put my left foot on the ground. "Okay, let's go." He sets off down the path, knowing I will be following close behind. He slows down, letting me catch up with him so we can walk beside each other.

"So, where is this movie theater?"

"You'll see," He smiles slightly.

"Ok," I continue walking beside him. He leads me through trees and bushes. "Is there even a path here?" I mutter.

"No, there's not. This is the fastest way to theater so this is the way we're going," he tells me with confidence and slight annoyance. I nod my head, going along with what he is saying. When we run into what appears to be a solid wall of bushes, he sticks his hand in and parts it to the side, gesturing for me to walk through. We approach a large wooden door covered with vines. Rhys knocks 5 times, waits 2 seconds, and then knocks 2 more times. The door swings open, revealing a mass of people sitting around a black screen.

"Rhys, this isn't a theater," I whisper, making sure that Rhys is the only one who hears me.

"This is a different kind of theater, it --"

"Hello, everyone," an older woman appears in front of the screen. "I see we have some newbies," she looks at us and winks. I blush as everyone turns their heads to look at us. "Basically, the only rule we have here is that you're not allowed to tell anyone outside of this community about anything that goes on in this community. Understand?" I nod my head, feeling her gaze set on me. "Okay then, please enjoy." Rhys leads me to the only open seats on a couch so we sit. The movie begins, showing credits with some old-fashioned music. A book's pages turn, telling us the story of Snow White, a princess with a stepmother who was afraid of Snow White becoming more beautiful.

                                                                                       --  --  --

"Rhys, what year is that from?" My voice shakes as I wrap my arms around myself.

"I don't know," he says simply.

"What does this mean?" My lips purse as I feel my eyes welling up.