Flames and Starlight
ONE

Hannah Carson silently crept through her house in the middle of the night. Her backpack felt as though it weighed a thousand pounds, her hand clenching the note she’d written. It felt as though she was walking through quicksand as the journey through the house felt like an eternity. Her heart was pounding so hard she thought it would wake up the whole house.

It was three o’clock in the morning and the house was dead silent as her parents and sister slept. She kept looking over her shoulder, expecting her family to wake up at any second and stop her. She knew they would be furious with her and try to stop her at all costs if they knew what she was doing.

She walked into the kitchen and set the note down on the table. She stared down at it for a moment, doubts running through her head but she dismissed them. She had to do this. There was no turning back.

She walked to the back door and glanced over her shoulder at the dark house, holding her breath. No one came out of their rooms. It was still completely silent.She took a deep breath and cautiously opened the door, wincing as it creaked slightly. She quickly opened it the rest of the way and ran out, praying everyone didn’t wake up. She stepped out and closed the door as quietly as she could then bolted. She ran into the woods that were connected to her backyard and didn’t stop. She ran until she reached the middle of the woods where the bright portal that would take her to her new home.

She stopped in front of it, hands braced on her knees, trying to catch her breath.Reality set in as Hannah gazed at the portal. Once she walked in, there was no turning back. She’d never see her friends or family again. She’d leave the only world she’d ever known.She gazed as the portal grew smaller as each second passed. The Queen of the Eternal World said this was everyone’s last chance and she knew she had to choose wisely. There wouldn’t be another chance to change her mind. After a long moment, she closed her eyes and stepped through.

Her decision was made.

Peter Lewis stood up from his chair and shook hands with his therapist after he was done with his session. “Thanks again for meeting with me even though we didn’t have an appointment today.”

His therapist, Jonathan Wayne, smiled assuringly at him and said, “It’s not a problem, Peter. I know how hard this week is and it’s good you recognized you needed to come in here. Let me know if you need to talk, even before our next session.”

“Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

He walked out of the room and out of the building, waving to the secretary as he passed by but she didn’t look up from the paperwork that was on her desk. He was glad he came in today. The weight of grief was still heavy but it had lifted a small fraction. At least it was progress. It’d been seven months since his older brother Michael passed away and his birthday was tomorrow. He was still in shock and trying to work through the denial.

He took a deep breath shapeshifted into a bird and flew into the air. He wanted to fly for a few hours to clear his head before going back home. It was hard being in his apartment after Michael died. It felt too big, too empty, and the somber mood made it unbearable. It hurt to see his parents so sad and down. They tried to hide their pain, be strong for him but he heard them crying to sleep every night. He tried not to think about it and he concentrated on flying. He flew for an hour when he noticed something down below.

It was a blonde-haired girl walking down the empty street, seeming lost. He inwardly cursed. With all the incidents in the Eternal World, no one should be wandering the streets by themselves. He knew he should keep going and focus on getting home but against his better judgment, he decided to help her. For some reason, he couldn’t stand the thought of not helping the girl.

He flew down, landed before her, and shifted into his human form. The girl jumped and stared at him shocked, appearing like she was about to turn and run around. Peter held his hands up in a placating manner and gave her what he hoped was a comforting smile. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. It’s not safe to be by yourself with everything going on and you seemed lost.”

She continued to stare at him in horrified bewilderment. “Yeah, I, uh. . .I’m new here. I just came into the Eternal World today.”

“Oh, so you used to be in the Human Realm. That’s cool.”

“Yeah.”She continued to stare at him strangely.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

She gave her head a small shake and smiled awkwardly at him. “Yeah, sorry. I’ve never seen a shapeshifter in person before.”

“I’m glad I can be the first shifter to make your acquaintance.” He regretted the words as soon as he said them. He mentally cringed at himself, wondering why he acted like such an idiot.

She laughed. “I’m Hannah.”

“Peter. So, where are you heading?”

“I. . .don’t know. This is my first time in the Eternal World.”

His eyes widened. “Wow, so you have no idea where to go? No family?”Hannah shrugged and looked away. “No. I honestly didn’t think this part through.”

He stared at her for a moment and he didn’t know what came over him. For some reason, he hated the thought of her being alone and not having anywhere to go. He found himself saying, “You can crash at my apartment tonight if you want. My parents won’t mind.” Or at least he hoped not.

She gazed at him in surprise. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah.” He really, really hoped his parents wouldn’t mind and would go along with it since it would be awkward if they wanted to turn her away.

She looked like she was about to say no but hesitated and nodded. “Okay. Thanks.”

“No problem. You can crash at my place tonight and we can see if we can get you into a shelter in the morning.”

She smiled up at him. “Thank you. I really appreciate it.”

Hannah sat in the guest room, unable to believe everything that happened in the span of eight hours. She couldn’t believe that she was actually here in the Eternal World. She couldn’t believe she met a shapeshifter in real life. She couldn’t believe that Peter and his family were kind enough to take her in for the night and provide her dinner and willing to take her to a shelter first thing in the morning.Though most of all, she couldn’t believe Peter was real. She’d been having visions of Peter and two other shapeshifters for the past several months. She knew they were significant in her life and it was important she met them.

She had her sketchbook laid out in front of her on the bed. She drew all of the visions she had in detail. The page she was turned to had a detailed drawing of Peter standing by an ocean, staring out into the night sky with a somber expression on his face. For some reason, it had been her favorite drawing of him and she’d always enjoyed the visions of him the most. She was certain that she’d made the right choice by coming here.