Trust

Anthony was driving, but he didn't know where to. When he asked her, she just told him,

"Drive till I tell you to stop."

And that was what he was doing. He had been driving for close to an hour and she hadn't seen anywhere of interest. How could she, when she was leaning against the chair and her eyes were closed? He looked at her through the mirror, tough for her age. He looked away then back again. It was barely noticeable, but there was a slight frown on her face.

"Ma'am," he hesitated a bit. She might be in some discomfort or anything because he knew there was when she was nauseated by the smell of fuel. "Have we not gotten there yet?" His hands were aching, they had been outstretched for over an hour. He was still staring at her, there was nothing to worry about; the road was clear, empty and wide. She opened her eyes and he saw something flash in them so fast, he was not sure he'd seen it. She didn't say anything, just stared hard at him in the mirror and he couldn't help but look away.

Her mood seemed very fowl.

He sighed and continued to drive. It looked like they were going to the ends of Earth. The place was very quiet and on either side of the road, tall trees hung so high in the air, it was blocking the sunlight.

Where in the world was this place? It looked creepy and he stepped on the accelerator; he wanted to get out of there quickly.

"Stop." He heard her say behind him and his eyes flew to her.

"Here?"

She looked at him challengingly. "You really want me to say it again?" He knew what repeating her words unnecessarily meant and he sighed again and pulled over, though he could have parked anywhere; the place was literally deserted.

She didn't wait for him to open the door, she did it by herself and when he stepped out after her, he felt the cool wind bounce off his skin.

"Ma'am!" He called out to her. She obviously knew they were coming here and she was wearing a handless, black gown. It stopped at her ankles, but even though, it was in contrast to the look; it was very light.

"Do not come after me." She called back and he couldn't detect signs of her feeling the cold.

He watched her for a while, unsure of where she was going, but when he saw her walking towards the trees, he rushed towards her. Lucky her, he was wearing a jacket, but before he got to her, she had slipped under one of the trees.

It was so dense and thick he could never have figured out there was a path under it. The entrance was covered with thick twigs from the trees that it concealed the path completely.

He was at a loss for what to do. She had told him not to come after her and he was torn between obeying her and protecting her from the cold.

Finally, he could do nothing, but watch the tree under which she had disappeared.

-----

"The decorations are just so..." Abigail's eyes suddenly lit up in the middle of her speech and she waved, a bit frantically. "Dara! Over here!"

Briana turned to see behind her and when she saw Dara, a big smile lifted her lips. But Dara just glanced at them coldly, averted her gaze and walked away. Briana's smile disappeared, unable to draw her eyes from Dara's disappearing back.

"What was that?" She heard Abigail's thunderstruck voice, drawing her back to Earth. She turned to her.

"You're asking me that?" She didn't know why, but the anger was getting to her. "Do you expect her to bare her teeth and widen her arms after what you said to her?"

Abigail was confused at her anger. "What?" She asked, her brows drawn together and raised at the same time. "I just told her the truth, how will I know she would be so mad, after I told her the truth?" What did she say wrong? She just told her what she was like.

"You could have told her in a more quiet way, damn it!" Briana banged down her hands on the table, making the glasses on them rattle. "I'm sure she would not have been as mad as this."

Abigail was only left to gape at her.

"Sweetie, I've known Dara longer than you have. Trust me, I know what she's like, so don't try to lecture me. Not everyone is like you, who likes painting your words so people will not get offended." She gave Briana a long, narrowed glance, before she turned away.

Briana stared at the part of her face she could see. "Of course, you've known her longer than I have, so you should have known what she's like and avoid embarrassing us out here." She placed her palms on the table. "Gosh, that was my mistake," Abigail turned to look at her then, "trusting you." She pushed herself up with her hands and walked away.

-----

Jasmine slipped under one of the trees and when she straightened, she was in a land covered with snow. It was just magical, how different it was from out there. Like a whole new World.

Her whole new World.

The one she loved to get lost in. Her place of comfort. But, it wasn't at the moment.

She walked to the uneven land she could see some feet away and when she got to it, she was looking down at a large, blue pool. She sighed and sat down on the snow, her feet dangling down the edge.