Hello and Goodbye (part 4)

A woman appeared from the shadows, a pale but beautiful woman nonetheless. Her long black hair, almost touching the ground, her oval face, red pucker lips, with a pair of mesmerizing rainbow-colored eyes. She smiled at Anne, while her hands embraced a dead tree.

"My, my… What a pretty girl you are." Said the lady.

Nervously, Anne smiled at the lady, "Thank you… err… who are you? Do you need help?"

"Help? Why? Do you think I need help?"

The lady glided from one tree to another. She was dancing around Anne, while her eyes were solely focused on Anne.

"Uhm… I… I need to go now, take care…"

"Wait, why in a hurry?"

"Uhm… My friend… I need to find him."

"Your friend?" asked the lady, while giggling, "Is he handsome? Your friend?"

"Uhm… Probably."

The lady looks at her in an instant, "Probably?! Is he not handsome enough for you?!"

"What? what kind of question… Look lady, I really need to go!"

This time, Anne had enough of the lady's antic, she strode along, trying to ignore the lady. But somehow, whenever she tried to walk far away from the lady, the closer the lady is. the eerie feelings suddenly engulfed the surrounding area. She knew something wasn't right about her. a ghost? a ghoul? She knows in this new world, they have a monster called the apparition, an entity that came from the lost soul of a dead person.

"Where are you going, pretty girl?"

"Nowhere… please… my… my friend, he will be worried."

Her heartbeat is getting faster, she bites her lips and begins to tremble. Anne was terrified, the lady with long black hair, keep staring at her, while she pace herself, beside Anne.

"Where are going, pretty girl?"

"I have told you! To meet my friend!" Shouted Anne at the lady.

Anne was scared, but she was already so annoyed by her presence, ghost or not. Strangely, the lady smirked at her, and her face distorted into a very menacing smile. Anne sweats all over the place, she fears for her life, and when she wanted to scream, there's no sound coming from her mouth. Her hands desperately tried to rub her throat, something prevented her from screaming.

"Oh wow… It seems I have got a good choice this time." Said the lady to Anne, she walks in front of Anne, her hands caressing her hair. "Oh, a purple hair? That's new. But then, who cares, as long as you do your purpose."

So many questions came into Anne, about the crazy lady, about the purpose. Who is she? She wanted to ask, but her voice got blocked by something invisible. Her tears came running down, while her eyes locked onto the lady's eyes. She felt her consciousness slipping in when a man's voice could be heard from a distance.

"Anne!!"

Both Anne and the lady turn around, and there he was, Justice, holding a sword in his hand. He screamed and charged at the lady, and within a second, the lady vanishes into a thin air. Anne was free. She coughed uncontrollably and dropped to the ground. Justice holds her in his arms while chanting a word to make the sword disappear.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"Yes… Yes… Thank you."

"Come, let's get you into safety."

Justice carried her in his arms, easily, she never knew that behind his lean body, there was a power.

"Thank you for saving my life."

"You're welcome, save your breath. You're so pale right now, you could faint in a second." Said Justice, softly at her.

"Oh, you could be a gentleman, for once." Chuckled Anne.

"I said, save your breath." Grunted Justice.

"Hey, do you know that scary lady? Was she a ghost? Or, an apparition?"

"Psst… conserve your strength, get some rest, no need to think about her, it was over now."

There are so many questions in Anne's head, and it seems Justice knew the answer. She gives up, for now, her body has already lost all of its strength. They reached the inner area of the lake in no time, where her father already waiting for her. All of them go back to the clinic, where Anne is resting for two days straight. When she opens her eyes, Martha is beside her.

"Oh, you're finally awake, thank God!"

Martha was crying. Her eyes were swollen and there was a dark circle below her eyes. It seems she has gotten no sleep.

"Mother? What happened?" Asked Anne, while trying to get up from her bed.

"No, no, rest for a while, you are still weak."

Anne gives in to her mother's request, but still questions her, "What happened?"

"You pass out at the lake while searching for justice. Good thing he found you in time."

She remembers the scary lady once again, her eyes filled with terror, whenever she remembers her beautiful yet terrifying face.

"Do Justice say something?"

"No, dearie, the only thing he said was that he found you on the ground."

Justice covers up their meeting with the mysterious lady. Anne doesn't know the reason behind it, but she for sure will demand an answer from him.

"How long was I unconscious?"

"Two days, we never knew the reason, not a concussion, and you don't even have any fever?"

"Two days?! Dear God! Did you check my pulse as well? How about any bruises?"

"Yes, we have checked. Everything is normal."

She taps her fingers while thinking hard. Anne needs to know what kind of illness that she got from the mysterious lady.

"Did she poison me?" Mumbled Anne.

"Who?" Asked Martha.

Anne faking a smile at her mother, "Oh, nothing, mother, I guess, I was just exhausted. I need to speak with Justice. Could you perhaps call him, for me?"

"Dearie, they have already gone."

"What do you mean, gone?"

"This morning, a carriage came, for Henry. All of them have already left our village."

They have gone back and said no word of goodbye to Anne, she feels hurt. Knowing their encounter was such a brief one, but at least for her, it was a meaningful encounter. She almost cried in front of her mother, until her mother gave her a sealed envelope.

"Sir Justice asked me to give this to you."

Anne took the sealed envelope from her mother, she brushed the golden seal with her hand, such a beautiful seal. It was a crest of nobles, though she doesn't know from which noble the crest belongs. She broke the sealed, inside was a silver pass, with her name on it.

"Oh, Anne, this is a silver pass, especially for you!" Martha squealed when she recognize the pass. "You know what is this, right?"

"Yes, it means I can now enter the civil exams to become a certified healer." Answered Anne with a smile on her face.