Chapter 4

When Erin reaches the middle of the road, she kneels down and she puts the branch down. Amazed, I look at the thing s that are happening in front of my eyes: Erin is still kneeling down, next to the branch of a tree, and softly she starts to whisper to it. I can’t really hear what she says, but right after she gets up again, the branch starts spinning around. It keeps spinning for a few seconds, and after that, it stops, pointing in the direction, I was first going.
“Seems you were heading the right way!” Erin says, you can hear the triumph in her voice perfectly fine. But I still don’t get it.
“How do you know I was heading the right way? Does a branch of a tree tells you so much? What was it what you did just a minute ago? And why the hell should I trust you?” Erin giggles a bit, from all the questions I’m asking at the same time.
“You still have a lot to learn,” she starts when she sits down next to me again. “But you’ll learn soon enough with me as your guide.” After those words a sort of painful silence starts, I want so many answers, and it seems like Erin is searching for the right words to explain things to me. But my lack of patience doesn’t really help either. Nervous, I tap with my feet on the soft ground, while I look at it too. I want to find Vivian, and this waiting only makes me more nervous, I only have three days. My thoughts start spinning, as I imagine the green grass at home, here it just looks a bit greyish, like everything here. It’s a dark world.
“This word, isn’t much the same as your world.” Erin finally seems to have found the right words, and I’m happy she starts explaining “I already told you, that this world is much and much darker, but it still is a fantasy world. You came here, to get your best friend back, and you only have three days. So that’s why you don’t really think postive, that’s why this world is so dark. This world only exist in the imagination of people, so if you want, you can make it lighter. You also, can use magic, like I just did. Just have respect for everything, or at least the nature, in this world, and they’ll lead you the way. Like I just asked the branch of the tree, which was the quickest  was to get to you friend. You just have to learn how to use that magic, but I’ll teach you, you have a whole lot to learn in these three days.” I nod, this all makes perfectly sense to me… not. What I got out of her story, was that I just have to trust her, that she’ll lead me to Vivian? I don’t know if that’s a good idea.
“You’re doubting,” Erin starts again, “I can see it from your face.” I decide to admit, and nod again.
“I do doubt, I mean, you say you’ll teach me, and lead me the way, but how can I trust you? I only just met you.” I look right into the crystal blue eyes of Erin, they scare me. But in her eyes, I can see that she already expected me to say this.
“I owe my life to you, if you didn’t show up, I would be dead by now, or maybe worse, so that’s why you can trust me, I have to pay you back somehow. Now, come on, we have to find your friend.” After those words, Erin gets up again, and walks in the direction the branch pointed, I follow. This time, I think I’ll have to trust her.

“So, tell me more about you.” I ask Erin, the whole time we were walking, we talked about me, and my life outside this world. I’m out of things to tell, and I don’t know anything about Erin yet. Erin laughs a bit,
“There isn’t much to tell you about me actually. I live in this world with my brother, no parents, no boyfriend. And lots of enemies. And that’s sort of it.”
“Lots of enemies? Why?” At the moment I ask that, Erin starts to laugh again.
“Everyone has a lot of enemies here, you can’t trust strangers, it’s a dangerous world. Just stick with the people you know.” I nod, and don’t answer anymore. My feet are starting to hurt, and probably we’ll have to walk on for a long time. How late would it be? In this world, I lost all my sense of time, while I want to look at my watch. Right at the moment I’m looking at my watch, a heavy pain goes through me.
“Argh!” Moaning from the pain, I fall down on the ground, while my hand goes automaticly to my chest. Erin doesn’t really seem to be surprised.
“Just, breathe calmly, I”m sorry to tell you, but this is only the beginning. Your body can’t take it to be in this world, and the pain is going to get a lot worse. A lot.”