Chapter 12: Part 2

The butterflies have been reduced to nothing but faded confetti that litters the ground. In the center of the moss is the shape of a naked man. She leans closer balancing on her knees and cranes to look. The man moves. His back arches in an animalistic manner before he sits on his knees. He shakes his head from side to side and flecks of shimmering gold fall from his dark hair. He glances behind him, their eyes meet. She knows those beautiful eyes anywhere. She gasps, losing her grip on the rock and falling face first over the rock. The one thought on her mind—Nate!

Sera awakens with her torso on the floor and her legs still tangled in the sheets from her bed. Laying her head back against the carpet, she takes a minute to collect her thoughts. Her dreams have always been more than they appear, but, they are fantasy aren't they? Nate is not a dragon!

The alarm clock blares on, "Well, Diane, I guess we will never know." Reaching a hand under the bed, she tosses a shoe at the annoying clock. It crashes to the floor, the last thing it announces: "This week is going to be another one full of surprises."

Finding her way out of the jumbled chaos of her bed sheets, she slips out and into running clothes before making her way downstairs. She decides to stop for a bite to eat before heading out. She picks up an apple from the basket in the center of the granite island before tossing it into the air and catching it with her mouth while she stretches her quads.

"On another workout kick, I see." Her father is always one for teasing her. "I wonder how long your diet is going to last."

"Well, I have a feeling this one is going to stick." She speaks through another bite of fruit. "Plus, I'm no spring chicken anymore, I have to keep in shape." She lifts her right arm to humorously flex a muscle. Only as she does, she realizes her biceps have some definition and shape to them. Her father must notice as well because he leans in to squeeze it.

"Would you look at that, you work out one time, and get little muscles," he teases with a smile.

"Yeah, would you look at that." She smirks to hide the growing anxiety and makes a rapid escape. "Well, I'd better be off. See you later," she mutters halfway out the door.

Sera jumps down the four steps of her little blue farmhouse and lands on her feet. An owl hoots in the woods to her left. Instead of heading down the street to town, she heads left toward the wood. She hurtles over the guardrail and dashes into the heart of the trees. It's relatively quiet. Most of the animals are hibernating for the winter. All she can hear is the crunch of her footsteps in the undisturbed dirt and dried leaves under her feet. It calms her, allowing her mind to wander. Once again, questions envelope her mind dragging her deep into a vortex of unanswered anomalies. Until one singular anomaly comes to mind, Nate. What are the odds of dreaming about someone for months and actually running into them? This can't be a coincidence? She can't chalk this up to luck. She hides a smile and hurtles over a fallen tree. So deep in thought, she doesn't notice her phone chime to life until she spots the frightened deer hide behind a tree in front of her. Sera freezes. It doesn't run. The deer only peeks his head out, inspecting her. She refuses to even breathe because deer are so... jumpy. He's small, lightly colored, and curious.

"Hey, little guy." She tries reaching her hand out for the animal. "I won't hurt you," she adds and takes a step toward it. He doesn't move, only stares at her. "Come on." She tries again, and he seems to understand, taking a step toward her. "That's it, almost there." She watches in astonishment as the fawn makes his way to her. It's millimeters from her fingertips when her phone chimes once again. Without warning, the little deer spins and runs disappearing into the trees, never looking back.

"Damn," Sera mutters, pulling out her phone to not one, but two texts from Amanda. Apparently, there is a hot new guy starting work in their department today. She doesn't know why her friend feels the need to tell her these things. She knows Sera doesn't partake in the gossiping she and the other women insist on. With one last glance in the direction of the deer, Sera sighs and dashes back toward her house to get ready for the day.