“I think I know her,” Mom said, frowning slightly. “Blonde? Freckled?”
I nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah! She’s one of the new teacher’s assistants at the Vale middle school.”
“That’s right! Always brings pecan pie to the Vale Autumn Fair,” Dad said. “That’s good pie. Hunter’s a lucky wolf.”
I chuckled. “She needs to switch it up to meat, though, if she wants to keep him.”
Since when did the Vale do autumn fairs? Since when was there a Laura Ingram baking pies? My instinct told me to back away from all this, but I couldn’t bring myself to actually do it. I was surrounded by towering redwoods and a tranquil wilderness, with my parents, completely detached from everything. Why would I ever leave this place?
“Why would you ever leave this place?” Mom asked me, wearing a faint smile.
“Sorry, what?” I asked, somewhat confused.
“Why would you ever leave this place?” she asked again.
I had no answer to that. Why would I?
Suddenly, I was somewhere else. As if I had just been cut-and-pasted into a new setting. The surrealism reached new levels, as I tried to figure out where I was. City lights blinking—red, yellow, neon pink. The buzz of a busy street. Hawaiian music playing in the background. Somewhere over the rainbow…
I was seated at a table, outside, on a restaurant terrace. Hunter was sitting across from me, grinning like the devil as he took a sip from his drink. A platter of Japanese food covered most of the table, complete with the cutest soy sauce dishes I’d ever seen, and neatly hand-carved chopsticks. Why were these details so important to me? Why did they carry such meaning?
I didn’t even like sushi.
“Melanie is quite the firecracker, you know,” Hunter said, slipping a piece of food in his mouth, his chopstick dexterity catching my eye.
“Who’s Melanie?” I heard myself asking.
A band was playing inside the restaurant. The tables were all busy. Waitresses buzzed around like little bees, carrying food platters and drink pitchers all over the place. People roamed the street. Vintage cars paraded up and down, in shades of cherry red, flamingo pink, and lime green. It looked like a scene out of the 1950s, all post-war extravagance.
“Melanie Foster. Come on, Kale, I’ve been talking about her for the past hour,” Hunter replied, laughing lightly. “Where’s your head?”
“I have no idea,” I said, as I tried to focus. “So, who’s Melanie again?”
“She’s a half-wolf. Marwyn’s daughter. You know Marwyn. The Woodlands Wanderers’ Pack,” Hunter replied, as if that was supposed to ring a bell or something. It didn’t.
But, still, I was happy for him. He looked like he was in love with her. His blue eyes twinkled like sapphires. His blond hair was cut differently, with side fades that brought out his sharp cheekbones. I loved this look on him. I didn’t love him, though. I had every reason to love him, but, for some reason, that feeling no longer existed in my heart.
As if it had never been there.
“What the hell is going on?” I muttered, glancing around again.
All the neon signs. All the lights. They were pointing in a single direction—dozens of arrows and hand-shaped bulbs, with fingers pointed at the very end of the boulevard.
“What’s wrong?” Hunter asked, confused by my erratic behavior. “I told you about Melanie, Kale. You’ve met her at least once. I sent you photos from our Bahamas trip. Are you okay?”
I nodded slowly, completely ignoring him.
It wasn’t just the street signs being weird. People, too. They were all walking toward one end of the boulevard—the same end at which the neon lights pointed. The cars. The vintage cars, slowly driving along with them.
Even patrons from a terrace across the street started to get up and join the flow. Before I knew it, our restaurant was also practically deserted. Only Hunter and I were left at our table.
“Kale. Kale… Can you hear me?” Hunter asked, trying to reach out to me. He snapped his fingers in front of my face, but, still… I wasn’t even remotely interested.
I got up and started walking down the road, following the people. They weren’t hypnotized or anything. They were chatting and laughing, clinking glasses and sharing morsels of street food. The night felt young, and I… I felt like I didn’t really belong here, but I definitely needed to see where they were going.
“Kale! Where are you going?” Hunter called out after me.
I kept walking.
Past the streetlights. Past the ritzy hotels and fancy restaurants. The luxury shops and cocktail bars. It all felt so immaterial, like a vivid painting that I was simply a part of—a moving, living, and breathing stroke of paint.
At the very end of the boulevard, standing tall and proud in shades of beige and royal crimson, with massive searchlights pointing at the sky, was a movie theater. Its main entrance was adorned with millions of wild orchids and a luscious red carpet going up the stairs. Cameras were flashing.
The crowds gathered at the bottom of the stairs. Photographers struggled to get to the front, to snap more photos. It looked like a movie premiere or something. The street people were all wearing ballgowns and black tuxedoes. I briefly glanced at my own outfit and was shocked. I didn’t expect to find myself wearing a tight, champagne-colored sequin dress.
I couldn’t help but touch myself, just to make sure it was all real. My hair was styled in massive locks, with an equally imposing orchid resting behind my right ear. I had diamonds in my ears, and… all eyes were on me!
“What in the world…” I managed, suddenly breaking into a cold sweat.
I wasn’t comfortable with all that attention. Up until a moment ago, I was talking to Hunter about his latest romantic conquest. Not long ago, I was walking with my parents through the redwood forests of The Shade.
“No… Seriously, what the heck is going on here?” I asked.
I didn’t expect to find an answer, but I didn’t stop. This had to be some kind of dream. Or maybe a high-definition hallucination. It was superb. Every detail was breathtaking, and, most importantly, the people’s adoration toward me made my heart swell.
It was warm and pleasant. The night was gentle and filled with stars. All lights were on me. Gasps erupted from the crowd as I reached the red carpet. Cameras started flashing like crazy. Some fans were screaming and asking for my autograph. Journalists asked me questions. I couldn’t understand a word they were saying, but I loved every second of it.
“This doesn’t make any sense. None whatsoever,” I said, and climbed up the stairs.
