Free The Advent Calendar by Steven Croft

suppose you had to find out sooner or later. Josie’s going to have a baby.’
    ‘But she was crying.’
    ‘I know,’ Sam said. ‘Having a baby’s not exactly in the plan. A few months ago we were really close and we did talk about, well, you know, the future and stuff and being together. Then we had this big bust-up. Around the same time, I had to move out of my flat and I came to live with you. Since then we’ve seen each other every so often – but I never expected anything like this.’
    ‘So what’s going to happen? Are you going to get back together?’
    ‘Dunno. It’s kind of a lot to think about just now. If we stay together, then there’s the baby to take care of. Not sure I’m ready for all that. It’s just not a good time. Then there’s all this stuff at work.’
    ‘Have you thought about, you know?’
    ‘Getting rid of it? Yeah. That might happen too. But it’s not something to take lightly, is it? And if we go that way, then it really is over between Josie and me. Have you seen what’s happening to the path?’
    Alice looked back. The pathway was getting narrower, the bends were sharper now, and a few smaller tracks led off to the right and to the left. One or two were clearly dead-ends but some looked as if they would lead somewhere else completely. Out of the corner of her eye, Alice caught a glimpse of something else.
    ‘Something’s following us again. It’s the shadow I saw the day we went for tea to that church or garden or whatever it was. I’ve not seen it since. There was no sign of it at all in the vineyard and with the eagles. But it’s there now.’
    ‘Best keep moving then,’ Sam said. ‘What about these side-paths? Do you think we should explore them?’
    ‘I’m not really sure,’ said Alice, ‘I think we’re meant to stay on this one.’
    But as they moved forward, the path they had been following became smaller and smaller until it began to look like the other pathways which criss-crossed the forest floor. There was no sign of civilisation of any kind. Each time they could tell which the main pathway was but only just. They couldn’t see much beyond the trees but occasionally they caught sight of mountains on each side of them. They were clearly in some kind of great valley.
    After an hour’s steady walking they came upon a large rock by the side of the road. A very tiny spring bubbled up through a crack in the centre of the rock and ran across the pathway only to disappear into the ground on the other side. Sam tasted the water first. It was clear and fresh. They both drank deeply, cupping their hands to gather the ice-cold refreshment. Sam looked curiously at the rock and the way the water just appeared. Alice was looking at where they went next.
    ‘We need to go more carefully here. We could take a wrong turn.’
    Up ahead of them, the path divided into two. This time, the two ways looked exactly the same but each went off in a different direction, twisting and turning away from the other.
    ‘Eeny, meeny, miny mo,’ said Sam. ‘Come on, it’s this way.’
    ‘Sam, wait!’ cried Alice. ‘Stop and think.’
    Sam stopped, three paces down the left-hand track.
    ‘This is the first time we’ve had to make a choice since we began the calendar,’ Alice went on, glancing over her shoulder. ‘None of the other roads have divided. I think it means something.’
    ‘The shadows are still there,’ said Sam, looking back. ‘I can see them too now. There seem to be more of them. There’s no way we can just wait here. There’s no way of telling which way to go from looking at the pathways. This one is exactly the same as that one. They are the same width; they head off in approximately the same direction. They look identical. So the only way is to just choose. Do you want to flip a coin or something?’
    ‘But suppose it’s important?’ said Alice. ‘Suppose there is another way to decide? Suppose we just wait and listen.’
    To Sam’s amazement, Alice