Free Valley Of Glamorgan by Julie Eads Page A

She is the love of my life!”
    The way in which he had spoken made each
word sound as if there was such conviction wound tightly around
every letter. I wanted to turn around and leave, but I kept trying
to calm myself into thinking rationally. What was I doing? Behaving
like a petulant child. After all he had never given me any reason
to think he loved me. I mean, for heaven’s sakes, I had only spent
three days with him; although granted he had saved my life. Still
what was I thinking! Eventually I decided to put my foolish
feelings behind me and continue on the journey ahead of us without
further comment. With the roller coaster of emotions I was
experiencing just then I knew it was going to be a lot easier said
than done.
    I was so enclosed in my own mind that I
jumped when Knoll finally stopped me at the entrance to a cave.
“Hey!” I exclaimed, “Can you give me a warning next time?”
    Smiling he nodded and replied, “Yes ma’am.”
I just rolled my eyes and hated that it felt as if things would
never be the same between us again.
    “We will go through the Veil here,” he
pointed to the entrance. Looking towards the cave I could see a
glimpse of shimmering, clear film that covered the whole entrance.
Suddenly I felt my hands begin to shake. Today I would meet my
mother and father. And I would also meet my sister; who, for some
stupid reason, I was angry towards since the moment Knoll had
admitted that he loved her.
    The Guardian sensed my nervousness but
reassuringly said, “It will be okay Mina-Bear, just breathe.” Then
he continued, “In a few seconds you will be home, and safe with
people who have missed you dearly, and who have risked their lives
to find you.”
    Knoll laughed, letting out a sigh as he
looked at me with what appeared to be sympathy before saying, “It
will be okay. I have arranged for just your immediate family to
meet us at the Veil on the other side. You can meet the rest of
village after you have had time to rest.” At least I was thankful
for that.
    Stepping forward Knoll reached out his hand,
“We shall step in together Mina. You must hold tightly onto my hand
and for no reason should you let go!”
    Grabbing his hand I gripped it tightly,
feeling a warm sensation spreading through my body from his touch,
and with one step we were cascading downward at a God awful speed.
There was darkness, twirling past me and I felt as if the granola
bar had made its way back up. I kept thinking, ‘Great, the first
thing my family will see is me throwing up!’
    Landing with a hard thud I discovered I was
laid on soft plush grass. Looking around I couldn’t believe my
eyes. There was nothing but rolling hills, and bright green grass
spread all across and as far as the eye could see; it was simply
breath taking. Standing up from the ground I let go of Knolls’ hand
before brushing my pants off the best I could. Then I heard a small
noise and turned to see a woman and a man, with another younger
woman standing only a few feet from where we had landed. Looking
towards Knoll for reassurance that we had indeed landed in the
right spot, he gently nudged me forward, saying, “Carmina, this is
your family.” I found it odd that he had called me Carmina, and I
knew that things would probably always be formal between us from
here on out.
    Slowly I began walking towards them, when
the woman ran to me. Throwing her arms around me she hugged me
tightly, lightly sobbing as she whispered softly into my ear, “Oh
Mina, you are finally home.”
    Even though I wrapped my arms around her, it
felt strange doing so. My wish was that I could feel the same
happiness she did, but I just didn’t know what to say. For a start
I had no idea who these people were; I had no memories of them
what-so-ever. Finally the woman finally loosened her grip as the
man, stepping forward, instructed her to let me go.
    “You have to let her breathe, Eleanor,” he
said, smiling at me with bright green eyes that reminded me of