(A sequel to In the Forest)
By Kyndl
“Follow me,” her father said with an ear-to-ear grin.
“What are you smiling about, sweetheart?” her mother asked while grabbing his hand.
“You’ll see very soon, my dear,” he said while grabbing some of their bags and walking away.
They walked for what seemed like days. Jora thought she’d been through all of the forest and knew all of the secrets. But apparently she hadn’t. Her father was leading them in and out of pathways until they came to a clearing. In the clearing was a beautiful cottage with a white picket fence. Jora held her breath and couldn’t believe what she saw. She blinked just to make sure.
“Oh my goodness! How did you do it? When did you…?” Jora asked astonishingly.
“Since your sixteenth birthday I’ve made midnight treks out here to build on the cottage,” he said while motioning her to go inside.
Her mother started to walk towards the cottage, but her father grabbed her hand.
“She must do this by herself. There’s someone waiting inside for her,” her father whispered while gently brushing the hair from Rebecca’s face and gently kissing her forehead.
Jora opened the door and stepped inside. She was taken aback by how beautiful it was. There was new furniture in a honey oak color and white lace curtains. She walked up to the cabinets and opened them up. The cabinets held a whole set of beautiful dishes with roses painted on them, and a faint smell of jasmine wafted throughout the cottage. She started walking up the stairs into the loft when she spotted a familiar face.
“Blaine?!” Jora asked while running to embrace him.
“Yep, the one and only,” he said while holding out his arms.
“What are you doing here?” she asked as she looked into his hypnotic blue eyes.
“I’ve been helping George, I mean your father with the finishing touches on the cottage,” he said while gently running his fingers through her red hair.
She closed her eyes and let her head fall into his hands. They peered into each other’s eyes seizing the moment.
“I’ve missed you so much,” Jora said as a tear rolled down her cheeked.
“I’ve missed you too. I’ve thought of nothing else for the past month,” Blaine said while wiping the tear from her cheek.
“Well, I think we should go meet my parents outside. I know my mother is dying to see the cottage,” Jora said excitedly.
Jora and Blaine walked out of the cottage hand-in-hand. Jora ran to embrace her parents and escorted her mother into the cottage to give her a tour.
For the next two weeks the family lived together and began to adapt to being in the cottage. Everything was beginning to get monotonous and boring until one beautiful Monday morning. Blaine woke up, rolled over to give Jora a soft kiss on the forehead, and crawled carefully out of bed. He walked down the stairs from the loft and began to cook breakfast, as a little velvet box seemed to stare at him constantly.
Jora awoke to the smell of bacon frying in a pan. She looked over and noticed Blaine wasn’t in his bed, but her mother and father were still in theirs. She jumped out of bed and pulled on her robe. Could Blaine really be making breakfast? She practically fell down the stairs and just as she was about ready to crash into the floor, Blaine appeared out of nowhere and caught her. How did he always seem to be at the right place at the right time?
“What are you doing?” Jora asked with a sly smile.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” Blaine asked.
“I didn’t know that you could cook,” Jora said while grabbing a biscuit off the table.
He slapped her hand and the biscuit dropped back onto the plate.
“No eating anything until the whole meal is ready and your parents are downstairs,” he said while motioning for her to sit down.
It was twenty minutes later and the whole house smelled of food. Jora was about to fall over and die with hunger. Finally, her parents came downstairs and they began to eat their meal. But it wasn’t too long before an awkward silence fell upon the house. She began to wonder what was going on as Blaine got down on one knee.
“Jora, will you marry me?” Blaine asked with a quaking voice.
