Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 28386 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 142(@200wpm)___ 114(@250wpm)___ 95(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 28386 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 142(@200wpm)___ 114(@250wpm)___ 95(@300wpm)
As I watch in horror, the tree begins to blacken, starting at the root. The rot climbs higher and higher, causing the men and my mother to cry out in shock. A normal tree wouldn’t do this. But it’s not a normal tree. It was my only connection to Blaste—and now I have no way to find him again in the layers of time. He’s gone to me. And now I’m dying, just like the tree, my legs giving out beneath me, the organ in my chest beginning to slow down, because it no longer has a reason to operate.
Shiloh.
My head comes up when I hear Blaste’s voice.
My fingers dig into the earth, and I look around, praying he’s there. That he found his way back to me. But it’s only my mother and the workers, staring between me and the tree, like they can’t believe what they’re witnessing.
SHILOH.
The tree is almost completely black now and Blaste’s voice sounds more distant. Too distant. But it’s in that moment that my heart guides me. I don’t question what it tells me to do, I simply lunge to my feet and dive into the trunk of the tree, picturing the face of my beloved. I wish for his arms around me so intensely that I taste salt and blood in my mouth, the sides of my throat ravaged by my hoarse shouts of his name.
The inside of the trunk turns black around me.
I hear nothing but wind.
Debris whips around me at such a fast trajectory that I have to close my eyes, but just before I do, there is a golden shimmer. I catch the tail end of it and it breeds hope, enough to cling onto like a lifeline and I double down, picturing every second with Blaste. The taste and feel of him. I beg fate with everything inside of me to bring me back to him.
Faintly, I hear my mother say, “My God, the story was true,” and then…
Silence crashes down, leaving nothing but a hum of latent energy.
My head pounds, mouth dry as cotton, heart jostling in my ribcage. It’s the only part of me that seems capable of moving. But then I hear the wretched bellows of my name, the horrible barren rasp of a man losing his voice, but still shouting in desperation.
It’s Blaste.
But is it Blaste…here? Or is he far away, trapped in time?
I’m afraid to open my eyes and find out, but I have no choice.
If there is a chance to see him, I will always, always take it.
Cautiously, I sit up and look around, startled to find myself in the middle of my family’s pasture, stark sunlight warming the grass around me. There is a smell of something in the air. Like…biscuits? Or something baking. I turn my head and see the house, the paddock, but…they’re different. The paddock fence is painted white, not red. There is an ancient truck, a sort of burnt orange color I’ve never seen before with an old, banged up license plate. A group of people stand at the entrance of the house looking worried.
Looking at the Wanting Tree.
It’s still standing.
And Blaste’s voice is coming from inside the trunk. He’s inside. Screaming for me.
“Blaste.” My voice emerges in a croak, but I manage to climb onto my feet unsteadily and run in that direction, trying again. “Blaste! Blaste!”
His head pokes out of the tree, eyes bloodshot and crazed. “Shiloh!” he roars, throwing himself through the opening and barreling into me, wrapping his arms as tightly as they’ll go, both of us tumbling sideways into the grass. “Oh Jesus, Shiloh. Jesus. Jesus. I thought you were lost to me forever.” His frantic hands run over my face, my hair, down my back. “I couldn’t reach you. I couldn’t see you.”
“I was so scared,” I whimper into his neck.
“Me too. I’ve never been so scared in my fucking life. I couldn’t have gone on without you, Shiloh.” He kisses my mouth hard, once, twice, his eyes damp and adoring. “I’ll never let you be scared again. Not a single second of your life is going to be anything but happy. I’ve got you now, sugar. We’re together, the way it should be.”
“I made it back to you,” I whisper, clinging.
“Thank God. Thank God. Thank God.” He presses kisses to my forehead, my temples and cheeks. Slowly, though, his features transform with concern. “Your mother…”
“She saw me leave. She knows I’ve gone somewhere. Somewhere better.” I suck down a shuddering breath. “I’ll miss her. I’ll miss what could have been when it comes to our relationship, but I…think we’re both better off flying away. Especially when I’m flying to you.”
Relieved, he kisses me hard. “We’ll never be apart again, my love.”
My heart flutters happily. Contentedly. “Promise?”
“I promise you everything.” He rocks me for a few heavy minutes, until our trembles subside and then he picks me up into his arms, cradling me to his chest as he walks toward the house. “Come meet your new family, Shiloh.”