A New Start

FOWC with Fandango, and his word today is Accord.https://fivedotoh.com/2022/07/27/fowc-with-fandango-accord/

Walking down one road, then the next, I arrive in a small village, so different to the city life I have just left. I turn to my left, and there is a pub, with a thatched roof, and a sign saying ”Haven Hollow”. I look up at the sign, swinging in the wind, and blink twice.

That feeling of de-ja-vu never leaves me.

According to my grandmother, she says it is because I have led a past life. We laugh, because, she is always saying that. There are days when she talks about the ripples in the sky, and that is when an elfin is watching the worlds merge and a baby is about to be born.

My grandmother calls herself a white witch, not that I tell any of my friends that. They would only laugh. Although, she is brilliant at creating potions from wild flowers. When I was little, she used to make a soup, and when I was sick we would share a bowl together.

I would be feeling better the next day.

I kind of need that soup now, to get rid of my stomach ache. It’s always like that, when I go to new places. You would think I’m used to it by now, but it always unsettles me.

‘Can I help you Miss,’ a woman asks.

She is about my age, late twenties, early thirties, and for some reason she looks like a Mary to me. I’m good with names, although, when I met my boyfriend, I should have stuck to my first instincts, but he was so kind, helping me with my shopping.

It’s the reason I’m here, to get away from a toxic relationship.

‘I’m looking for this address,’ I say, showing her my hastily written handwriting. I can’t even pronounce the name, but it was the first to show on the search website.

‘Oh, it hasn’t been called that for years, nice old place though, you here on holiday?’

‘Something like that.’

She nods, and her smile reaches up to her eyes. ‘You’ll love it there, been used for a holiday home for years.’

I sit at the wooden table, and rub my ankles. It has been a long day, and I’m not sure how far the cottage is.

‘I’m finishing my shift in a few minutes I can take you there if you want.’

‘Thank you, but I can’t put you out.’

‘It’s no trouble, honestly.’

I sit in her car, and watch the scenery slowly wash over me. It is a beautiful part of Cornwall, and there are no main roads here. It doesn’t take very long, and we arrive in front of a cottage. Beautiful red roses snake up one wall.

My Grannie would love it here, maybe next year I could persuade her to join me on a proper holiday. For now it is the perfect place to hide away. Nobody knows I am here – Mum said that way he couldn’t follow me.

‘Thank you . . .’

‘Sorry, my name’s Mary,’ she says, as I get out of the car.

I look away, for fear she thinks I have lost my mind.