Chapter 3 Part Ways

“Mia, wake up, wake up,” Mia feels someone shaking her and struggles to open her eyes.

It is not Chris, but a man in his mid-forties in a North Face jacket. Mia quickly scans the cabin. She is lying on the bench covered by Chris’s jacket. Her sweatshirt is folded and placed under her head. The fireplace fire has been extinguished. Where is Chris？

Mia quickly sits up, and asks the man, “who are you?”

“I’m Kristoff Schiller. I’m in charge of the safety of visitors in Dorothea Valley.” The man speaks with a thick German accent.

“Oh, how do you know my name?” Mia is in alert mode.

“Christian called me and said you need help to get out of the valley. He told me where you were.”

“Do you know where is Chris?”

“He must have left early. He said he has an early flight to catch.” So he left. Mia feels she loses something, something she couldn’t put a name on.

“Do you know each other? ” Mia couldn’t help asking. She notices the familiarity in Kristoff’s tone when he talks about Chris.

“Come on, I’ll tell you on the way out. There will be rain again in a few hours.”

Mia quickly packs her things in her bag. She debates whether to put her sweatshirt on but decides to wear Chris’s jacket. It reminds her of his scent, of the moments they shared.

Then she takes a last lingering look at the cabin. Yesterday was like a dream. Yesterday WAS a dream. She told herself. Then she walks out of the cabin with Kristoff.

Standing behind the tall bushes which perfectly hide him, Christian sees Mia’s petite figure with Kristoff. She is still wearing his jacket. She is looking back at the cabin. Is she thinking of him? Is she mad at him for not saying goodbye? Christian thought he made a good decision when he left the cabin and called Kristoff. But now he regrets it deeply. He wishes he could accompany her back to her hotel, talk with her, and enjoy her smile for one last time. How could she have such an influence on him in such a short time? He is a man who makes decisions and never regrets them.

Mia and Kristoff disappear at the end of the road. You have a war to fight. It is time to leave. Christian reminds himself to keep himself running toward them. Heaving a sigh, Christian turns in the opposite direction, and makes a call, "Get the jet ready."

Mia doesn’t feel right. Every part of her screams pain. Her heart is broken into a thousand pieces. Mia is startled by the word “broken”. How could she be heartbroken when she doesn’t even know Chris’s last name? He didn’t even say goodbye to her. She is just a passerby in his life. Mia tries to comfort herself but fails miserably at the thought of how little she knows about him.

Her mind falls to last night. When did she fall asleep? There were light talks about awful German food, tremendously slow trains, and beautiful forests. Then she dozed off sitting next to Chris with her back against the wall. She vaguely remembered leaning on Chris’s shoulder for comfort. The rest is a blur.

Just as she is trudging the muddy road laboriously in pain and silence, Kristoff asks her, “how do you know Christian?”

Mia doesn’t know how to reply. So instead of answering, she asks, “how do you know Chris?”

“Ah, I call him Christian. So you guys must know each other very well since you are using his nickname.” So his first name is Christian, Mia thinks to herself.

“I have seen Christian visiting the valley since I took charge of the valley. He comes to the valley on the exact same date every year. That is how I know him.” Kristoff continues.

“Does he come with other people?” The real question Mia wants to ask is: Does he come with a woman?

“Nope, always alone, always on the same day. Kind of mysterious, don’t you think?”

“Yes, it is,” Mia answered absentmindedly. She feels relief washing over her.

“Do you know his last name?” Mia finds herself poking. She isn’t sure what she is going to do with the information if she knows his last name. G****e him?

“Nope. I thought you know. He never told me his last name. When he asked me to help you get out of the valley, I thought you two are friends or something.” Mia could see from the corner of her eye that Kristoff steals a glance at her. She blushes at the indication. How she had wished so.

They fell into silence for the following journey.

When Kristoff and Mia reach the entrance of the valley, the exact spot where she entered the valley yesterday, Mia is ready to thank Kristoff and say goodbye. But what follows surprises her.

“I have to accompany you to the hotel. Christian made me promise that you will be back in your hotel safe and sound.”

Mia doesn’t know how to react to his words. Clearly, Chris cares about her and her safety. He called Kristoff to find her, asked him to help her find her way back, and even made him promise to accompany her to the hotel. This must mean something, right?

Yet he left without saying goodbye, without telling her his last name, without leaving her any note or contact info.

Maybe it is for the best. Maybe someone is waiting for him at home. She is only a chance encounter for him who oughts to be quickly forgotten.

Then why is she feeling the pain that bites her heart?

“Are you ready to go?” Kristoff asks her while pointing to his car at the entrance of the valley.

“Yes,” Mia nodded. Not yet. Not yet.

Sophia rushes to her when Kristoff drops her off at the hotel gate.

“Oh my god. You are back in one piece!” Sophia exaggerates.

“Sophia, this is Kristoff. Kristoff helped me get out of the valley. Kristoff, this is my friend Sophia.” Mia introduces.

“Thank you so much for all the help,” Mia said sincerely to Kristoff while he starts the engine.

“No problem. Hopefully next time you won’t get lost in Dorothea Valley.” Kristoff winks and waves goodbye.

“Now tell me what happened last night with that Chris guy. Is he German? The kind of German guy with long legs?” Sophia obviously wants some juicy stuff.

Mia rolls her eyes, “nothing happened.”

“You are a bummer. Do you know that? Girl, you need to relax and enjoy!” The same old Sophia.

“What are you talking about? He could be dangerous.”

“Is he dangerous? Dangerous in a hot way? Please tell me how you spent the night with the hot guy. ” Sophia is pleading with her big brown eyes, just like the cat in the animation Shrek.

“You are not denying it. So he is hot, right?”

Mia shakes her head, “I’ll tell you after a hot shower.” Sophia shrills.

While taking the shower, Mia decides not to tell Sophia the whole story. She will leave out the moments she wants to save for herself.

“You are moody. You have been staring at your cell phone for ages. Waiting for someone’s call?” Jack Collins, Christian’s most trusted man, asks in curiosity. They are now sitting in a private jet, ready to take off in a few minutes.

Kristoff’s caller ID appears on his iPhone screen, and Christian picks it up immediately.

“She is safe and sound in the hotel,” Kristoff said on the other side.

“Thanks, Kristoff, I really appreciate it.” Christian couldn’t tell if he feels relief or sadness. His connection with Mia is severed from this very moment.

“Did something happen?” Jack said in a concerned tone.

“Nothing. How are they behaving in New York during my absence? Should I worry about them?” Christian is back in the business model.

“Mr. Wayne, do you want anything else except the whisky?” The flight attendant with blond hair, long legs, and full breasts interrupts them, and bats her thick and long eyelashes towards Christian.

“No. I prefer not to be disturbed during the journey,” Christian says in a harsh tone in a cold and impassive complexion. The flight attendant flusters and leaves with dejection.

Something must have happened. The flight attendant is exactly his boss’s type. Jack mused to himself.

Jack finds Christian is staring at him with impatience.

“Oh, they seem to plan something on your father's 70th birthday. Things don't look good.”

"Get to the bottom of what trick they are playing this time."

"Yes, boss."

Christian looks out the window and is lost in thoughts. Will he see her again?