Chapter 1

              1. WELCOME TO WOODBINE

Kehlani had never been one to regret her actions but driving out of the bustling city for days into another state and worst of all to a town whose location was off the freaking map was something she regretted bitterly.

She wished she could turn back the hands of time, she would never uproot her bum from her comfortable apartment for such a fruitless trip all in the name of searching for inspiration.

It had been all fun when she set out in her truck which she had bought solely for this trip and she listened to her travel playlist but by time she drove up to an hour, she immediately got bored of the song. She had literally harassed her entire playlists on Spotify during this journey and now music was begining to suck. 

Now you'd wonder why she did not just simply take a flight to the next city and just book a taxi to drop her at her desired location.  She had stupidly decided to make the most out of her trip, commune with nature, let her inner creative breath some air, get some inspirations and Yada yada. Fair enough, she had experienced that but then it got old.

After going from different motels to sleep during the interval of the torturous journey she had singlehandedly subjected herself to she was sitting right at the outskirts of the nameless town. 

You would think she would be relieved but she was mortified beyond imagination. It seemed like there was no life ahead except for the dead twig clinging to the short and washed down signboard that read WOODBINE with a fading arrow mark pointing forward. The name of this town was not helping but she had to trust Nana's judgement.

Nana had always wanted Kehlani to write a fantasy fiction. She was a great fan of fantasy fiction and this was something Kehlani could never understand. Why an Old woman would love to read about unrealistic things like Vampires, Werewolves, Elves, and other creatures that could be depicted in those gory novels what what she could never understand. Weren't the older ones more inclined to reality? 

She wanted to dedicate this Fantasy novel to her deceased Nana and which was why she wanted to also go back to her Nana's old home town as a way to connect with her Nana, if that was possible. She figured it would also be a break from reality. A good dose of that would be efficient for her new book.

Nana spoke so much about her hometown. She spoke of it in an animated way. She had a lot of things to say about it that Kehlani knew every single story as it proceeded her granny's mouth. She sometimes wondered why her granny never went back to the town after so many years if she really liked this town so much, but Kehlani knew that something had happened which caused her Nana not to return. She knew her Nana so well to know that there was more to her story than she let on but now that she was seeing just the snippet of the town, she was really glad her Nana was not stuck at this end of the world.

Kehlani restarted her car and took the old handwritten map she had found in her Nana's room with her idle hand, this had been her guide throughout her journey to finding the godforsaken town. Sorry Nana, it can't be helped.

Kehlani drove straight into the quiet town until she slowly began to see life in the town as she drove further. It was like the people of town were slowly folding out like a petal in bloom. On the map, she had seen a sign of a shop, Bessy's. 

Kehlani felt the name was so retro for a shop. She wondered if that shop still existed though. Industrialization was something that was bound to happen 8n every society, she expected that from this place too but just right ahead by the side of the road, she could see a beat down sign above a building. BES Y'S. An S was missing from it, but it was bold. 8t stood out and screamed it's présence, like Ray's matte red lipstick.

She gladly drove towards the ugly old building and parked her truck right at the packing lot with was just so small. Sh doubted it was even a parking lot to begin with.

She immediately got out of her truck and at that moment, it dawned on her why she received glances as she drove into this town. Her truck no matter how low-key it had been stood out so well in front of the shabby shop and the rest of the town.

She stood out even more despite the fact that she just wore another of her favorite woolen sweater, a baggy jeans and her favorite Nike sneakers. Every one around seemed so... She did not know the word to describe them but she did stand out and it was quite glaring even to herself, talk less of the people around.

"Keep your cool, we are just going to zap inside the store or shop or whatever that thing is, we get our information," Kehlani spoke under we breath as she approached the shop which upon close look resembled a pub on the entrance, "we drive straighhhhhhhttttt to Nana's Cabin, we look for a motel and voila! We are done, easy peasy , lemon squee—" 

"Hey, watch were you are going." A snarky voice hissed in Kehlani's ears as she gave herself the pep talk. Kehlani whipped her head to the side but not before she lost her balance due to the person's rude shove.

She tripped on herself , about to hit her head on the door which was already swinging shut in her direction. The push was shocking so that Kehlani closed her eyes and brazed herself for the impact of the door on her forehead. 

But the bang never came, rather, a big palm was what her head came in contact with.

Kehlani could see a big wall of a human right in front of her and her anxiety was soothed at that moment. She breathed a sigh of relief and immediately stepped back.

"Thank you so much." She rose her head to thank her human wall of protection and to her greatest shock and surprise, an extremely tall man with distinct features that could make a girl's stomach erupt with a bazillion butterflies. She was tall for a woman and she did pride herself in it though she wouldn't tell any other soul but her best friend Kim. It was rare to see a man whom she actually looked up to and most of all, he made even her ovaries sing.

"Mhh." The man hummed quietly. He side stepped like a gentleman which he most defined was and walked away. 

That was quick.

Kehlani blinked as she entered the shop/pub or whatever it was. One minute she was entering the shabby shop, the next minute a rude girl was shoving her aside and the next minute a fine gentleman caught her like a knight in shiny armour — Okay maybe she was exaggerating about him catching her in his arm but fair enough, his palm caught her. Her head instead.

That was not what shocked her the most, it was the strong sense of familiarity that washed over her when she met his eyes. They were a bottomless pit of darkness, so obsidian that in just a few seconds it felt like he had searched her soul. 

She felt a sense of Deja Vu wash over her but she couldn't just place it.

Ouch! She placed a hand on her chest as se rubbed against it. A dull pain had kissed her chest just in that moment but it seemed to have disappeared immediately it came.

Strange.

"...are you okay?" A soft voice called from below. 

Kehlani focused her vision and caught a sight of a petite woman smiling sweetly at her.

"Hi." The woman waved. She was an extremely gorgeous woman, soft features and fragile frame, even her voice was like the gust of a soft breeze.

"Hey," Kehlani smiled politely. "I'm sorry was I in your way?" It dawned on her that she had been standing by the doorway and she could have been obstructing the woman and so she  immediately stepped out of the doorway, seemingly noticing that the shop thingy was actually a pub. 

"No." The lady shook her head and chuckled softly, "I came to apologize for the bad reception, Sandy is not in the best of moods which was why she had taken out her frustration on you on her way out, do accept my apology." 

As the lady spoke, she led Kehlani inside.

Kehlani deduced that the lady worked there in the pub and the rude lady who had bumped into her was called Sandy.

Trashy name for someone with a trashy attitude.

"You must be new around here." The lady paused and shook her head, "You are definitely new, came in today?"

"That noticeable?" Kehlani chuckled. She noticed how warm the pub looked on the inside as opposed to shabby look outside and the pub was extremely empty. Well what to expect from a shabby looking pub at the mid of town.

"You reek of it." The lady chuckled warmly. "Welcome to Woodbine."

"Oh my." Kehlani laughed in spite of herself. Actually, her mind was faraway. She was thinking of the research she had to make on mystical creatures like the Werewolf in her dreams.

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