2,000 words reached in this chapter. This marker, "(<->)", marks the end of the paragraph it's reached according to wattpad mobile.

"It was right... here. Roughly." I point out the spot on the path where I first saw the grey tabby to Fey. "That's where I saw it."

She bends down with her magnifying glass and looks at the concrete. "There's nothing special over here. Maybe it was just a stray cat Al."

"Maybe..." I say doubtfully. But I'm starting to believe in coincidences less and less.

"Fey! Time for dinner!" a voice yells from behind us. It's her mom.

"Coming Mama!" Fey yells back. "I gotta go. You can keep investigating if you want. See ya tomorrow?"

"You bet," I grin. We do our handshake and she runs off. I watch as she closes the blue door of her house behind her, the faint smell of Hispanic food drifting back to me in the wind.

Regardless of if she said it would be okay or not, I was gonna keep investigating. At least now there's no shot of her getting mad.

I set off down the path. I need to know what happened with the cat, and the unicorn horn. I think they're somehow connected to the tea shop, I just don't know exactly how.

"Here, kitty kitty kitty!" I call, hands cupped around my mouth like it'll make my voice louder.

After twenty minutes of searching, I start to give up. Maybe I should've gone home when Fey did. Then I'd maybe have scored one of her mom's empanadas.

I shake my head to clear my thoughts. Stop getting distracted by empanadas Aletha.

A soft purr sounds to the right of me. My head snaps up and I freeze. Is it the cat? Can it hear me? Will it run away?

Sure enough, it darts across the path and leaps into the forest. I break into a run after it, but I'm nowhere near as fast and its gray striped fur blends too well into the approaching night. I catch a glance of its tail as it disappears behind a tree.

I stand there, slightly stunned. Twenty minutes of looking, thirty seconds of adrenaline, and now I'm standing here like an idiot because I was never going to outrun a cat.

Then I hear it. The same voice from the tea shop. "You really shouldn't run so fast, dear. It's bad for an old woman's health." (<->)

I whirl around. "You!"

"Yes, me! I am me and you are you," she agrees, a grin on her face. "But I am Myrtle, and you are Aletha."

"How do you know my name?"

"I know lots of things child. Pixies talk when you take the time to listen," she answers, casting her eyes away for a moment. Her eyes get the same sparkle Fey's have, but it disappears as quick as Fey's too.

Mental note, sparkle eyes. Investigate.

"Where did you come from?" I have so many questions, least of all the fact she mentioned pixies. One more thing to add to my impossible list. Maybe I should actually get a notepad and write it down. Sure would make an interesting record if I ever get out of this strange era, though it feels like it's only just begun.

"Oh, I come and go. I do not remember anymore," Myrtle says, waving me off. "My turn for questions. Why did you turn down my cookies in the tea shop?" So it was you.

"Because I thought I was alone, heard a strange voice, and was obviously creeped out," I respond, a bit more defensive than I meant to be. "Sorry. Also, where did you come from just now? I saw you. Or, I didn't. You came from in front of me, but that's where the cat disappeared..."

She just smiles mysteriously. Gods, I am getting sick of mysterious smiles and sparkle eyes.

"You know what, I'm done. I'm just hallucinating all of this. None of it's real, and I'll wake up in my bed with my girlfriend and an ice pack because I fell and hit my head after school!" I burst out, walking away. I don't mean to be rude to her, but I've had enough coincidences for a lifetime.

"Ok dearie. But remember, you can see the tea shop. The time will come when we rely on you to keep us safe... and that time may come sooner than you think," she says. I stare at her as she walks away, leaving me once again dumb-founded in the middle of the path.

And to make things worse, the sun has set now, and I have to walk home in the dark, with my mom wondering where I went.