Six.

Claire shoved her hands in her hoodie pocket. It was a lot colder than it was yesterday, but being bundled up in her warm clothing gave Claire a cozy feeling that she liked.  The leaves had started to redden, and she noticed the needles of the pine trees scattered on the ground. They seemed to carve a path, leading her in the right direction. Claire always liked to imagine that nature was her guide. That it took care of her and sheltered her from any evil force. She'd had the feeling since she was a little girl. When she talked about it to her friends, they laughed at her. They told her she was crazy. Finally, Claire stopped talking about it. But she never stopped believing. She loved nature, and she truly believed that nature responded to her love by guiding her.

The pine cones took her straight to the Parkers house, leaving her right at the doorstep. She rang the bell, and out popped the rosy face of Mrs. Parker.

"Claire!" she exclaimed. "I was just about to call you. Did you walk down here?"

"Yeah, I did," Claire replied. "Why were you going to call me? I'm not late, am I?" She reached into her pocket to take out her phone to check the time, but remembered that she had lost it.

"No, of course not," said Mrs. Parkers with a smile. "It's only 5:30. No, our charity banquet - the one my husband and I were supposed to go to tonight - was cancelled. The host's mother had to be rushed to hospital, and he needs to stay with her overnight. Anyway, I was going to call to tell you not to come. I didn't realize you had already left!"

"That's alright, Mrs. Parkers. Are you sure that you and Mr. Parker don't want to go out for dinner or something? I'm here, so I can always stay."

Mrs. Parkers chuckled and politely declined the offer. "It'll be good for us to spend some time with the children," she reasoned. "Thank you so much for coming Claire."

Claire said her goodbyes and went on her way. As she walked back home, the cool breeze picked up and became a strong, biting, cold wind. She felt as though the air was pushing her to the left, almost toppling her over. She hugged herself tighter, hung her head to protect her eyes, and tried even harder to walk against the wind. After some distance, on instinct, she lifted her head. On her left was the gate to the park. This is it, she thought. This is where the wind wants me to go. Claire decided to listen to her guide. She turned into the park and continued down the path, towards the lake. The wind soon died down and became a barely noticeable draft.

Author's Note

aaaah so i had something really good before but then my internet crashed, so this is kinda different, but hopefully it's just as good!

Reviews

[Lucky]

haha sorry for another boring chapter =P the next one will be a LOT more exciting, i promise!