Nature Calls

A/N.

Hey guys :)

This was one of the first stories I wrote so there are going to be a lot of different POVs in some chapters. I hope it doesn't get too confusing. Some of the chapters are also a little long because I was new to writing, so I often forgot to check the word count. (I still do.)

If you're a new follower, you should know that English isn't my first language, so there will be some errors here and there. I hope you'll survive :)

Happy reading and much love to you all.

Tina.

My name is Kira. I’m twenty-five years old and I’m a little... Different.

I was an orphan, thrown between foster homes, never really fitting in anywhere,

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve had a connection with nature. It’s like it’s calling me. I don’t know how to explain it. It’s like nature and I react to each other.

My first memory is of me sitting on a lawn surrounded by tulips. I don’t know how old I was. My foster mom sat me down on the lawn for a moment and when she came back, I was surrounded by tulips. They came out of nowhere. Things like that kept happening and my foster parents started to freak out.

From there, I went from place to place, from home to home. I couldn’t control my gift then, but as I got older, I learned how to control it. And by control, I mean not letting flowers or anything grow around me in a flash.

When I was fifteen, I ran away. I worked in nurseries to save up money and ended up in a small town. When I was twenty, I had saved up enough money to buy an old, secluded house near the woods.

Just one small problem. After living there for a week, the forest surrounded the house and a month later it was like the earth had swallowed it. It now kind of looks like an underground bunker covered with the forest floor with small openings for windows and a slightly larger opening where the door is.

I mean, I’m not complaining, but here I am, trying to be as normal as possible. How the hell do I explain this?

I think I had a nightmare the night my house got ‘swallowed’, but I can’t remember what it was about.

Before I bought the house, I think people noticed that I’m a little different. They never asked any questions, though. Not even after the forest expanded. I see the looks I get from some of the town's people, but most of them are nice and welcoming.

Long story short, I can make every kind of plant grow. Flowers, vegetables, you name it, I can grow it. But not trees. At least I don’t think so.

Now I work part time at a flower shop in town. The owner, Kate, is a wonderful older woman with kind blue eyes and grey hair. She's become like an aunt to me. At least I imagine that’s how it would be like to have one. I know she suspects that I have some kind of power, but I’ve tried to convince her that I just have really, really green fingers.

Right now, I’m in the back of the shop, potting some lilies when she walks in. I turn my head, smiling at her, but she’s standing very still, looking shocked.

Oh no. I look back at my hands and see that a root is sneaking its way up my arm, growing small leaves. Crap.

I try to hide it as best as I can, but it’s no use. Grabbing the root, I gently peel it off my arm, making sure not to hurt it. Then I turn around to face Kate and try to push down the rising panic that’s settling in my chest.

This can’t be happening. I’m so screwed.

“Kate, I... It...”

To my surprise, she gets a beaming smile on her face before she says, “I knew it! You can make plants grow.”

Still panicked, I look down and think about if there’s something I can do to explain this. I’ve never told anyone about my gift and her seeing this...

Do I have to move now? Do I have to leave this place that I call home and find another place to live?

She comes over to me and hugs me tightly. I’m so surprised that I’m frozen in place. Then she pulls back, puts her hands on my shoulders while looking at me with that beaming smile on her face, and asks, “that’s how you're able to get the tropical flowers so fast?”

Still feeling panicked, I beg, “please, please don’t tell anyone. Please...” She looks at me with a soft smile on her lips as she says, “Oh honey. Of course I won’t. Your secret is safe with me.” I let out a sigh of relief and she smiles at me again, looking excited.

“Show me.” The excited expression on her face makes me chuckle a little as the panic I’m feeling fades. It’s actually nice that she knows. Now I don’t have to hide it in the shop. Now I can be myself and I don’t have to hide that side of myself anymore, so I say, “uhm, I need to touch the earth to do it.”

She takes a pot of soil and puts it down in front of me. “Here.” I chuckle again. “Ehh, no. The actual earth.” She runs back into the shop and puts up a be right back sign before she comes back and takes my hand.

“Come with me.”

Leading me out the back door, I see a small patch of grass. She lets go of my hand and taps her cheek with her finger before she asks, “can you make a China dragon orchid?”

I crouch down and touch the small patch of grass. Then I ask the earth to help me, and the flower slowly grows out of the ground, making her eyes widen.

“Oh my... Oh my God, Kira. This is extraordinary. Simply amazing,” she says, her jaw dropped. Looking at her, I see her eyes well up with tears, making me furrow my brows. “Kate?”

She pulls me in for another tight hug and says with a shaky voice, “I’m alright, honey, I’m just... I can’t describe it.” I give her a small, embarrassed smile. It’s one thing to make the flowers grow when I’m alone, it’s a whole other thing doing it in front of others.

She gently touches the flower before she stands up, smiling. “Alright, we need to prepare for the flower festival next week.” Then she smiles innocently and asks, “can you maybe grow the rest we need?” I smile a little and nod. “Sure, but not here. I’ll do it at home.

Looking satisfied, she nods, and we go back into the shop where she puts up the 'open' sign again. The rest of the day flies by. I can’t help but keep smiling. I’m happy I finally have someone to talk to about my powers, but I still have to be careful.

She asks if she can come by tomorrow so we can grow what we need for the festival. I hesitate because the only one who has ever visited me is my friend Chloe. Others have tried to visit me, but they couldn’t find my house. I have a suspicion that the forest won’t let them in. Like it doesn’t trust them.

I end up giving her my address before closing time and go out to my bike. Just as I get to it, I stop because I feel someone looking at me. I look around to see who it is and after a moment, I lock eyes with a man who has short brown hair, brown eyes, and a square jaw.

I’m frozen in place, and I can’t look away. I can't even blink. It looks like he can’t look away either.

I inhale deeply because the air suddenly smells like mint and… Strawberries. I wonder who he is because I haven’t seen him before. Maybe he’s new in town?

A moment later, a beautiful blond-haired woman walks up to him and links her arm with his before she asks him, “ready to go?” He’s still looking at me and it’s like time stands still.

He’s the most handsome man I’ve ever seen.

“Huh?”

“Ready to go?” she asks again. “We have to get to the party tonight, remember?” He slowly nods. “Oh. Yeah. Right.” They start to walk away but the man looks over his shoulder, and I still can’t stop looking at him.

He looks at me for another moment before his brows knit together and he looks straight ahead as he shakes his head. The moment he isn’t looking at me, I can finally look away.

What just happened?

Shaking my head, I get on my bike and make my way home. When I get there, I open the door and go into my small cozy kitchen. After making a snack, I go outside to eat. I made a little fireplace with a bench right next to it when I moved here because I like being outside.

Sitting down on the bench, I start to eat. Then I hear a scream coming from a hawk. It started coming here when I moved in.

It flies down and lands on the edge of the bench. I smile and say, “hey Freya. How are you today?”

I have no idea if its male or female, but I instantly thought of the name Freya when I first saw it. I was afraid at first, but I’ve gotten used to it.

It tilts its head, looking at me with its intense golden eyes. I sometimes think it understands me, which is just weird, but I don't think about it too much because of course it doesn't understand me.

“I had an interesting day. Kate found out about what I can do. And then there was this man... It was so weird.”

Suddenly, Freya screams and looks to the side. I follow her gaze and freeze with my mouth open when I see a panther. A freaking panther. It just sits on a branch in a large tree very close to my house, staring at me.

“Uh... Hi. Please don’t eat me,” I say with a shaky voice because this isn’t scary at all. Nope.

It stands up, hops down from the branch, and slowly walks towards me. Crawling over the back of the bench, I crouch down, trying to hide behind it. Freya takes off and soars not far above me.

The panther stops on the other side of the bench and sits down. Well, I can’t run. It would just hunt me down, right? Might as well stay put.

Very slowly, I stand up all while the panther just sits there, looking at me. There’s something in its eyes. I feel... Safe.

Huh.

I slowly walk around the bench and sit down on the edge and carefully ask, “so, who are you? What are you doing here? As far as I know there aren't any panthers around here.”

Still looking at me, it starts purring, making me raise my eyebrows in surprise. I take a chance and slowly reach out to scratch its head because something tells me that it won’t hurt me.

It closes its eyes and purrs louder, making me smile just the tiniest bit.

“You’re not dangerous at all, are you,” I say. This is seriously weird, but hey, who am I to judge?

All of a sudden, Freya flies down and sits on the panthers back.

“Okay, that’s my cue to leave.” I must be exhausted, and this is a hallucination. Yes, that’s the answer. I need sleep.

Getting up, I walk back to my house and when I look back, I see that they’re both following me.

“Seriously?”

I go inside and lock the door before I rest my back against it, trying to clear my head. “Yeah... So that just happened. I swear to Gaia or whoever is watching; stop messing with me.”

Going into my bedroom I change into my pj before I get into bed. Then I think about what has happened today. Kate finding out what I can do. About the panter outside and the man I saw in town. The way he looked at me and the smell of mint and starwberries...

I shake my head. I shouldn't think about him too much because I doubt I'll see him again.

Waking up the next morning, the sun is shining through the window, which makes me smile. I stretch my body and get out of bed before I walk into the kitchen where I make myself a cup of tea. Looking at the clock on the wall, I see that Kate will be here soon.

Then I remember…

I run to the window to look outside. Phew. No panther. It would be pretty hard to explain that to Kate.

I sit down to drink my tea. Kate coming here makes me a little nervous, but then again, it’s nice that someone knows about my gift. I smile while thinking about how excited she’s going to be when she sees what I can do properly.

Finishing my tea, I go into my bathroom to take a shower. I let the warm water run down my body, which makes me relax. Then I think about the panther.

I just don’t understand. Panthers doesn’t live in this area. Are there any in this part of the country at all? And it made me feel safe. It was like it wanted to be my friend, just like Freya. Not weird at all.

I finish showering, dry off, and get dressed in a short, loose, light green dress. Pulling my red, wavy hair up in a messy bun, I go into the kitchen and then I hear Kate’s voice. I go outside to guide her the rest of the way to my house by calling her name. “Kate.”

“Kira? Where are you,” she asks from inside the forest. I chuckle before I say, “just follow the sound of my voice.”

Moments later, she walks around a tree, and when she sees me, she smiles. Then she stops in her tracks and looks at my house. Well, my hole in the ground kind of house.

“Oh, wow, " she says. "You really are a nature girl, aren’t you.” I smile at her and hug her. “Yeah. Welcome to my home. Do you want something to drink?”

She nods. “Coffee would be nice.”

“Okay, come on in.” We go inside my house and into the kitchen where she looks at all my dried herbs. “Oh wow.”

“Oh, uh, yeah, I like to use the natural way to fight infections and stuff instead of medicine if I can,” I say.

“Hmm. You know, you could open a shop with this. Selling different potions and things like that.”

I can’t help but laugh before I say, “I’m not a witch, Kate.”

“Are you sure?” she asks with an amused expression. Shaking my head, I smile. “Yes, very.”

When the coffee is ready, I pour us both a cup. Then I say, “let’s go into the living room.”

“Sure.” She follows me and we sit down on the couch in my small living room that's full of plants.

“This is so cozy. I can see why you love it here.”

I smile to myself and say, “yes, it’s my little oasis. So, what do we need for the flower festival?” She thinks for a moment. “We still need some roses and orchids, red sunflowers and some lilies.”

“Alright, no problem,” I say, nodding. She looks at me like she wants to ask me something, so I ask, “what?”

“Well, I was just wondering if you can grow every flower in the world? Is there a limit to your powers?” I smile a little. "I can’t grow trees. Well, I haven’t tried, but I don’t think so.”

“Okay, but... As far as I remember, this house looked a lot different and the forest... Well, it wasn’t this big.

“Oh, uhm, no. Overnight the house was like this. I don’t know how the forest grew,” I say before I look down and fidget with my fingers. I still often wonder how it happened.

She returns my smile and says, “you definitely have a connection with nature.” I slowly nod and swallow before I say, “do... I know people are weirded out about the forest, but... What do they say about me?”

She gives me a soft smile. “Well, most of them like you and write of the forest thing as a freak of nature. They know you’re special though, but not like this. Not with the nature thing.”

“Okay. And the rest?” I carefully ask, afraid of the answer.

“Uhm... They ask a lot of questions about you. Some even call you a witch.”

My eyes widen. “Jesus. Well, that’s just great. I-.”

I’m interrupted by a growl coming from outside, making my eyebrows shoot up to my hairline.

Oh no. Not the panther.

Kate frowns and asks, “what was that?"

I swallow. Exactly how do I explain this? Can I even explain it?

Crap.