The White Bear King by ES Olsen

Author:ES Olsen [Olsen, ES]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-03-26T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 6

I don’t know how long I sat there but it must have been a long time. I heard people come and go. I heard voices but didn’t understand them. Ann knelt down in front of me, took my hands in hers and begged me to eat something, she was crying. I couldn’t understand why she would cry, I was the one who’d lost my children. Where was my husband? I heard his voice but didn’t understand the words. Then he spoke again. I slowly turned toward the door.

The white bear said, “I’ll take you to the portal so you can visit your family. You need to see them again.”

My family.

Yes, I wanted to see my sister and Father and Siv. I weakly got up and ate and dressed in my old clothes; all on autopilot. Then I climbed onto the back of the bear. He took me to the portal and seeing it was day in my world continued to take me all the way to my old house. He waited for me in the woods while I walked up to the house. Nothing felt real. It felt like I’d left the real world and was now in a fairytale. I knocked at the back door. It felt odd doing so, but it also didn’t seem right to walk in unannounced.

Siv opened the door. “Maria! Vut are you doing outside so early?”

I wracked my brain trying to think of an explanation. When nothing came to mind, I burst into tears. Siv wrapped me in her arms and brought me inside. After warming up with a mug of cocoa, Siv drew me a bath. I appreciated she didn’t load me down with questions. While soaking in the bath, I began to wonder about the time difference on each side of the portal.

When Valemon comes to my home, time stops in his land. The next time he visits, years have passed in my land. I was in the other side of the portal for many years but Siv didn’t seem to think I’d been gone. That doesn't make sense! At least I know Vivika was wrong. My family didn’t grow old and die, time had stopped for me while I was gone.

I started crying again and decided not to think about it right now.

*

There was a knock on my bedroom door. “Maria, you need to get some fresh air. You’ve spent the last two months in your room.”

I looked at Liz. “When did you get home?” She looked good. I bet she was happy and everything was going well for her.

“After the first semester, I decided to take a semester off.” She gave me a sideways glance. “Don’t ask,” she rolled her eyes. “Anyway, Dad was furious but, whatever.”

Liz put a hand on her hip and stared me down. “You seriously need to get out. You look like a zombie.” She threw open the curtains causing the harsh winter light to momentarily blind me. Blinking, I stared dumbly at the dust motes swirling in the air.

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