In the woods Tag: Eva

Ariel laughed then said, "Good idea. Alot of the stuff will probably have to be delivered anyway. Especially since you don't have a car. I really doubt we'd be able to carry everything back to your house by ourselves." She paused then said, "But yeah, let's go pay for what we have and then we can look for the rest of the stuff."

Eva laughed and said, "Yeah, that'll definitely be necessary. Or maybe we could just call a cab. Either way, though, I definitely need to get a car. Maybe we can go do that tomorrow." She paused for a moment and then added with another laugh, "Unless you're warn out by shopping."

Ariel laughed then said, "There's no way I'd be worn out by shopping. Shopping's fun. As for getting a cab today, that'd be a good thing. Tomorrow, though, we should definately look for a car."

Ariel paused then said, "For now, though, let's go and pay for everything then we can go and find the toys. That way Lila can get her new doll."

Eva laughed as they walked up the stairs, feeling very, very happy. Finally, she had a good, useful occupation, and it was one that she enjoyed. After all, what girl could object to taking people around shopping and helping a cute little girl?

"Good, good," she said with a grin as they approached the cash register. "I've been meaning to get a car, and now I have a great excuse to get one."

Ariel had followed Eva up to where the cash register was, so everything could be paid for. She laughed when she heard what Eva said. "Yes, you definately have an excuse to get a car now," Ariel said. "It'd be nice to actually be able to ride in a car."

Ariel was silent for a little while after she said that. At one point, she felt Lila moving closer to her like she was afraid. She looked down at her and said, "What's wrong Lila, honey?"

Lila didn't say anything for awhile, just kept looking over and then away. Ariel looked over at where Lila was looking but didn't see anything. Eventually Lila said, "Scary man, Mommy. He came back."

Ariel was silent for a little while, before saying, "It's ok, Lila. We're fine."

She sighed. This wasn't the first time this kind of thing had happened. After a little while, Lila no longer acted like she was afraid and started asking about when she'd get her dolly. Not in a cranky way, but more of an excited way. After Ariel told Lila that she'd be getting her dolly soon, she looked at Eva and said, "I really wish I knew what was going on with Lila. It's like she can see or knows something I don't."

Eva froze when she heard Lila mention a scary man, and she looked around carefully. Had Matt come back? Was she going to have to do something about him and hide it from everyone?

But then Ariel only sighed and told Lila not to worry. Eva relaxed and started moving again, though she walked more quickly.

"Is everything all right?" she asked Ariel. "Does she do that often?"

Ariel had noticed that Eva had started walking a little faster and heard what she had said. She calmly, well as calmly as she could, looked at Eva and said, "She's done this before. Things are fine, Eva. Matt isn't here. I looked around and there was no one there, but Lila saw someone. That's why I say it's like she can see something or knows something I can't." She paused then said, "Lila's ok now, though. She may do that again, but not now. We're fine. Really."

"Okay, okay," Eva said, looking over her shoulder once again. Maybe they were making her a little too paranoid.

They reached the check-out counter, and because they'd already bought so much, the saleslady was more than willing to hold the paid-for things behind the counter while they went to shop for more.

Ariel had listened to what Eva said and saw her look over her shoulder again. She hadn't said anything until after everything was paid for, things were being held behind the counter and they all were away from there.

Ariel looked at Eva and said, "Eva, I can understand why you were looking over you shoulder. Like I said before, though, we're fine." She paused then said, "You know, it's kind of ironic. I'm calmer than you and I've been through more. I'm trying to comfort you, when it should be the other way around."

She paused then said, "Ok, so, I think we should keep shopping. We don't really have that much left to get and I wouldn't really have anything else to try on. Besides, I refuse to let my day get ruined."

Eva laughed softly and shook herself mentally. The last thing that Ariel needed right now was her panic.

"You're, you're right, and I'm sorry," she said, sighing. "Now, to the toy department?" She smiled and turned to lead them up the stairs. This time, she made certain not to look over her shoulder or to distract Ariel in any way. She supposed that she'd heard too much about what happened to them to feel completely secure for them. She knew that she could protect them, but she'd have to be careful not to expose herself while doing so.

Ariel smiled and felt better when she heard what Eva said. "Thank you and yes, to the toy department," she said. She followed Eva up the stairs so they could go to the toy department. Once they had reached it, Ariel started walking around and looking for the kind of doll Lila wanted. It took her a little while, but she found it.

Once she found the doll Lila wanted, she handed it to her to hold. Ariel also went and found Lila some coloring books and crayons, ones that Lila would like, as well as a couple more similar dolls to the one she wanted. After a few storybooks were also found, Ariel knew there was enough stuff to keep Lila busy for awhile.

Ariel looked over at Eva and said, "I think she'll be busy for awhile and I'll have something to read to her at night. Maybe it'll help her sleep better."

"Yeah, if it's a nice, happy story, it probably will," Eva agreed, "and it'll help her learn too for whenever she starts school." She wasn't sure how school worked here for little children, and she figured that Ariel would figure that one out later.

She looked into the full cart and pushed it over to the checkout counter.

"Where to next?" she asked.

Ariel silently listened to what Eva was saying, not really sure how to respond. She hadn't even really thought about school for Lila. Of course, Lila'd have to go to school eventually. The thing was, how well would that go?

After Eva asked where she wanted to go next, Ariel said, as she walked to the checkout counter, "We should go to the lingerie section then get the coats. After that, I think we'll have everything in here." She paused then said, "I really don't think Lila will be going to school for awhile. She is only 2. Besides, I'm not even sure how that'd work out. I haven't even really thought about Lila going to school, honestly. I mean, I know she'll have to go eventually but I hadn't even thought about it."

Eva nodded and led them up another floor toward the coat's section, Lila's toy bag clutched in her left hand. She pondered what to say to Ariel about that for a while.

"I can understand why you never thought of it before," she mused, "and you probably have about two or three years before you have to seriously consider it. And of course you...or we, if I'm still in the picture...could figure out some sort of home-schooling thing for her if you're not sure if she's ready to be in a school."

Ariel followed Eva to the coats section as she listened to what she was saying. "That's very true," Ariel said. "I, or we, could home school her. I really don't know if she'll be able to be in a school right away." She paused then said, "Besides, there are some things I feel like I need to find out before I even have Lila around other children. You know, why she does certain things. I feel like she's different."

Eva had noticed a few things different about Lila, like her sudden paranoia around older men that didn't come across like the usual shyness and her troubles sleeping. She didn't think that two year olds normally had these problems.

"What kinds of things?" she asked, wanting to know so that she could help. "I mean, besides the shyness and the trouble sleeping?"

Ariel thought for awhile about how to answer Eva. She then said, "Well, there's the shyness and the trouble sleeping, but there's also the fact that she suddenly, out of nowhere, will mention things or people I can't see. Now, I know children pretend but this is different. What she mentions scares her. I know it does, because she clings to me like that'll make what she's seeing stop. Of course, I don't see anything there. How is that possible? How is she seeing things I'm not?"

Ariel paused then said, "And the shyness and trouble sleeping don't always happen. They just happen out of nowhere. I really wish she'd tell me when she has nightmares. I mean, I hear her crying and stuff like that but she doesn't say she has nightmares or say what happened in them. I know she has them, though."

Is she a psychic? Eva wondered, though she didn't say that out loud. Ariel would probably think that she was crazy if she told her of that suspicion.

"Maybe she's just remembering bad things that happened earlier and those are making her more scared of people or other things that she really does see?" she suggested.

Ariel was silent for a little while, as she thought about how to respond to what Eva said. "Well, that explanation would work when we're around other people," she said. "The thing is, though, that she's done that when it's just been me and her and there haven't been any men around." She paused then said, "I'm sure she's remembering things from before, but I really feel like there's something else going on too. I just don't know what."

"I don't know what to tell you either," Eva said with a sigh. "It might just be her imagination. She is two after all." She stopped talking as they reached a crowded part of the store. Everyone didn't need to know their business.

"Yeah, maybe," Ariel said after Eva finished talking. She paused for a little while then said, "I'm sorry I mentioned what I did. At least, that I mentioned it now. I didn't want to ruin today at all." She paused then said, "At the same time, I'm glad I did tell you. I felt like I should tell someone. But hey, we can talk more later about what I mentioned. Right now, let's just finish our shopping."

Eva knew that they'd definitely have to talk about that later to figure out how to deal with this later, but she also thought that it would be better for Ariel and Lila if they just had fun now.

It'll be helpful for me too, she thought as they looked around.

"So, do you want me to get Lila a coat while you get some lingerie?" she asked.

Ariel was silent for a short time, before saying, "Yes, actually, I do. I'll give Lila to you so she can go with you to get a coat." With that said, Ariel handed Lila to Eva, as she told Lila that she'd be close by, and then went and looked around for some lingerie.

After looking around for a little while, and finding things that were her size and styles she liked, she went to look for something to sleep in. After finding a few sets of sleeping clothes, she went and walked back to where Eva and Lila were.

As usual, Lila was pretty opinionated about what she wanted, even when she was with someone she didn't know as well. She looked up at Eva a little more nervously, but she still pointed out the coat that she wanted pretty quickly.

"This pink one?" Eva asked, taking it down from the rack so that Lila could see it better. The child didn't speak. She only nodded vigorously.

"Well, then, let's get this paid for and meet up with your mommy," she said, taking Lila's hand in hers again. Surprisingly, the girl never seemed tempted to run.

Ariel had gone and looked for a coat, before going and finding Eva. Once she had found a coat she liked, a purple and blue one, she went and walked around with the items she had and went to find Eva and Lila. Once she saw Eva, and Lila, she said to Eva, "How's Lila? Were there any problems?"