I

I could never sleep when it rained and found myself on the front porch with a broken fishing pole. I had no idea actually how to restring the reel but it was something to do while waiting for the storm to pass. The wooden buckets near the driveway were already half full of rainwater. It had been five years since I moved into the mountains mainly to become an orchardist but I settled with being an ordinary school teacher. I liked being away from the city, it was so quiet here, and rarely did anyone drive the dirt road passing my little white house.

I scratched at a mosquito bite on my ankle. The sun had long since disappeared behind the trees and a pair of headlights broke through the bluish haze of the evening. The smooth hum of a motor engine echoed in the distance and I squinted to identify the model.  Though I hosted a few little get-togethers, I never really had surprise visitors. Most just called me or wrote letters.

A ruby red BMV rolled to a stop right before the mailbox. The headlights and wipers stayed on and I couldn't make out what the driver was doing behind the tinted windows. Two or three minutes had passed and the engine was still running; no movement from inside the car.  I placed my fishing pole down. 

The driver door suddenly popped open and a polka dot umbrella emerged. Before long, the owner of the luxury car struggled to emerge. A dark skinned woman, she checked the back of her heels before turning to me.  "Are you Nobu Tanaka?" She shouted over the rain and wind. The storm was getting worse.

I barely nodded wondering why on Earth she was still standing in the rain and furthermore how she knew my name. I had never seen her before.

She was careful in minding the puddles in the yard and I noticed the downy flow of her white summer dress. It looked nice on her. The umbrella she carried was flimsy and her dress was wet at the shoulders. Grinning sheepishly, she stopped at the porch step and extended her hand to me.

"Ava Masterson."

"Oh." I couldn't think of anything else to say.  The silver pendant around her neck was caught in her braids and she fumbled with her free hand trying to fix it.

"I'm the new art teacher for Willowridge. I know this must be an awkward time to meet you but I recognized you from the pictures in the teacher's lounge." She chewed on her lips quite a bit.

A loud crack of lighting shot across the sky and her eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. She had freckles."Jesus!"

I couldn't help but laugh a little helping her onto the porch. One of her red heels was stuck in mud. I tried to salvage it but the woman waved it off sitting in my chair. I grabbed a nearby stool and took a seat. Ava was a tall woman, shorter than me but had very long legs. She sighed at the weather flexing her painted toes; the color matched her lips. Her bra was nearly visible, she had the rain to thank for that, and she bounced a little fixing the straps. Full lips, a rounded forehead and sleepy-eyed, Ava was nice to look at.

She smirked looking over at me. "Before you say anything. I know orientation is tomorrow. I was actually trying to find my apartment. I had it down yesterday but everything looks different at night. And then there's all this rain." She checked her bra straps again. "What subject do you teach?"

"Science."

"Ah." Ava nodded holding her hands in her lap. "I don't suppose you could predict how long this storm will last?"

In all honestly I was more of biology major. I could tell her what clouds she was looking at but meteorology was never a strong suit.  "Your guess is as good as mine. But the wind seems to have died down some so you probably don't have to wait here long."

"Thank you for letting me wait. I hope I didn't creep you out."

"No not at all. I'd invite you inside but the place is a mess and I am a bit of a stranger too."

"No that's alright. Despite my outward appearance, I actually enjoy being outside."

My gaze fell on her legs again. Slick from the rain, an ankle bracelet I didn't noticed before gleamed against her coffee skin. I was an arm's length away from touching it but I don't know why I would do such a thing to a complete stranger. There was something very new about Ava.  Otherworldly. Like she lived on a different planet and decided to vacation on Earth for the heck of it. The wooden buckets near the driveway were overflowing by now but the rain was lessening.

"Do you remember the address to your apartment?" I asked.

She nodded. "I just don't remember how to get there. The mountains look so creepy at night too; the way the trees just hang into the road and there's always a random light pole that may or may not be working." Ava talked with her hands and it made me chuckle. "And the roads! They never run North and South! They're all curvy and weird. This road here is probably the straightest road I've seen all day!"

I smiled at her. "You'll get use to it. I'll show you the easy way around here. There's even a road that only leads into town. After the first couple of weeks, it won't be such a big deal. You might even want to walk instead of drive."

She made a face at me and hummed to herself.

Another ten minutes or so passed before I offered to give her directions to her apartment. I was fine with writing it down but she grabbed my wrist pulling me towards her shiny car. The inside leather was cool to the touch and Crowded House's "Don't Dream Its Over" played faintly over the radio. Classical, Easy listening and the news were the only stations that the mountains could receive and it was the internet access in town that kept you into touch with the world. A box of books and what looked like clothing were in the backseat. The car seemed brand new.

"Was it the mountain air that made you want to grow a beard?"

I was caught off guard by the question and Ava pointed to her chin.

"You got some scruff going on there. You were clean shaven in the school photo."

"Oh. Summer break. I was trying but I think it reached its full potential."

Ava laughed. It was very light and airy. "It doesn't look bad. With the ripped jeans and wife-beater, you make a wonderful mountain man. I wouldn't grow my hair out any longer though. People might mistake you for a sasquatch."

I smiled at her teasing. "You'll make a left up here."

We passed at old corner store covered in ivy. The lights were still on in the place but no cars or people were visible. A white half moon hid in the cloudy sky and the rain had completely stopped. I could see Ava's blue apartment in the distance and wondered if I should ask for her phone number.

"The hell is she doing at here?" Ava squinted ahead flashing her lights on what looked like a small woman walking in the gravel on the side of the road.

As we caught up to her, she was in fact a little girl maybe eleven or twelve years old. She was covered head to toe in dirt and stumbled over the road barefoot.

"Oh my God." Ava whispered slowing the car to meet the child's pace. She rolled down my window.

"Hey kid. What are you doing out here so late?" I asked.

The little child kept her head down. Her dark hair covering her face.

"Where are you going? Do you want a lift home?"

She wouldn't even look at me. I turned to Ava who frowned stopping the car. Putting it in park, we both stepped out of the vehicle. By then the girl quickened her steps and pivoted across the road in front of the car's headlights.

"Hey wait a minute!" I managed to grab her arm and she shrieked at the top of her lungs jerking her little arm away from me.  Sprinting passed Ava, she tripped a few times and disappeared into the woods. 

"What the hell was that?!" Ava dropped her arms at her sides looking back into the brush. She played with the ends of her braids. "You think she'll be okay? I mean kids walk around here like that all the time right?"

"Not this late at night." I ran my hands through my hair and found it felt slicker than usual. My fingers were sticky.

"What's the matter?" Ava followed me to the front of her car and I held my hand over the headlight.

"Does that look like blood to you?"