March, Chapter 1

The moon comes up and I sit there, on the ground, holding my mom's own diary. Is my mom even alive? I hope so. I look upwards at the stars. There's the Big Dipper- and the North Star. Maybe I should follow the North Star, like early people did. If I'm already up North, then that would be a bad idea, but I'm not cold and it's nighttime...
I get up and start following that star, holding the notebook and pencil tight in my hands.

. . . . . .

Finally, when it's dawn, I come up on a cottage. It's a small cottage, but I'm hungry and tired. Maybe an Eldonist agent lives there, but maybe Summer, Kat, Keleb, and Tessa are in there. Fat chance of that.
I decide to look through the window of the cottage. It's nice in there, with a fireplace and some cozy chairs. It looks inviting. I also see an old lady laying on a tiny bed- she looks kind, so I decide it's safe.
I walk up to the door and knock. Nothing happens. I knock again, and I heat something moving inside the house. The door swings open and a little old lady stands in front of me.
"Who are you and what do you want?" she frowns. So much for kind.
"Umm... I'm..." Should I tell her my real name? Better not. "I'm... Amber. And I got lost out here- I was camping with my family and I got lost. I'm hungry and tired." I put on my most innocent face. Please fall for it!
The old lady's face softens. "Oh, dear, you must be exhausted! Please, please come in." She steps out of the way and gestures me inside.
It smells like some kind of stew inside, and I hear my stomach growl.
"Here, have some mushroom soup." The old lady laddles some stew into a bowl and hands it to me.
"Thanks." I take a sip. It tastes so good!
"Your welcome. I'm Theresa."
"Nice to meet you, Thersa." I say between sips. We sit for a while.
"Where is your family camping?" Thersa asks.
"What?" I laugh. "My family?" I know one of my parents is on a mountain, the other parent might be dead, and my sister is who knows where with my best friends.
"You know, you told me you lost while you were camping with your family." Oh, right.
"Oh, yeah. Um, they were camping on a hill, but I forget what hill." There's a ton of hills around here.
"Hmm... I'm sorry. I can't help you find your family. We could call them..." Oh no. "...but there isn't signal out here." Whew!
"Aww..." I manage to get a tear down my face. Who knew I was such a good actor?
"There, there, it will be all right..." Theresa rubd my back. Um, awkward!
I finish my stew and yawn.
"Oh, Amber, you must be tired! Here, take my bed." I look around. Who's Amber? Oh yeah, me.
"Oh no, I can't except-"
"You must!" Theresa gestures to a cot in the corner of the two-room house.
"Okay." I get up from the table and walk over to the cot. I flop down on it and am instantly in heaven. I've never been on a bed so soft before.
"I am going to read my book now that you are settled. I have some clothes my daughter used to have before she left, and you can borrow them if you'd like."
I look down at my navy blue t-shirt and gray sweatpants that Eldonist gave me. Comfy, but not stylish. Comfy is better.
"No, thanks..." I say as I drift off.