Crawling Back to You - A Mileven Alternate Ending (chapter 2)
Once my feet hit the ground, I begin making my way through this beautiful new country. It's days before I reach a place to rest, and I decide to take a break in a little gift store that calls out to me from the side of the road.
I walk in and the place is very small and quiet. It had things written all over the place in a language I had no chance at understanding. I walked over to a stand of what looked like post cards, to see if maybe I could use them and their images as a guide for where to go next. One immediately stands out to me, as if a light was shining from the small piece of paper, as a guiding light leading me home.
The image featured a beautiful image of two waterfalls cascading down a green and grey mountain. The words on the image say "Háifoss, Þjórsárdalur Valley". This was it! This was my miracle, the place that I had dreamed of for so long. I pay the cashier for the card and head on my way.
Pulling out the map I acquired along my journey, I head towards this "Þjórsárdalur Valley". This is where my home would be.
On my journey there, it is bittersweet thinking about what is about to greet me, and what I left behind. Mike had this dream of he and I coming to live in a far off place where we could stare at three waterfalls every day, and live out a long beautiful life together. I was happy because I was finally getting to see our dream home, but sad because I had to leave him behind.
Oh, Mike.
I imagine he is so full of sorrow right now. Believing that I passed away right in front of his beautiful big eyes. The look on his face is something that I will never be able to forget, and his screams are something that will ring in my ears for eternity. But, it's better this way. Now he will have the chance to live a long life doing whatever makes him happy. Whatever that may be. All I know is that I will miss him for forever.
My feet are sore and blistered from the shoes I walk in, as they are not made for this kind of long journey. The sound of rushing water rings in my ears, giving me an immense amount of hope. The waterfalls are near, I am in the right place.
I continue my walk up the mountain until I can no longer move forward, stunned by the beauty of the scene. Three beautiful waterfalls span out in front of me, sending water shooting down into the abyss below my feet. The air smells fresh and crisp, as it is something that I have never smelled or felt before. The grass surrounding it is so green. It is everything I could have imagined and more. This is definitely not like home.
As I look out across the horizon, I see a cluster of small buildings and houses. That's it! That is my new home! At least, I hope it will be my new home. I hope they will accept me.
I make my way across the valley to this new small town filled with beautiful colors and people. I take a seat on a small bench along the stone path to rest, as my journey here has been long and tiring. I plop down my bag next to me and peek inside, happy to see that I still have all of my belongings with me.
The longer I sit here, the more I notice the odd glances I am receiving from the people of the town. They throw me a few side eyes and whisper to their partners as they pass me by. Beginning to feel self conscious, I pack up my belongings and sit very still. Maybe if I pretend I belong they will ignore me.
Unfortunately, my plan does not work.
After a few long moments, an elderly woman makes her way over to me. She is fairly short, seemingly shorter than I, with long curly white hair tied back with a bandana, wearing a pink and blue dress with a red apron.
Once she reaches me she says "hver ert þú stelpa?". I do not understand her, so all I can do is stare blankly into the woman's icey blue eyes. She then repeats herself again, "hver ert þú stelpa?".
After the second time she speaks to me, all I can do is shake my head and say "I'm sorry ma'am, I do not understand what you are saying".
She pauses for a moment, seemingly thinking to herself. She then speaks up again, asking me if English is the only language I speak, in a broken accent.
"Yes, I am afraid so", I say back to her.
After a few moments, the woman sits down next to me on the bench, seeming a lot less hostile and more calming.
"What brings you to our town?" She asks me softly.
I think for a moment before answering, as this moment could define my fate here.
"I am looking for a new home", I say to her. "A place where I can be safe and start new".
Her gaze softens, and the expression on her face turns from concerned to almost pitiful.
"You run away from home?" She asks, eyes locked on mine, as if she is searching for the truth within my words.
"Yes", I respond to her, "my old home was no longer safe, I needed to find a new one. Would you be able to help me?"
After a few moments of deep thought, the woman taps my hands lying on my lap, and ushers for me to stand.
"Come with me" she says to me, so I follow. I know the life I have led so far should lead me to be skeptical, but something about this woman feels safe.
She turns to me after a few feet, and extends her hand in my direction for a shake. "My name is Margrét. Margrét Guðmundsdóttir", she says to me with a soft smile.
She then says something that shakes me to my core.
"I will make this your home".
A wave of hope and joy rush over me like the waterfalls that live behind me. This is it for me. My beginning that I so desperately longed for. A safe place to begin my new life.
The woman speaks up knocking me out of my trance, and says "girl, what is your name?".
I have to think for a second. I cannot say my name is El or Eleven. I can't even say that it's Jane Hopper. So I come up with the next best thing, which brings a small smile to my face at the memory.
"Elenor. Elenor Jane".
She smiles at me at the thought, and says "welcome to your new home, Elenor"
Home.
