You Won’t Believe What I Saw

You Won’t Believe What I Saw

“Can you keep a secret?”

Hailey Johnson looked at Brad Stephens and smiled. He shrugged his shoulders. She had noticed that he had started to fill out a little more in the past year.

“I guess so. What is it this time?”

The two were walking home together from school like they did every day and had since they were in kindergarten. They were next door neighbours and good friends.

At twelve years old, they shared secrets. Of course, at that age the secrets weren’t that deep or complicated. From Hailey’s point, they were usually a bit of gossip from one of the girl’s at school or something she had overheard her older sister talk about.

But Brad could tell from the look on her face that this time it was something much more serious and much deeper.

“Okay, I can keep a secret. I think my track record speaks for itself.”

Hailey looked around to make sure no one was nearby.

“You know that project that we have to do in science class?”

“I do and haven’t started yet. Maybe you can come over and we can share some information?”

He smiled at her and she pretty much ignored him. After all, she was telling him a secret.

“So, I was in Forster’s Forest just yesterday and-

“Why didn’t you come and get me? I thought we were going to do this project together? Now you have to share some information.”

“Are you going to listen?”

“Go ahead.”

“So I was in Forster’s Forest and I heard something.”

“Was it a leprechaun?”

“Okay, forget it Bradley John.”

When she called him Bradley John, he knew that she was pissed at him.

He sighed.

“Okay, I’m sorry.”

“No, you aren’t sorry. You are too busy trying to cage information from me so you can be lazy on the science project.”

“I was just funning with you.”

He stopped walking but she plowed on.

“Asshole.”

It was loud enough for him to hear.

“Hey, now there is no need to use that type of language.”

He caught up to her and she shot him a glance that could have frozen lava spilling from an active volcano.

“So you’re walking in Foster’s Forest and you heard something. What was it?”

“You don’t care so why do you bother asking?”

“Hailey, can you be serious already?”

She turned to him and there was definitely anger in the girl’s eyes and flushed cheeks. A pretty girl, when she got angry there was something a little more alluring about her. It was one secret that he had never shared with her.

“Forget it. You’re just going to laugh.”

“No, I won’t laugh and if I do you can punch me as hard as you want to.”

Hailey was tall, thin and didn’t look like much of a threat, but the girl had a bony knuckle and her punches could actually hurt.

“That’s stupid and you are just trying to patronize me.”

“Well, me lady, what if-

“I think I saw a unicorn.”

He stood there stunned beyond words, beyond emotion, beyond understanding.

She looked at him and for a second looked like she was going to start balling her eyes out. Once, he had made her cry and he felt awful about it for weeks.

“You saw a unicorn?”

“Yeah, you know with fleece as white as snow, vivid, dancing blue eyes and a gold horn.”

“Are you going to put that in your science project?”

“Asshole! I knew you’re going to laugh at me.”

She stormed off.

He stood there for a long second and didn’t bother going after her.

She got home and half-turned to see where he was before bolting into the house.

Brad arrived home and stood in front of the door staring at the house where the one person in the whole world lived that understood him, put up with him and was secretly in love with him and wanted to be forever. He had noticed that in the past year her breasts had started to rise and fill out.

He could have gone after her, but after years of dealing with her and lately it had gotten worse because she had entered the threshold of womanhood, he knew better than to poke at the beehive.

It was late at night, well past their respective bedtimes.

Hailey was in a deep slumber maybe dreaming about her unicorn when something tugged at her like a magic rope pulling away the veil of sleep off her unconscious thoughts.

There was another tap at the window.

She stood up and almost fell over.

The young girl steadied herself and then went to the window just as a pebble hit it sounding like a lost drop of rain.

His silhouette was unmistakable in the darkness. She opened the window.

“What do you want, Brad?” She whispered. 

“I want to apologize and I want to go to Foster’s Forest and check out the unicorn.”

“Right now?”

He looked around and shrugged his shoulders.  

“If you want to, I’m game.”

It was late at night and she could hear her father snoring in the other room. Was it risking getting caught? There was a certain thrill and excitement to the call to adventure.

“I’ll be right down.”

A minute later, she opened the front door and he stood there.  

“This is crazy.”

“Sometimes you have to do crazy things.”

She smiled and hugged him spontaneously. 

He was a little stunned at first and didn’t get a chance to hug her back because she let go quickly.

“Come on, let’s go find that unicorn.”

He had come prepared with a backpack that contained bug repellent, food, water and a camera with an infra-red lens. His father was an amateur photographer.

They left. She turned to make sure that the lights in her parents room were off and then they were gone in the night.

Foster’s Forest was about a mile from their respective houses.

They walked in the darkness trying to be really cool because there were high stakes here.  

“Do you have a story ready if we get caught?”

He smiled in the darkness and she could feel his warmth.

“What do you think?”

She laughed.

The streetlights lit the way and when a car turned the corner they stopped and faced a tree so not to be identified. Once the vehicle had passed, the pair of midnight adventurers carried on.

“This is really cool.”

She grabbed his hand and there was a moment of acknowledgement and like two magnets drawn together it seemed like the right thing to do.

They stood on the edge of Forster’s Forest. The entrance beckoned and they exchanged glances. They were no longer holding hands. But, she touched him on the shoulder and he jumped.

“Sorry, is there a problem?”

“No.”

“Then why did you jump? Did you think it was the boogeyman?”

“Really, you are razing me? This from a girl that has to sleep with the lights on after we tell each other ghost stories?”

She nodded her head.

“Are you ready?”

“Sure am, ladies first.”

“You’re so gallant, kind sir.”

“Forever the gentleman, I say when in the presence of a bonny young lass.”

“Do you have flashlights?”

“I do.”

He pulled both of them out of the backpack and handed one to her.  

They entered the forest.

The path was clear and the flashlight pushed the darkness away. There were noises throughout the trees but they were undecipherable. Hailey went first with Brad right behind her.

“Okay, so I was walking down this very path and then I heard something. I thought it was a deer, but then saw something white. It was large and couldn’t think what it could be aside from a dog.”

“Okay, so what happened after that?”

“Well, I was a little curious but wanted to get the project done so I kept walking. And then, I felt there was something behind me. I turned around and it was gone.”

“So how do you know that it was a unicorn?”

“Because, what else could it be?”

“It could be an albino deer.”

“Oh, I never thought about that.”

“If it is a unicorn, I wonder how it got here?”

She looked at him and nodded her head.

“I never thought about it.”

“Maybe it’s been here a long time.”

“I don’t know this forest seems to be pretty busy. Mrs. Foster walks through here at least once a week sometimes twice. In all that time, she should have seen it or at least you would think so right?”

“I guess. Or maybe she saw it and didn’t want to say anything because it would get all kinds of publicity and everyone would destroy the forest.”

“And try and capture the poor unicorn.”

“Exactly and I can’t really blame her.”

“What do you know about unicorns?”

“I did a bunch of research.”

“And?”

“In most mythology, unicorns' horns could purify water, heal any wounds, and indicate the presence of poison. Dipping a unicorn's horn into poison would instantly nullify it. Powdered unicorn horn was said to be medicinal, and you could cure any disease by drinking out of a cup made from an alicorn.”

“Did you memorize that?”

“I did.”

“What else do you know about them?”

“They were always thought to be mythical creatures, but many Greek naturalists were convinced of their existence. Oh, and their poop is the colour of a rainbow.”

“Yeah, right, you are making that up.”

“No, I am not.”

They stopped.

“Did you hear something?”

“Don’t mess with me Brad.”

“I am not messing with you, Hailey.”

They stood in silence waiting for whatever was out there to arrive.  

It was a skunk.

Brad blinded the animal temporarily and pushed Hailey to run. It took a couple of seconds for the adrenaline to kick in but when it did, she took off quickly.

When he knew that the animal was properly pinned down, he ran off.

He caught up to her. They walked in silence exchanging very few words. After an hour, they were both tired and there was no sign of the unicorn.

“We gave to get back before we are missed.”

“You’re right.”

They left the forest and didn’t know that they were being watched. The animal with the horn that cured diseases smiled at the young pair. It could see in the future and how their love would grow and mature.

They made it back to their respective houses.

“Okay, that was cool even if we didn’t see the unicorn.”

“Do you believe me that there was a unicorn?”

He smiled at her.

He pulled out his phone and showed her a pile of poop that was the colour of the rainbow.

“When did you take that?”

“I am not sure.”

“So there is a unicorn out there.”

“I guess so.”

“Thanks, Brad for believing me.”

“Thanks for coming along tonight.”

She hugged him and gave him a peck on the cheek.

They left and returned to their respective homes.

Before she went to bed, Hailey opened up her diary/journal and smiled.

“Can you keep a secret? I wasn’t sure, but after tonight I am one hundred percent positive that I love Brad and want to marry him. He is my unicorn.”

In the forest, the unicorn smiled and danced away with a happy song in its heart.