See Me (See Me #1)(25)

They didn’t seem to be suffering much to me. But maybe it was all for show. It was kind of sad to think of them watching their family die one by one with nothing but shame to show for it.

We all plucked at the clover for a minute until Leilah spoke.

“Have ye seen the waterfall yet?”

“No, we haven’t seen much of anything,” I answered.

The girls had to get back to work, but they explained how to get to the waterfall. We thanked them and shared a round of hugs with our new friends before going our separate ways.

It was a serene fifteen-minute walk uphill through the edge of the forest, but Leilah had been right. A light path made from frequent footsteps made it easy to find. We heard the rush of water minutes before we saw it.

By the time we came to the gorgeous sight, we were both sweating lightly from the hike and the warm summer air. Down a little farther was a small rocky cliff with the waterfall.

“Wow,” I said. We jogged up to the marshy edge of the fattened stream. Clear water ran crisply over smooth rocks. Some parts looked as shallow as one foot, while other darkened pools closer to the waterfall looked deep. I kicked off my flip-flops and walked into the shallow water. It was warmer than I expected. I sighed and let my head fall back, looking up at the canopy of shading trees overhead and taking in a deep breath of air.

“This is awesome!” Cassidy said. “Let’s walk down to the waterfall and go swimming!”

“Um, hello, no bathing suits,” I pointed out.

“Um, hello,” she said, pulling her shirt over her head and wiggling out of the pajama pants, then standing there smiling in her white bra and pink polka-dotted panties. “It’s just us! Everyone’s working, come on!”

I peered around at the trees for a moment, and then, like usual, I did what Cassidy wanted. I stripped down and piled my clothes neatly next to hers, and then chased her as she ran up the bank. We were lighthearted and breathless by the time we got to the waterfall. Holding hands, we stepped into the shallow edge and walked further in until we were treading water at least seven or eight feet deep.

As always, Cassidy’s idea was exhilarating. We splashed each other, swimming and flipping under the water. We swam to the falls and let the water rush over our heads, joking about how this is where we should come for our morning showers. Then we floated on our backs until the sun was high in the mid-day sky.

“We should probably get back so Mom and Dad don’t worry,” I said after a long while.

Cassidy sighed and agreed. We climbed onto the stream bank and squeezed water from our hair. Cass’s bra was lightly padded, so she bent over and squeezed it by hugging herself. Water gushed out of her cleavage and she chortled like a goof.

A rustling in the trees made us go still. I stared around us for a whole minute with my arms over my chest before shaking my head.

“The wind,” I said, but now I was anxious to get dressed.

We walked back down the length of the stream toward our clothes, shaking our limbs and feeling much more positive about our stay here now that we’d found this spot.

We’d been walking for a while before we both stopped, exchanging confused looks. I scanned up and down the marshy, bright green grass.

“Where are our clothes?” I asked.

“I don’t think we were this far down the stream,” Cassidy answered. “Look, the path is back there.” We started walking back up. Our clothes were nowhere in sight. Foreboding filled me.

“Did we put them closer to the trees, up there maybe?” she asked.

I shook my head. “No, they were definitely here in the grass.”

“Do you think an animal took them?”

“What kind of wild animal would take all of our clothes?”

“A smart and talented one?”

“Haha,” I said.

“Well, it can’t be a person because we would have noticed anyone walking around out here,” Cass responded. “Or anything big, at least.”

We both stopped and stared at one another, wide-eyed.

Anything big. Oh, crap.

“The Clourichaun!” we both said at the same time, and Cassidy threw her head back with hilarity at the possible practical joke.

“It’s not funny,” I said, which made her laugh even harder. I looked down at my satiny black bra and matching panties, which thankfully covered my whole bottom. But they clung to my every contour, and I really did not want to be seen like this. Cassidy darted around peeking behind tree trunks.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are!” she sang.

“Let’s break up,” I suggested. “You look upstream by the falls. I’ll look around down here.” She agreed and bounded away as if we were playing hide-and-seek.

I crossed my arms over my chest and walked into the trees, standing very still and listening for movement. After a full minute I heard the faintest sound of a high-pitched chuckle. I swung my head to the right where the sound came from. I saw nothing.

“I know you’re there,” I said, feeling foolish. “You may as well come out.”

Another minute passed and then, like a blur, a foot-high man darted out of the trees toward the grass. I took off after him, sprinting. I don’t think he expected the speed of my long strides because he grunted in surprise when I dove on my stomach and snatched him around his middle. I held him tight, careful not to squash him into my chest. I lifted him close to my face as I lay on my stomach, propping up on my elbows. He wiggled furiously like a worm and I recognized the brown curls.