Take Me Away

Fiona trudged slowly up the path. It was a little difficult, but her exhaustion dissipated as soon as she saw the picturesque scene. 'No wonder they built a road here. It overlooks such a lovely view!' she thought to herself.

She positioned herself on elevated ground and looked on at the majestic Maple Mountain panorama. Maple leaves framed the distant landscape of mountains and rivers, forming what looked like an extremely beautiful painting that delivered tranquility at first sight.

"Hello? Fiona, can you hear me?"

She finally came to her senses as Ryan's voice shouted through the phone. "Yes Ryan, I heard you! What is it?"

"Nothing happened between me and Leona!" he said.

Her heart skipped a beat. "What did you say? That nothing happened between you and Leona?"

Leona stopped, suddenly rooted to the ground. After taking in what she had just heard, she started to tremble.

"I checked the bar's surveillance video. Nothing happened that night!" Ryan said angrily. "She drugged me!"

Fiona's jaw dropped as she let out a shriek. She didn't even think that could happen in real life. She didn't know what else to reply except more questions. "Are you sure? Do you know why she would do something like that? Seeing the two of you, I thought...

I'm so sorry you had to go through that." He breathed loudly enough that she could hear him through the phone. "Anyhow, I would just like you to know nothing happened between us. When you come back, I'll tell you everything about it."

"Okay, sure." She was still in a daze.

"Can we start over?" His breathing had slowed down, and his voice sounded relieved and expectant.

"Ryan..." Fiona trailed off, completely caught off guard by his words.

"I said it before and I'll say it again. I have nothing to fight for in my life but you," he insisted firmly. "I've been trying to do the right thing these days. I held myself back from seeing you, though I miss you terribly..."

A gust of autumn wind blew over Fiona and her hair flowed along. As she looked at the magnificence in front of her, her heart seemed to stir once again.

"I should have checked the surveillance video earlier, but I felt too helpless at the time. Now that I look back, I feel so stupid." Ryan ruffled his hair in frustration. "I'd rather believe that this is God's way of saying to me that I shouldn't give up on you. And I won't."

Fiona pulled away the phone from her ear as a weird buzzing noise suddenly interrupted their call.

She looked at the screen, then held it back up.

"Hello, Ryan? Are you there?"

But he didn't answer, and the signal was left unrestored.

"What just happened?" She sighed and turned around. She froze in her tracks as she saw Leona standing quietly under the shade of a tree, only a few steps away from her. Fiona held a hand over her chest in surprise, and she felt her heart beat fast. "Leona! Why are you here?"

Leona stepped away from under the shade, glaring coldly. "What did Ryan say to you over the phone just now?"

Fiona's pulse quickened. She felt a sudden surge of worry but pretended as if nothing was wrong. "Nothing, just random stuff. I'll go back first. Others will worry if they can't find us."

She tried to head past Leona straight to the main road.

"I heard everything." Leona blocked her path. She looked vicious, and Fiona felt immensely terrified. "He checked the surveillance video, didn't he? Did he tell you that I drugged him?"

Fiona, finally giving up the charade, narrowed her eyes. "Why did you do it? He didn't do anything to you. Do you just want to hold him responsible for you?"

Leona laughed bitterly. "Why do you think? Why does he love you that much? Am I not good enough? You already have Mr. Cheng! Let Ryan go, damn it! Do you know how painful it is, every time I see you with Ryan? I really want to kill you!"

Fiona took a deep breath and assessed her situation.

She stepped back. "Look, let's calm down. Don't talk about killing like that."

"How can I calm down?!" Leona shrieked. "I lost my father when I was a kid. Everyone kept sneering at me and telling me how much they despised me. Ryan is the only one who's ever been good to me! But you!" She pointed at Fiona with utmost bitterness. "You've ruined everything. Without you, he would have always been good to me."

"Aren't you taking it too far?" Fiona replied in a shaky voice before her phone suddenly rang.

Before she knew it, Leona's bloodshot eyes squared solely at her. She darted towards Fiona and snatched her phone straight out of her grip. Then, with a swift motion, she pushed Fiona hard.

Out of balance, Fiona stumbled and landed awkwardly on a stone, bruising her ankle before finally falling over.

Not far behind her was a precipice, with a rocky and steep hillside covered with weeds.

Leona looked at the screen and saw Ryan's name and phone number. Her eyes glared back at Fiona even more fiercely. As Fiona struggled to get up, Leona threw her phone down the hill with all her might. Then, she turned around, and with her remaining energy she sprinted to Fiona and shouted, "Go to hell!"

"No!" Fiona had her eyes on her phone, which quickly disappeared in thick bushes. When she finally turned her head, it was too late. Leona had charged at her and was a moment from pushing her off the edge.

The last thing on Fiona's mind before it went blank was surprise upon seeing a small Leona mustering up enough strength to push her back several feet.

"Stay there! Leona, calm down!" Fiona held on to the little calm she had left. "Please, calm down!"

"You will never understand my pain!" Leona shouted back before a faint smile broke across her face. As if certain about something, she calmly strolled towards the nearest heavy stone on sight and picked it up. "I think I'll feel better if you die."

Before she even finished talking, she hurled the rock to Fiona.

Fiona wanted to run away as soon as she saw. But with a sharp pain on her ankle, she turned over slower than usual. The rock grazed on her clothes and slammed against the ground, hard. Before she could even breathe a sigh of relief, Leona rushed over to her and pushed her back even further. Without any time to react, she rolled and rolled down the hill until falling to the ground with a thud.

Fiona's screams became fainter every second, replaced instead by Leona's uncontrollable laughter.

An off-road vehicle stopped in front of a restaurant.

From inside came out Spencer, who just finished putting on his boots. He turned to Johnson. "You go back first."

"Yes, sir."

The wind blew away the ginkgo leaves on the roadside as the car speeded off. He approached the counter for the reservation, then turned to walk into the restaurant. "Spencer!"

Celine was sitting in a corner table, waving the moment she saw him. "I'm over here!"

"Okay," Spencer acknowledged as he walked to her, his stature taking up a third of the space inside.

"Come, sit quickly. You must be tired from the trip." She poured some water for him. "I've ordered the dishes. No carrot, no beans, no coriander, right? I remember your tastes quite clearly." He gulped from the glass, then nodded.

Celine smiled. "Ma'am, please serve the dishes!"

"Got it!"

"Do you remember this place?" She propped her chin against the back of her palms, then moved closer to him.

Spencer nodded quietly. He didn't know why he agreed to come here. Was it because of the memories?

"Have you been here since I left?"

"No."

"Why not?"

Spencer raised his head. "My heart wouldn't have been able to take it."

For hours, Sophia had been in the room of a guesthouse overlooking the Maple Mountain's scenic spot. Fiona still hadn't contacted her.

"The teacher called us to assemble," Ella came in and said. "Let's go!"

"Fiona still hasn't come back yet." Sophia frowned as she got out of bed. "She's taking too long, isn't she?"

"Well, let's go look outside!" Ella dragged her friend out of the room. "Maybe she just arrived."

The students outside were prepping to set off with their sketchpads.

Sophia looked around in the crowd, tapping her classmates' back one after the other. "Have you seen Fiona?"

"No, I haven't."

"Did you come here with Fiona?"

"No, I didn't."

At the corner, Leona was clenching her fists tightly. Not even bothering to wipe the sweat off her forehead, she pursed her lips and stayed quiet. "Okay guys. Let's go!"

"Wait!" Sophia said worriedly. "We can't go right now. Fiona hasn't come up yet!"

"What happened? Have you tried calling her?"

Ella took out her phone. "I tried several times, but she hasn't answered once."

Sophia's heart sank, though she managed to shout, "Hasn't anyone seen her?"

The whole team quietly shook their heads.

"Damn it! I'm going to find her myself!" Sophia turned and started to run down the mountain.

"Sophia!

Please, wait!"

the teacher hurriedly called for her. "Hurry, can some of the boys please accompany Sophia? The rest of the students, please look for her here."

An hour had passed and Sophia stood at the foot of the mountain, still without her friend. Sweat trickled down her forehead as she yelled out anxiously, "Fiona! Can you hear me?" The voices of everybody calling out her name echoed along the mountain,

but there was never any response.

"You haven't found her yet?"

The teacher hurried down the mountain with a worried expression. "I think we should call the police now. The signal is bad up in this mountain. Where could she have gone?"

"It's all my fault. I shouldn't have left so early. I knew she was tired and I should have went with her," Sophia mumbled, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I'll contact the police," Ella said.

Seemingly taken aback by what her friend just said, Sophia's eyes widened. She took out her phone as she mumbled, "Yes, Mr. Cheng's her husband. Shit! I don't have his phone number!" She hurriedly skimmed through her contacts again, about to call Ryan, when she came across Celine's number and immediately stopped scrolling. Mumbling to herself, she said,

"Yes, she's his sister, right? Call her now!"

With trembling fingers, Sophia pressed the dial button.