Harvesting Acorns Read Free

going to be
good friends. I felt it when I first saw you.”
    Chloe smiled back.
     “I
really do hope so.”
    Phoebe and Jean Pierre left and
closed the door behind them. Alone, Chloe stood and looked around the room in
amazement.
    Steam
began to rise from the Jacuzzi. Chloe unpacked her nightclothes and toiletries
onto the cabinet. She looked at her tired and ragged visage in the bathroom
mirror, got undressed and immersed herself under the hot water. Bliss seeped
through every cell in her body, rejuvenating her from her core outwards. She
dozed off every now and then, jolting awake and then allowing the warmth to let
her drift off again. The water cooled and Chloe climbed out and into her gown.
There was no feeling on earth like a hot bath and a warm gown in the aftermath
of physical and emotional exertion. She took a book off the shelf in the corner
of the room, made herself a cup of tea using the meticulously set out
self-service nook, and then wiggled her way between all the cushions and
pillows on the bed. She sipped her tea as she read the first few pages of an
adventure novel and felt the familiar drooping of her eyelids when she tried to
read while tired. This was her sure win way of falling asleep when she was
having trouble – much to her frustration the mornings after when she realised
she had not even gotten through one chapter of reading. This time she didn’t
care. She just wanted rest, her body was screaming for it.
    Chloe
drifted off to sleep with the images and landscape she had seen along her drive
filling her last few wakeful thoughts. She felt at peace. It was new to her.
She liked it.

 
    C hapter Two
    She
slept until 9 o'clock. When she woke, she found herself feeling like she had
been sleeping for days. She did not realise how long it had been since she had
had a good night's rest. She had been so stressed the last few months that her
sleep was plagued by nightmares. A recurring dream of trying to run somewhere
but the harder she tried the more firmly her feet were rooted to the ground and
the heavier her legs felt. Kind of like walking in knee-deep water, only
multiplied a hundred times. She knew dreams were supposed to mean something -
perhaps this represented her pursuit of her dreams and the feeling that no
matter how hard she tried to reach them she just had not been getting anywhere,
not moving at all. 
    She
stretched and enjoyed how her body seemed to loosen up and sink deeper into the cosy bed. The sun streamed through a slight opening between the curtains and Chloe
liked the way it felt like a small ray of hope. She had a good feeling about
this new phase of her life. It was a new morning, a new start.
    She
got up and dressed; then took her laptop with her down to the café for
breakfast. She thought that she would just check her e-mails and tie up a few
loose ends that she had forgotten in her rush to get away from her old life.
Phoebe was serving some customers and chatting familiarly with them. It seemed
that they must be some of the locals; the regulars Phoebe had mentioned. Chloe
greeted them all and took a seat in a booth at the window.
    She
opened up her laptop and booted up while she looked at the breakfast menu. She
felt like a big breakfast, she thought she would abandon her strict healthy
eating habits in favour of pancakes and eggs and toast. Her body just needed
something extra today. She looked out the window and noticed her surroundings
and all the things she had not seen the afternoon before.
    Across
the street was a huge park. It was very green and neatly landscaped. There
seemed to be a large duck pond with some benches along the bank. There were
pathways with quite a few people jogging and others picnicking on the grass
patches in between. What grabbed Chloe’s attention was the giant oak tree in
the middle of the park. It held her focus – there was just something about this
tree. She was so mesmerised and faraway with her thoughts that she did not hear
Phoebe