She sat huddled under the over hanging lid of a dumpster. She had slept inside that night, but could no longer stand the smell so she hopped back out only to find it starting to rain. She hated the rain. Pulling the lid over her head offered little for protection as the rain came down harder and the wind started to blow the drops to her face. Standing and picking up her backpack she walked to the back of the cafe.
She still had some money left that her mother gave after her last visit to her parents home. Mother had begged her to stay and live with them. She could find a job and settle down, but settling down was the last thing on Derowynn's mind. She wanted to see as much of the world she could and hitch hiking from place to place had given her chance to do just that. It was not a glamorous life. She often slept outside, as this past night, in order to save money for food and such, but she was having an experience of a life time and would not change her life for anything.
Walking into the cafe, she sat in a corner booth. She wished to stay as far from the other customers as possible. Some because of her garbage can scent and some because she didn't wish to have someone talk to her. She was not the chatty type and hated to have to pretend that she was interested in anything that anyone else had to say to her. Once the waitress took her order of eggs, bacon, toast, and a cup of coffee, she left for the bathroom to freshen up some.
Looking into the the mirror of the bathroom, she sighed as she tugged at her hair. She looked like a wet rat and had the scent to accompany the look. Turning on the water, she held a hand under it until it was properly warm. Derowynn slashed some water on her face and let out a sigh, somewhat of relief, somewhat of still being a bit tired. That was when she heard the gurgling sound of water. She looked at the sink, but the water seemed to be flowing down the drain just fine.
Soon, her feet felt more wet, if that was possible. Looking down she saw she was standing in a small pool of flowing water. Turning on her heel, she looked and saw the source. The water was flowing from a stall. Undoubtedly, a toilet must have been plugged and was overflowing. Wading through the slowly rising water, she pushed at the stall door. It was unlocked and opened easily. To Derowynn's surprise it was not a toilet overflowing that she saw, but a bubbling brook...in the stall, and pine trees behind it where the wall should be.
Looking back out to the sink and mirror, she discovered them missing. She seemed to be standing knee deep in the middle of a forest brook. Quickly she made her way to the bank and stepped out of the water. Looking around she saw no sign of the bathroom or the cafe for that matter. Looking up she saw blue sky peeking through the tops of the majestic pines. Slowly she wove her way through the trees. The further she walked, the thinner the trees became. Now she could see out quite a distance before her.
After what seemed to be about a fifteen minute walk, she heard a louder sound. This sound was also water, but like waves crashing on a beach. It reminded her of the time she spent a few months wandering on the coastline. The thought brought a smile to her face. Moving faster she soon found herself at the edge of the forest and looking out at the beach and ocean. Derowynn stood there for a while taking in the scene. The warmth of the sun felt good on her face and even seemed to be drying her off.
Stepping out onto the beach, she took off her shoes and carried them as she let her feet sink into the soft sand. Her attention was on the water as she watched the waves crash on the beach and then get pulled back into the ocean they had come from. All was peaceful, just the sounds of the gulls letting out an occasional squawk and then "Hey! Hey you!" Looking around to where the sound of the words were coming, she saw a man running down a set of stone steps towards her. Derowynn was not sure what to do, so she just froze in place.