Poppy took another sip of the tea, now cool enough to drink, and downed the whole thing in a few gulps. She set the mug down, pulled the blankets up, and went to sleep.
When sleep finally found her, she had the strangest dream. She was walking through the forest filled with a dense fog. And even though she was surrounded by trees and green underbrush, it smelled of beer and peanuts. After walking down the path for a little bit, searching for something she couldn’t quite put her finger on, she came to an elevator in the woods.
After inspecting it, she pressed the up-arrow button. A bell sounded and the doors slid open. Poking her head in she checked it out, trying to decide if it was to be trusted. Taking a deep breath, she walked in. Instead of their being floor numbers, there was only one button marked clouds. Giving it a push, the door closed, and the elevator shifted beneath her feet. The elevator dinged and the doors slid open revealing that she was actually up in the clouds. Poppy tested the cloud with a foot to see if she could stand. They easily supported her weight, and she stepped out and they felt solid beneath her feet. She walked to the edge of the cloud and looked down.
It was the main street of Mystic Falls, the sleepy little town she had lived in her entire life. Mystic Falls was a small town that consisted of three stop lights, a handful of bars and restaurants, a library, a little theater, a few other shops, and a gas station.
There was a festival, because there was always a festival. She could see everyone who lived there gathered. Hannah and Graham were there, looking ridiculously happy, and Poppy was once again, not jealous at all. Then she saw Sam and Jackson enjoying themselves. Josh Turner was standing next to them, but he didn’t seem to be enjoying the festival, he was searching the skies for something. Further down she saw her gran standing next to her dad. She had to stop for a moment as her heart fluttered and she saw her mother standing right beside her dad. She looked up, right at Poppy and smiled.
"It's coming, Poppy. Trust in yourself and follow your heart. I love you, I have been watching over you. Your time is coming, darling. Just make sure you can find a quiet place in your heart to hear the truth."
The dream dissolved away to the sound of Poppy's alarm clock. She had to get up and get ready for work but would have given anything to go back into that dream. The voice of her mother was still ringing in her ears. When Poppy was a child, her mother had gotten cancer, and when Poppy was twelve, she passed away. It was a long time ago but losing her mother at such a young age shaped Poppy. If she was honest, it was probably a big part of why she could never move away. She clung to all the wonderful memories she had of her mother, and all those memories were here.
She wasn't sure what all of that meant, but she would be forever grateful for the witch. Even if the spell didn't help, she had the comforting sound of her mother's voice in her head all morning, and that was more of her mother than she had had in years.
CHAPTER 3
Josh
Josh Turner walked into play rehearsal at the Little Theater on the Square, the community theater of Mystic Falls. This wonderful little theater had been host to many shows and some of his happiest memories. It was a place he could relax and be who he was. And right now, he counted himself as lucky, because he was playing one of his all-time favorite roles opposite one of his favorite people.
He was thrilled to be playing Seymore opposite Poppy’s Audrey. Poppy Smith had been a constant in his life. The whole Smith family had been a constant in his life if he was being honest, but there was something special about Poppy. Anyone who ever met Poppy could tell there was something about her. She had this energy around her. She was so full of life. It was contagious and it was something Josh needed in his own life.
He entered their little theater and saw most of the cast hadn’t yet arrived, but the long dark hair cascading over the back of one of the seats belonged to his favorite cast member. Poppy was sitting in the front row looking down at her phone. Her dark hair flowed down her back and a signature flower tucked behind her ear. Poppy always had flowers tucked in her hair. Josh loved that about her. If he was being honest with himself there wasn't much about Poppy that he didn't love.
"Hey Poppy," Josh said as he sat behind her and gave her hair a gentle tug.
Poppy startled and turned in her seat. When she registered it was him, she smiled broadly up at him. That smile blossomed inside of him.
"Did you hear the news?" she asked. Her face was even more lit up than normal, and since she had a face that could light up a room on a normal day it almost hurt to look at the light coming off her today.
"No, what's up?"
"I'm not actually sure yet, but Steve said he was going to be about thirty minutes late to rehearsal and we should just run lines until he gets here. He’s picking someone up from the train station," she said smiling.
Steve was the director of their show and local high school English teacher. He moved to Mystic Falls a few years back. Before that he was a teacher in Albany.
"Who is he getting?" Josh asked.
"I don't know, it's a mystery. He said it was someone to help with the show." She beamed at him. “Who do you think it is?”
“I don’t know. Did he say anything else?” he asked
“That’s it. It’s intriguing though, right? I love a good mystery.”
"Alright Nancy Drew, why don't we run lines then,” he said, getting his script out. "Where is everyone else?" he asked. While it was a small cast, there should still have been more people there for their scheduled rehearsal, plus the music director who was not there either.
"I think it was just us here until later tonight."
"Right, well let's start running lines."
"You're no fun." She frowned at him and turned in her chair, getting out a bottle of water.
Even though he knew she was joking, her words stung a bit. He was plenty of fun. She just didn't know the real him, but sadly not too many people did. Poppy and Josh shared something in common, and it wasn't something anyone would ever hope to have in common. Both Poppy and Josh had lost their mothers the same year, Poppy's to cancer and Josh's to a car accident. And while Poppy had an amazing family to fall back on, that wasn’t something Josh had. Life had been a struggle, but he kept the smile on his face and did what needed to be done. Maybe that was why he was so drawn to Poppy. She was so full of life, so full of joy. Josh needed those things.
They both moved to sit on the floor with their backs resting on the stage and began running lines.
Poppy shifted and pulled her legs up crossed legged on the floor next to him. Her thigh nudged his, and then she just left it there resting against him. Josh felt a zing at the contact and a warm glow at the fact that she didn't move it away.
They were supposed to work on their big song today when they would kiss. Josh wished he wasn't so excited to kiss her. He had been reminding himself all day it was their characters kissing, not them. Of course, he would be respectful and not make it weird. Poppy had never shown any interest in him, but a guy could dream.
"It was a beautiful wedding don't you think?" Poppy asked, interrupting his thoughts.
"What?" He asked, snapping out of his head trying to figure out what she was talking about.