Magi Saga 1: Epic Calling by Andrew Dobell

Georgina, but Amanda’s life had been left in bits, shattered completely by a world that had seemed to turn against her.
    That had been a month ago.
    It wasn’t very long after Georgina had died that the funeral had taken place, some of Georgina’s doctors and carers had come along to pay their respects and Amanda felt grateful for their support. After that Amanda had been slowly sorting out the cottage itself and all of Georgina’s things, most of it got thrown away, but she kept a few things, things Amanda just couldn’t bring herself to throw out.
    During that time, she felt like she might be slowly going mad. She couldn’t help wondering how she had ended up in this situation. Everything she knew had been taken from her. She felt utterly alone, and almost didn’t know what to do with herself. She barely slept, waking up in the night in a cold sweat, or laying there awake, unable to sleep as her mind raced with horrors like that thing in the alleyway.
    She had almost permanent bags under her eyes, her hair looked a mess, in short, she looked shocking.
    Now though, everything had finished, the paper work had been signed and the cottage belonged to Amanda now. There wasn’t any need to get a job; there had been enough money to keep them both fed for months and Georgian in care. With Georgina dying so soon, the money would last for more than double that time now. At first Amanda didn’t know what to do with her free time, and she wasted hours doing nothing. The cottage looked a mess, she’d left rubbish everywhere, unwashed plates and glasses littered the surfaces, but she didn’t care.
    She nearly called Howie a few times, once, during one of her more desperate moments, she had even got through to his answering machine. She didn’t leave a message. She just sometimes felt so alone that she needed someone to talk to.
    A few weeks ago she travelled to the Orphanage, to see Alicia, but she just sat outside and cried. She didn’t want to go back there, it would be like admitting defeat, it would be the end of her dream, and in the end, she had just walked away, and wandered aimlessly for hours before returning to the cottage by bus.
    She started to go on runs and walks, it was an idea she had during one of her calmer moments. Get out the house, get some fresh air, it’ll make you feel better she thought. It did, but she struggled to make herself do it, even though she felt better afterwards. She even started to clean the house up a bit and take a little pride in her new home.
    The cottage had been built well away from civilisation and pretty much had a valley all to itself. The building was small and squat with only one floor. From the outside it had been made to look like a traditional Irish cottage with white washed stone walls, small wooden framed windows, a wooden door and a heavily thatched roof. The cottage had been fully insulated however, and had many modern amenities including an electricity supply and a phone line. Larger than most cottages like this, the building itself had an L shaped footprint, and had been surrounded by a simple wooden fence with a gate. This fenced in a small vegetable patch and a decent sized garden along with a small paved area located in the crux of the L shape where the main door to the cottage had been placed.
    Outside the fence a rough track led away into the distance, off to the next house on the trail until it hit the nearest village a good twenty minutes’ walk away. Heading in the other direction the trail skirted the edge of a wild wooded area that extended up the valley.
    Amanda had taken to exploring these woods for the past week or so, wandering her way through them rather aimlessly and seeing where she ended up. She didn’t much care where she went, but she found these walks therapeutic and they gave her lots of time to think things through. She imagined herself wandering through the passages of her mind, trying to figure things out.
    A few days ago she had found a