Maia

I sighed in relief when the last class for the day was over.

I didn't wait for another minute to say goodbye to others, I quickly gathered my notebooks and stuffed them into my backpack before I was out of my chair and slung the bag over my shoulder and walked out of the door.

It was not because I was in hurry and had already made my plans for the evening. In truth, I had nowhere else to go besides my workplace. I just didn't want to give people another reason to annoy me when they already tried once at lunch and I had to hide from them in the library. They always seemed pretty interested when something was related to Clyde and me and today's incident in the hallway might have sparked their interests.

When Clyde and I started dating, the girls in my class became jealous and overnight their attitudes towards me changed from warm to bitter. They used to call me different names and when the news about our breakup reached into their ears, they seemed genuinely happy, smiling from ear to ear, finding pleasure in my distress. But soon their happy faces turned sour when Clyde didn't show any eagerness to their approaches and turned them down rather harshly.

This day couldn't get any worse than it actually was.

Normally before going to the cafe, I went to my dorm to freshen up and then brought along my assignments with me. When there was less crowd in the cafe, Liana urged me to go finish my school work and took my place at the counter. But today, I had enough, first the awkward interaction with Clyde in the morning, and then listening to the librarian reminding me about the rules of the library. All I wanted to get out of these complications and be with myself.

Reaching the cafe, I already started to feel at ease and when Liana greeted me with one of her bright smiles, I was ready to say goodbye to the earlier incidents.

"I saved some hot milk cakes for you."

I returned her smile, "Thank you. You didn't have to do that."

I put my backpack under the counter on one of the empty shelves and tied the knot of my apron.

Liana had already put the cupcakes on the display rack and some were still was in the process of filling with frosting and sprinkles.

"I thought you must be hungry." Liana shrugged. "Ma is already making another batch."

"I'm glad. And I could never stop craving Kasa's hot milk cake." I smiled and quickly put the small square-shaped piece of a cake in my mouth and swallowed in two bites.

After finishing, I told Liana to go into the kitchen to see if Kasa would need her help and I took her place at the counter.

When the first time I asked Liana to let me put the frosting on the cupcakes, I still remembered the expression on her face, she couldn't refuse me straight away but I could tell she wasn't fully into it. She kept on instructing but I messed it up and at last, after we closed the shop, we both ate it. Too much frosting. Our fingers, mouths were covered and even some of it was on my shirt and hair.

Working here I always lost track of time and sure enough, when my eyes fell on the clock, it was already close to eight, a few minutes after the end of my shift.

I helped Liana to clean up, then waved her goodnight and stepped outside.

Liana and I never indulged much in our personal affairs, more a friendly chatter on the common ground. But we had nothing in common still, somehow we engaged in a conversation and we enjoyed to time together.

The air felt alive not the usual stillness that my breath alone could stir nature all around from their naps. Today it had a confident vibe in it as if nature held secrets in its heart and shared with no one.

I walked down the single path leading to the main street but it was hard to see the end of the road from my position with all the curves and bends along the way.

When I took a turn and came to the mouth of another bend, my steps abruptly halt and I was in a second away to run, screamed my lungs out and cried for help.

I did nothing. Stayed still. It was like my brain told me to move, to do whatever I needed to do to get out of here but my muscles stopped functioning. It was like, even if my mind agreed to it, I couldn't do a single thing. Frozen to my spot and trembling in fear.

Today when I started my day, I had never imagined such a scenario would greet me and stood there tall and proud before me. It wouldn't take the beast more than a minute to eat up the ground stretched between us and caught me with its sheer strength and confident grace.

A wolf, standing there with its statue-like stance as if it was waiting for me to make my next move and then it would act. It was like the wolf could almost sense my indecisiveness and waiting there for me patiently.

All the while I was telling myself, it was a dog. The animal had doglike features but it looked somehow bigger, more muscular. It had a sharpness in its eyes and behind those glowing irises, it held intelligence and judgement for other kinds.

I quickly looked back thinking someone could be walking behind me, but all I met with shadows lurking in the gaps of the street lights and no noises of any approaching footsteps.

Fear slithered down my spine, making me drawing air in gasps. The wolf kept watching me and when it had enough, it showed his true intent and took a step forward. And at that moment, I jolted out of my trance and realised if I did nothing I was just making its job easy. Dangling before the wolf like a prey.

This time I didn't look back and just ran, knowing full well my chances of survival were minimum and I was not getting out of this situation unscratched. Still, I would give it a chase.

I heard the sound of its paws hitting the ground warning me that it was not far behind me. When the wolf was close enough to lunge at me, it took a leap and flew over my head, landed and turned towards me.

I screeched to a halt, my eyes widened in fear and I almost stumbled to its feet, plunged at my own death. But at last instant, I held my ground and fell onto my buttocks.

The wolf shook his head, resembling the habits of a human, showing its disappointment and assuring me it was a dead end. I couldn't run from it. It was better to surrender.

It was a predator but there was an effortless grace about it. The way it moved, held its posture. And up close, it possessed such a beauty of nature. Its fur appeared soft and light grey but as my eyes trailed down to its underbelly and its legs, the hue turned to ashen and tilted towards dirty grey.

My hands started rummaging beside me to get my hands on anything, to hold onto a weapon or whatever so I could at least protect myself when it attacked.

When my fingers wrapped around a small slender twig, I clasped it in my hands and pointed the end toward it, warning the beast not to come any closer. With respect to its large form, the stick looked like a puny defence. It could easily chew and toss the stick away.

The look the wolf gave me seeing at my feeble attempt to save myself, almost made it a human. An amused grin if one could say that with traces of shock as if I insulted it the minute I picked that thing and dared to swing before its eyes.

The wolf protruded its long snout and met my challenge head-on. I scampered, pushing on my heels to get away from it and let out a whimper. But I didn't have to wait any longer for my fate.

A menacing growl halted the air around us and chilled me to the bone, it took me a fraction of a second to understand it came from my behind. And the wolf seemed equally shock as much as I was.

What now?

Another wolf.

For what?

To have a piece of my meat. Did the winner get a large piece or the whole prize? Me.

I crouched down, curling into a small ball. Touching my forehead on the ground and squeezed my eyes shut to let it happen. It was inevitable. Impossible to escape my fate.

I didn't know how much time had passed when hands fell over my shoulder and pushed me into a sitting position. Then I noticed, I was trembling, still in shock to a near-death experience.

Tears streaming down my face and my voice clogged in my throat unable to mutter thanks to the person who came to my help. And the wolf, it was nowhere to be seen, it must have escaped.

I gathered myself before I staggered to my feet and turned to glance at my saviour.

The first thing I notice the man was tall though I was not considered a short, petite woman with 5 feet 7 inches in height still he was a good few inches over me.

His looks were rugged. Untamed. Peppered with a three days worth of stubble. There was a slight hollowness in his cheeks that brought out the sharp, strong features of his face.

His strands were naturally curly, sticking out of his sides and slightly falling over his eyes. The tips of his unruly hair almost touching his shoulders, edging towards an unkempt appearance, not fully there but more like casual.

His eyes held a distinguished shade of neither brown nor golden, somewhere in between. Not too dull. Not too blinding. It held comforts, warmth, a balmy summer.

As I was browsing over his features and pinpointing all the details, the softness in his eyes faded and rage took over.

He looked murderous, a wild gleam in his eyes intensified. Before I could come to a conclusion of his sudden change and asked him if anything was wrong, he thrust out his hand, wrapped his fingers at my throat and pushed me away. As if the mere thought of being in my closeness, disgusted him.

I tried to push him away, shoving at his chest and when he made his intention clear that he was not letting me go, I panicked.

I struggled, squirming to release myself, to draw a mouthful of air into my lungs. All my rational thoughts flew away as pure survival instinct overcame me.

I threw my arms out and dragged my nails over every inch of his skin I could get my hands into. Over his hands, forearms, cheeks, drawing out his blood, to have a taste of my freedom but all he did in response, tightened his fist around my throat to crush my windpipe.

Not long before my eyesight dimmed to a blur and then I plunged into blackness. A sound, a name he said something, maybe he whispered or yelled, I couldn't make out the tone of his voice, all I held onto a word before my mind finally shut up.

"Inca"