Chapter2

#Chapter2

Ava-

Carefully making my way through the forest, making sure that I wasn’t being watched or followed, I made it to the lake, it was where I came for peace and comfort, it was where mama use to take me and teach me how to swim and now it was my safe spot where it reminded me of her, of the woman that gave me life and allowed me to bloom into who I was today.

Though I didn’t feel as safe today being at the lake since I was being watched yesterday, I spent the entire night at home wondering if this was what I would have to worry about for as long as those men were here in the forest. I even wondered… what if I did let them see me? What if I said hi? Would they become a friend of mine? Would they be the good kind of people? Not the kind that mama use to warn me about? I didn’t want to find out. I didn’t want to do what mama always told me not to do and so, I would stay hidden for as long as it was possible even though someone had already saw me.

Walking into the lake, going from the shallow to the deep end, the water felt nice against my skin as I sunk into it, still not so far in to have to swim but far enough that the water was up to my chest, surrounding me with its beauty and purity, I found solace within the sound of the water floating around me, I found peace in the way it drew me in. To me, this entire forest was alive, the trees, the lake, the ground, all of it, all of it was alive, the nature spoke to me in words that no human could ever, the way the breeze of the cool wind sang to me, the way it twirled around my soul and danced through my existence, it’s what kept me alive. The nature breathing around me. It kept me filled with life, even if I was the loneliest, I still felt the presence of the forest surrounding me.

So lost in the back of my thoughts, I almost missed the fact that I could feel the presence of someone watching me again, that same nagging gut feeling that I had yesterday, the same kind that sent chills up my spine and as I turned my body around in the water, I could see, right by a tree was stood a man, a very tall and muscular man, dark facial hair, dark features, dark hair, he was handsome, beautiful even. He was the most beautiful man I had ever saw, though I had not saw a lot of men in my life, this one truly did stand out and as I stood there in the lake staring at him, he stared back at me, never blinking, never moving an inch, he just stood there, watching me as I watched him.

My entire body was covered in goosebumps and so I looked down as I pulled my arms out of the water to run away the goosebumps but when I looked back up, the man was no longer there. He had vanished into thin air. No sign of him anywhere and suddenly, I didn’t feel so great, I felt as though maybe I had imagined him, maybe I was seeing things. I wasn’t so sure. I did however… want to see him again.

Stepping out into the silence of the forest, I let the water drip down my hair and body, including my white dress that was now soaked as always. Not feeling so comfortable being here knowing that there was a mysterious man watching me and then disappearing, a man that could be a figment of my imagination, or could possibly not be, I headed back up the hill and through the trees, feeling awfully uneasy and again, I could feel that I was being watched but when I looked around, no one was there and so, I decided to keep on walking but just as I turned to go the way I was going, I came face to face with the man who was haunting me.

Stood there in absolute silence, he watched me for a moment as I returned the gaze, trying to catch my breath while I stared into his dark eyes, he was even more beautiful close up, I wanted to reach out and touch his face but I also didn’t want to have physical contact with him. I didn’t know this man, I didn’t know what kind of man he was and so, all I could do was just stand there and look at him I silence as he took in every inch of my soul.

There was no expression on his face, there were no indications of his emotions, he looked completely blank as he stared at me, his eyes going from my eyes to my lips and back up to my eyes. I couldn’t help but shiver at the way he was looking at me.

It felt like forever before I decided to leave the situation and so, I tried to walk past him but instead, he stepped in front of me, not allowing me to leave without so many words or actions and so I tried to walk past him again and once more, he stepped in front of me, never taking his eyes off of me, he reached out his hand and ran his fingers through my hair sending chills up my spine once more as I stood there completely still, unsure of what to do.

Stepping backwards and away from him, he held onto the strands of hair he was running his fingers through, holding me in place by my hair, I reached out and tried to get his death grip off my hair but he wouldn’t budge so I furrowed my brows, shaking my head at him, I mentally told him to stop, I had never spoken to anyone except mama so I was afraid of speaking to others, it didn’t come to me right, it’s like I couldn’t find the words and so, I hoped that he would hear and understand my unspoken words, that he’d understand my silence but instead, he pulled me even closer to him by my hair and so, mama’s words repeated in my head as she had said many times;

‘Don’t trust anyone. Humans can be cruel beings.’

And as her angelic voice echoed through my ears, I mustered up all of my will power and shoved the man, trying to push him away from me though he didn’t really move much, instead, he pulled me even closer and so, we ended up in a little struggle until I scratched my nails into his face and that’s when I knew, I had just made a mistake as I looked at the anger burning within his eyes…..