Think Back 2...

I had a strange dream or it was my imagination as I repeated the stories I read. I kept my eyes closed and tried to remember what I saw. I got lost in a dark cave, I was lonely and scared. I heard the beast growl. It was not like any other wild animal. It was something from another world. I ran away, but the beast was getting closer and closer, and then everything went quiet. I turned and sighed when I saw the light filling the cave. But it was not light, it was a wave of fire, green and purple flames that will burn me alive.

I prepared myself because I knew I couldn't escape him. But I felt a different pair of arms around my waist and led me out of the cave. He was muscular and warm, but I couldn't see his face. I thought he took me on his horse, but he disappeared and instead of a horse I rode a giant black wolf. It ran so fast that I had to get down and hold my arms around his neck. I hugged the soft furry wolf, but I wasn't scared. I felt safe.

What was weirder was that I woke up in bed, I don't remember how I got here. Great, I'm walking in my sleep now! The pillow and blanket on the other side of the bed were still filled with that delicious scent. I couldn't get enough, but I had to get up. As I lowered my legs and sat on the bed, I found a message on my nightstand:

"I filled the closet with a few things, take what you want.

XOX

Hana "

I jumped up to the closet and looked, it was loaded! This is not a small thing, it is a LOT of THINGS! Dresses, shirts, jackets, pants, skirts, shoes ... I was screaming inside, there is everything I could think of and more. I chose clothes, tight dark jeans and a plaid shirt before going to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, took a shower. I dried my hair and combed it into a ponytail.

Out of habit, I felt the need to clean up the mess in the bathroom, change the bedding. I left blankets and pillows because I liked the way it smelled. I wore black leather boots and a matching jacket. I took the laundry and went to look for the washing machine to load it. I wondered how many rooms they had, this place was so huge that it looked like a hotel.

I noticed something that looked like a service door, I pushed it open and found two ladies, maybe thirty years old. They were surprised when they saw me and jumped to take my laundry.

"Oh miss, you didn't have to bring laundry here, just leave it in the basket and we'll take it later," the short woman said.

"It's really good, I'm used to washing clothes myself"

But you are a guest, Ronaldo will be angry if we let you ...

"WHO?" I interrupted.

The other woman hit her on the elbows and raised her eyebrows. I wanted to talk more, but she kindly kicked me out of the laundry room and said they had work to do. As I was leaving, I heard them arguing, but I couldn't figure out what it was about.

I went to the kitchen expecting to see as many people gathered as was the case yesterday, but I could only see Arosh sitting next to the kitchen island and having breakfast. After saying Good morning, I poured a cup of coffee and sat down next to her.

"Thanks for the closet, everything looks amazing," I told Hani as I held her hand.

"Take it as a welcome gift" I didn't understand what she meant, but I didn't want to sound rude.

"You are so generous and I feel happy to have met you.

"I'm lucky, I hope we can become friends," she said with a bright smile on her face.

I didn't want to disappoint her and tell her I would leave as soon as I could, but I didn't want to lie either. So I hugged her. While backing up, I wanted to change the subject right away.

"Where is everyone?" I asked.

"Work, training, learning. Usually." Arosh replied with a shrug.

She must have seen my eyes wandering around looking for her as she continued.

"Usually it's just me, Karis drinking coffee while phoning in his study.

I felt my face turn red because I made my feelings obvious. I took a piece from the pile of pancakes in front of me to distract.

"What do you want to do for fun today?" Arosh asked.

"I want to go to the clinic"

"Are you sick?" She sounded worried.

"I'm all right." For now. "I need to talk to Dr. Stone."

"Where's the fun in that? She's a total mood killer with all her seriousness," she said amusedly.

…

I wasn’t in the mood for jokes so I ate in silence. But that did not discourage her.

"While you go to the clinic, I will attend an online course. When you get back, we'll hang out. What do you think?"

I nodded in approval and she waved goodbye. After I finished breakfast, I went to the clinic and knocked on the office door, without answering. I pushed open the door, "Hello?" The doctor was not here.

I wondered where she had gone when I heard faint voices. I followed the noise upstairs where the patient rooms were located. I was surprised to see that all the beds were full of patients. These were the men I saw in training yesterday. I searched every room, all I could see were bruises, broken limbs in plaster until I found a doctor.

"Good morning, doctor," I said to get her attention, but she didn't answer. Indecent.

"I was wondering if you got in touch with my doctor and when can I get medicine?" I asked.

"He's out of town, on vacation or something," she said without taking her eyes off the patient's file.

"Did you tell them it was urgent?" Do you know when he will return? ”

She turned to me and said "As you can see I'm busy, I have more patients than I can handle."

"What happened to them, they were fine yesterday," I was curious.

She turned to me. "Karish is what happened to them, something made him angry and he attacked them. I would advise you to stay away from him as much as you can. And now if you can excuse me, I have to get the job done."

She scolded me before she went to check on another patient. I was hoping to get medicine soon, but I'll have to wait, I guess.

I returned home, thinking about what to do with my life now. Where should I go after leaving this place? It is a really beautiful and peaceful way of life in the middle of nature. It was refreshing to be away from city noise, pollution and garbage everywhere.

Usually, when I don't take pills for even one day, the symptoms hit me hard. I feel nervous, anxious and can't focus on anything. Somehow I've been here for two days and I feel better than ever, except for the voices in my head. Maybe nature has healing powers. I was deep in thought that I had not noticed that I had gone to the lake.

I sat on a falling tree trunk and watched the beautiful landscape in front of me. The lake was round in shape. the east side of the coast was covered with white sand and looked like a crescent moon. The west side was a wall of large stone blocks with a small waterfall. The wind would sometimes blow, the water would splash in thin drops and a small rainbow would form, which would stop there for a minute before disappearing. Why good things never last long, why happiness never lasts. As the only time I felt happy in my life.

~ Memories~

It was the first year of high school, I got a new foster family. In the beginning, I was distanced, most caregivers take children just to get paid and they never cared about the children. Bill and Georgia were different, they were an old married couple. They had three children, but they all moved out and after settling out of the state they rarely came to visit. They wanted to take care of the child and give them a love that they could not give to their grandchildren who were too far away.

They were the nicest people I have ever met, they treated me well and showered me with the love and affection I have always longed for. They were the family they had always dreamed of. They didn't have much, but they shared with me what little they had. For them, I did my best to behave at school and not get into fights. They even allowed me to put on contact lenses so that other children would not make fun of my other eye color. When Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year came, they prepared a small and pleasant celebration. It wasn’t classy, ​​but it was from the heart and that was always important to me.

For a while I felt safe, happy, no longer lonely. To my great regret, the happy days did not last. Before the end of the school year, Bill had a stroke, he survived, but half of his body was paralyzed. They paid the last savings for hospital fees. They were forced to take another mortgage on their house and could not afford another mouth for food, and Georgia had to take care of her husband day and night.

When the social services came to pick me up, my heart broke when I saw a single tear from Bill's eyes. He tried to say something, but due to the stroke he remained lying in bed and could not speak properly.

"I'm sure he wants to say the same thing I do," Georgia said in a strangled voice. "We would like you to really be our daughter, and we would like you to stay so that Bill is not ill. She suffocated in tears, inhaled, and continued.

"We love you and you will always be in our hearts and prayers"

"I love you too," I said, hugging Georgia.

A minute later, a social worker snatched me from my arms, saying it was time to go. I was crying. I kicked. I shouted. I prayed, but to no avail. They were as sad as I was, but we had no choice. There was no way I could fit into their lives. We said goodbye to each other, to the only family I ever had, to the short time I felt loved in my life.

"What are you doing here?"

A deep voice pulled me out of my memory and brought me back to the present. I looked up to see who it was, only to meet warm honey-colored eyes on a cold and scary face.

Karish.

How does he keep finding me?