Eaten alive

I stood there frozen in the same spot as my limbs seemed to have stopped working. I could not get them to move even an inch.

I couldn't even turn around to see what's going to eat me until I heard an all too familiar voice saying

"Come back to the cave."

A wave of relief washed over me. Thank God it wasn't a wolf or a lion, I thought in my head.

After saying that, he turned back and headed towards the cave.

Walking back seemed longer than when I was leaving, am not complaining, though at least now I know will not get eaten alive or I could by the caveman

Yeah right, keerah, the voice in my head said.

And that made me rolled my eyes at my own ridiculous thoughts.

He's going to eat you and he let you leave in the first place, my head offers back.

He was walking ahead , while I walked at a safe distance behind him.

I wanted to say something, or at least ask few questions, but I didn't want to blow up my last chance at a shelter.

So, I decided against it and remained quiet...

We arrived at the cave in a nerve-wracking silence. None of us said a word to the other.

He left and returned with a bag filled with something in it.

He opened it and took out an apple, then passed me the bag...

I grabbed it quickly before he changes his mind.

After grabbing it, I went to sit down on a rock at the far corner inside the cave.

I took out two apples and started to eat. The more I ate, the hungrier I became.

You know that saying; I didn't know that I was starving till I tasted you. Well, in this case, I knew I was hungry. I just didn't know it was this much...

I ate those apples in the most ungraceful manner you could ever imagine…

Mr caveman just kept staring at me with his back resting on the cave wall with his arms crossed like he's seen a nutcase...

After six apples and a couple of stares later, I felt like I couldn't stomach any more of the apples and that's when I remembered I hadn't said thank you yet...

I looked up to where he stood and said, "thank you Mr caveman" he stared at me for a while before saying

"it's Eric, not caveman."

Eric...I said, tasting the name on my tongue. "Nice name" I said.

"You remember mine, right?" but he said nothing, so I took that as a yes.

I yawned, feeling my eyes trying to close on their own accord, so I looked to where the makeshift bed was and pointed to it while yawning.

"can I sleep there? I asked, but he said nothing...

I was already used to the silence, so I just proceeded to the bed and lied down.

The moment my back hit the bed, I slept off...

****

Then, I was in a room lying on my stomach while holding a book. I tried to read the words but I couldn't concentrate, noises were coming from downstairs, I think...

I got up and checked what was going on; I left the room and went down the hallway; I reached a trail of stairs and trailed down the stairs slowly.

On my way down I saw people dressed neatly in butler's clothes, which all stopped to bow when they saw me...

Not acknowledging them, I continued down the stairs, but then the world around me shook, so I tried to hold on to the railings, but they slipped through my fingers and then I heard my name being called from afar...

Wake up, Akeera the voice kept on saying.

I sprang up abruptly and hit my head with someone's own.

ouch, we both said at the same time...

I looked up and saw Eric holding his hand to his head where our heads bumped...

"Sorry", I said...

"Why were you shaking me awake?" I asked him.

He was quiet for a while before saying...

"You seemed like you were having a terrible nightmare"

He said, and I just stared at him trying to analyze the situation, and then, everything came crashing down on me like a wave of reality...

And then I started crying. The tears kept falling from my eyes uncontrollably...

Eric just stared at me with auto confusion. I'm sure he's never seen a dramatic person like me before...

I couldn't stop crying. I was so confused I didn't know what life held anymore. Do I even have a family? Would they find me? Or would they think I am dead...

All these thoughts made me cry even harder. After bawling my eyes out for hours, the tears stopped falling I think I ran out of them.

I just sat there on the bed, like a rain beaten, lost puppy, scared of what might happen to me next...