It was a beautiful summer night. The moon was full, providing plenty of light for my midnight walk. I had been working on a project and at the moment… I was stuck.
The warm breeze blew through the air causing my long brown hair to lift, my wavy curls bouncing slightly. I took a deep breath in trying to relax my mind and unblock myself. I approached a path into the woods. I paused before emerging myself onto the trail.
The last year had been hard. My boyfriend, Anthony, was killed 15 months ago. We had dated for 5 years and just gotten engaged. To say I was a mess would be an understatement.
I allowed my entire life to fall apart. I resigned from the marketing firm I had been working for since college. I sold my house and almost everything inside before moving into my sister’s guest house. She just had her third child and welcomed the help.
Being around Bethany and her kids was the only thing that kept me motivated for a few months. She was a working mother at a law firm and her husband, Rob a pilot. I was happy to be a free live-in-nanny and hide from the real world.
I never wanted them to see or sense the pain I was in. It gave me the strength to bury the pain. I was so involved in my work before; I hardly knew the children. Her oldest child is 6, Scarlet. We became quick friends, she helped me find anything I needed the first couple weeks.
Scarlet requested to have a “sleep-over” in the guest house a few nights. They just happened to be the nights I was feeling my worst. In a way, I felt like she knew and just wanted to try to help. I enjoyed her company while we ate ice-cream watching animated movies.
Sarah is 4 and her father’s daughter. She is always constructing different aircrafts for her to fly saying one day she will be lead engineer, building a space craft. She also intends to fly it into space, against her mother’s wishes.
Thomas, or Tommy, just turned 1 last week. His birthday party was spectacular, just in the fashion my sister always did parties. I was happy to stay occupied with the children playing various games and working on crafts.
With all the whispers around me it was hard not to begin to think about what I was still doing. My plan was only to be here for 6 months. A small reset on my life to decide what I wanted to do. Somewhere along the way I stopped tracking time.
A year later, I am still here with no plans to leave. I knew I didn’t want to go back to the marketing firm. The money was great, but I never felt a sense of fulfillment. With Anthony gone, I needed that more than ever.
As I approached the first bend in the trail, I decided to pick up the pace a bit and jog. Little droplets of rain began to fall from the darkening sky. A small smile spread across my lips. I love the rain and how refreshing it feels on my skin.
I kept on the trail climbing the small mountain in the woods. The view from the cliff was beautiful, especially in the rain. I picked up the pace as the rain started to become angry. About 200 yards from reaching the top clearing, my foot caught a hole that had filled into a puddle, rolling my ankle.
I hoped over to the closest tree to look at it, barely able to see anything. The forest was dark, the rain like a blanket. I went deeper into the trees looking for an area with better coverage. Lighting struck down no more than a half mile from me. I felt the earth shake as it made contact.
Frantically moving faster, I saw a small hole in between some large stones leading into a cave. Realizing there would likely be animals inside, I weight my options for a moment.
I wasn’t sure how I wanted to die. I knew lightning was not at the top of my list. I carefully slid into the cave, trying to put the least amount of pressure on my ankle possible. I stumbled slightly when my hand slipped off the rock I was gripping.
The cave was dark. I sighed in relief; no immediate attack is good. I pulled out my flashlight from my pack and shined it down the tunnel and around myself. After I was satisfied, I was alone, I pulled out my hunting knife from my ankle.
I was my father’s daughter growing up. I used to go everywhere with him. Hiking, fishing, camping, in the garage for days straight rebuilding his project car of the year. He taught me to always be prepared, especially when you’re the second daughter of a Navy Seal.
“Never be caught off guard.” His voice rang through my head. “Always carry a weapon.” He said once, “But Pa, you can’t carry weapons everywhere.” I said back with a sly grin. “Be the weapon.” He said as if awakening some eternal survival instinct inside me.
Ever since then I have trained for any possible situation. Some people thought I was crazy, one of those… “dooms day types”. The truth is none of us know what is going to happen, I would rather be overprepared than under.
“Helllllooooo….” I sang into the darkness in front of me.
I cleared my head to stay focused and remain calm. I could no longer hear the rain outside. There was water falling through the cracks in various locations as expected. I knew I didn’t need to keep limping on my ankle, but curiosity was getting the best of me.
I had been on this trail hundreds of times before and never noticed the cave. After another 50 yards or so the light barely touched some markings on the wall. I approached slowly shining the light directly upon the rock wall.
“Well… you look interesting… I wonder what language.” I said aloud speaking to myself.
I took out my cell phone to snap a picture when I heard the air move quickly behind me. I dropped my phone moving the flashlight around with my knife near my chest pointing outward.
After a few seconds of looking around and noticing no foreign sounds or movement, I slowly bent down to pick up my phone. I took one more look around before allowing my eyes to peek. Smashed. Of course.
“Shit.” I said aloud before shoving the broken phone into my pack.
I looked back at the markings on the wall for another minute before looking deeper into the cave. I couldn’t make it out, but it sounded like there was running water up ahead.
I approached slowly checking behind me every now and then. I couldn’t believe the shallow glow that begun to show. I knew in my mind I should turn back. I had watched to many movies to know how this would end.
My body didn’t want to comply. My feet carried me forward. I could barely feel my ankle’s tenderness. As I got closer, I could see the opening I would need to crawl through. It wasn’t too far, only 6 feet or so…
I checked behind and around me once more. I was alone. At least in this side of the tunnel. I put the flashlight in my pack and took a deep breath. I didn’t like small spaces.
“Just do it you sissy.” I said aloud to myself.
“Do you always speak this much alone?” A deep, threatening voice said from behind me.
I jumped at the sound of the voice hitting my head on the rock above me. I could feel the blood instantly begin to glide down my forehead. I was standing with my face to the stranger and my knife up in less than 2 seconds. Hearing him chuckle sent a wave of fury through my body. “What is your problem?” I spat at him defensively. It seemed to catch him off guard. He cleared his throat and his threatening tone returned. “I belong here, the question is what are you doing here? How did you even get in?” He said looking me over clearly seeing my injury, now injuries. It was difficult for me to see in the low light. The tunnel only provided a small orb that was mostly shining on his legs. Which
I hadn’t been on a date since Anthony. I wanted to see the other side of that tunnel more than anything. It felt like it was going to change my life forever and I was ready. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to date anyone, no matter the reward. I didn’t know this man. All I knew was he followed me into a dark cave and after causing me to injure myself he at least helped. Why would he do that just to hurt me in the end? The thought of dating anyone after Anthony wasn’t something I thought about often. I missed the intimacy and the sex. Man did I miss the sex. With his deployments over the course of our relationship I was used to going long periods of time with just myself. This was different, there was no light at the end of the tunnel. I had an embarrassingly large box of toys that had kept me happy over the years. I would have to do it at some point. I thought to myself. How bad can it be to just suffer through a dinner with the man to see wh
We walked mostly in silence. Tadeas seemed to have a strange energy rolling off his body. I was lost in my thoughts trying to figure him out. Every now and then my eyes would drift over to him as if he wasn’t really there. “I am just up the road. I can make it from here. Thanks.” I said quickly picking up my pace again. “I don’t mind going the rest of the way.” He responded sounding somewhat offended. “I see. You prefer your own company to others.” His voice turned condescending. “No, I don’t know you. And nothing that has happened so far says I should get to know you.” I shifted my weight as my ankle throbbed. “Do you believe in Magic?” He asked will only 4 houses left to pass. “Like flying brooms and people turning into frogs?” I scrunched my nose. “Things you cannot explain. Old myths and stories about beautiful creatures and witches.” “I don’t know about all that.” I muse
I was lost in his eyes again; the specks of gold seemed to be swirling around. My mind must be slipping into sleep already. His arms wrapped around my body. The embrace took all my pain away. It was as if I was exactly where I needed to be. “Tadeas…” I said just above a whisper. “Aries.” He said in a low seductive voice that was new. I tilted my head all the way back so I could see his face once more. He placed his hand on my cheek, bending his neck, his nose lined with my own. My breath hitched and I wasn’t sure what to do. Is he about to kiss me again? I thought to myself. No way. “You need your rest.” His breath smelt like honey. I no longer wanted rest, I wanted to kiss him. I didn’t move, I had forgotten to breath. He dipped his head closer pressing his lips to mine. His grip around me tightened causing my muscles to sing with approval. His tongue passing my lips, allowing me to explore the taste
I thought the greenery was beautiful before. This had looked untouched by the pollution and destruction of men. There was a waterfall so large I was amazed it sat so peacefully. The flowers were all such radiant colors, I couldn’t pick a favorite if I tried. “It’s beautiful!” I yelled over the motorcycle’s hum. We parked not too far from the trail. Tadeas asked me simple questions here and there as we walked down the path. I asked a few times what was in the bag he carried, while he refused to answer. He would just chuckle and say “patience”. We reached the bottom of the falls, approaching the wall that seemed to reach into the sky, leaving the earth. He looked over at me with a sly grin before looking up the wall. “What’s that look for? I don’t know you that well. I know I do not like that look.” I said trying to keep myself from laughing. “We are going to climb. Do you think you can manage?” His voice teasing me
I didn’t mind, the feeling of his body on mine was intoxicating. I reached my hands towards the opening of his shirt pulling it off his shoulders. I could sense his apprehension as he leaned back slightly, not breaking contact with my lips. “Take it off.” I managed to say into the kiss. A low growl came from his chest. Something inside my body told me it was okay. I wanted him to make the noise again. I could feel his member pushing on my thigh through the jeans. He lifted me up slightly removing my shirt. His eyes widened as he saw the scar covering from my shoulder to the bottom of my ribs. I had forgotten about it in the moment. I could sense his anger rolling off him as he focused on the imperfections of my body. He leaned in and kissed me passionately. I felt his bare chest press against mine as my body gushed, soaking my panties. A deep groan came from his chest as if he knew exactly what he was doing to me. “I am serious. We need to sto
The car arrived for Bethany and me shortly after I walked into her house. Rob was sitting in the recliner, box of tissues in one hand tea in another. He did not look like he was feeling well at all. “Thank you for saving me. She would never let me live it down if she went alone. Sick or not.” He said with a cough. I took a step backwards before covering my hand over my mouth. “No problem, I’ll just wait on the porch, no need to spread that further.” “So dramatic…” Bethany said before placing a kiss on Rob’s head. “Feel better, I shouldn’t be too late.” We slid into the backseat of the car while Bethany was doing so
The following day I had called Johnathon in the morning to decide on a time for dinner. I hadn’t slept at all the night before; I spent the whole night feeling betrayed. I thought Tadeas wanted the same things I did. Johnathon was a perfect gentleman, a safe choice. He picked me up, we went to a small Italian restaurant across town. When he dropped me off, he walked me to the door but didn’t attempt anything further. A few days later he had called to ask me out for another date. I hadn’t seen Tadeas since the night at the art gallery. The longer I went, the more the hole in my chest grew. I tried to throw myself into new distractions. I thought about driving to the waterfall. Something about being back at a place where everything seemed so possible, was e