Chapter 5: The First Meeting

"Love is not in our choice but in our fate."

-John Dryden-

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It was weekend and it was the only time in her new life was Sabrina able to go outside. Her father and sister had prepared themselves to go to the town and market to buy some groceries for them. If she had proper good night sleep, she would definitely go along with them, but that morning, Sabrina was too tired to travel.

Last night she was not able to sleep until two in the morning. Her head was aching and her mood was not the best. It was fair to say she was one of those people who needed a proper seven to eight hours of sleep every night to remain sane.

Once they were done getting ready, she had only finished shower. Layla barged to her room asking if she wanted to come with them at all considering how messy she looked at the moment with her wet hair and pajamas. Sabrina thought about it, she had been unpacking quite a lot that week and felt pretty tired. Perhaps she should use that opportunity to have an afternoon nap instead.

“I think I’ll just stay at home today. I’ll come with you next week.” She stated which surprised Layla a little bit. The younger girl knew her sister was more introverted than she was, but they had been staying in that isolated place for nearly a week and the most social interaction they could have was from the weekend trip to the town. It was crazy that she planned on skipping it.

“Sabrina, are you sure you don’t want to come with us?” She questioned as she stared at her as if she had gone insane. Sabrina simply nodded. Yes, it was unreasonable but she rather stayed at home than passing out on the market because of how tired she was. A few seconds later, a sigh escaped Layla’s lips.

“Okay, I understand, then I’ll get something nice for you when we get back home. I and dad will probably be out till evening, we’ll also be eating out but we’ll bring some food home later for you if you haven’t eaten yet.” With that she left the room and Sabrina was finally all alone again.

She laid down on the bed and closed her eyes, hoping she would just return back to sleep and continued her dreams, but even after five minutes had passed she was unable to sleep.

From where she was lying down she could hear the sound of her father’s car drifting away from the house, a few seconds later it was gone completely. Meaning she was finally left alone on her own. It had been a while since she had the place for herself. Even in her old house, there would always be someone around, but in the forest, she simply was on her own.

One would think she would be lonely being there on her own, but instead, a huge grin formed on her face. She jumped from the bad and walked downstairs to the living room with a bright expression. Yes, she was tired from the lack of sleep, but that did not mean she could not show her excitement because she could finally do anything she wanted in the house.

Even without any music on, she was spinning and twirling her body around. If anyone saw her at such state they might think she had gone crazy. Truthfully, it was not that. The woman was just relieved that despite everything, she was still alive.

What she did not know at the moment was how her current circumstance was nothing compared to what was coming for her.

Sabrina wondered what she was supposed to do that day. She had an entire day free for herself. Napping sounded good but she could not seem to sleep. At least not until afternoon. She also had done most of the unpacking, there was probably only one or two boxes left which could very easily be unpacked later on.

It got her thinking, what was one thing she wanted to do since her arrival that she still had not managed to do?

Then she remembered, among everything, there was indeed one thing she had yet to do. Exploring the surrounding forests. The entire time she only knew the road where they had travelled from, but she was sure there was more to the forest than what she had seen so far.

She knew her father had been warning her about the wolves which might surround the area, but it was daytime and she was bored at home, so she might use this opportunity to explore her new environment.

Wearing her thicker coat, she walked around the area while carrying a small shot gun in case she needed to use it. She also brought some bread, meat and water with her in case she got hungry or thirsty along the way.

It was such a perfect day for a walk as well, the sun was shining, just enough to warm the earth without burning it. Thanks to the tall trees, she could walk under shadow without worrying about sun burn.

The wind was rather tamed and soft that day. She thought it was absolute paradise. Being alone in nature never failed to soothe her mind, though it was an experience she barely had.

She took her first steps on the path in the woods she had never taken before, of course, at night the forest was rather dark, but since it was morning and sunny, she could clearly see everything and it was more beautiful than anything else she experienced. She walked alongside the lake and saw a large tree with flat ground she could rest at.

The spot was just perfect to do lake sighting. She eventually sat down and enjoyed herself. The atmosphere was truly serene. She thought of coming there more often and perhaps she would make friends with a few forest creatures.

There had to be some wild rabbits and deer around the area. Who knew the idea of becoming like Snow White would be so appealing to her?

As she was relaxing, she suddenly saw something laying on the ground. At first it was not clear what it was, but her curiosity led her to investigate. She knew it was probably a bad idea to do so, but she could not help herself. Sabrina ended up walking near the creature and her eyes widened as she saw a black fur wolf lying unconscious on the ground.

The wolf was unusually bigger than the average wolf she had seen. Its fur was wet and trails of blood was pouring from its leg. Clearly, the creature was injured. Sabrina panicked, her heart was beating quickly, she did not know what she was supposed to do. She felt like running away but her legs were glued to the ground. She just could not bring herself to run from the spot.

Okay, Sabrina, do not panic. It’s okay, it’s just an injured wolf, it cannot hurt you, it’s not even awake right now. Oh gosh, is it dead? She thought to herself as she tried to stabilize her breathing. Panicking would not do her any good. She needed to calm down and think clearly.

At last minute, she decided to check on the wolf to see if it was still alive. She knelt near its body and could tell it was still breathing, but the wolf appeared to be very weak. She knew if she did not do something to stop the bleeding, the wolf would eventually die from the loss of blood. Between her rational mind and her compassion, she eventually chose the latter.

“Please don’t die yet, I’ll try to help you.” She murmured as she ran back to her house and fetch some first aid medical kit from the pantry. Fortunately, she was quite agile and managed to snatch it before running back to the spot where she found the wolf.

The creature was still lying unconscious and its breathing became a lot more uneven. Seems like it was in a lot of pain. She could not waste any more time.

Opening up the box, she picked up a few medications for wounds as well as bandages and some fresh water she brought earlier to clean the wound.

As she was getting ready to treat the wolf, she had no idea that from afar, someone was watching the two of them.