Chapter Twenty-Two: Her Troubled Mind

“Don’t move your body. I’ll find some help. I promise I’ll get back here.” She reassured him but inside her, she was feeling helpless, panicking, and anxious that she can’t able to help him.

They finally escaped from the wild pig. But while running away from it. They fell unexpectedly into a deep hole animal trap. He can’t able to move his body as he used his adrenaline rush to protect her from hurting her body from falling. He pushed her to get her up from the trap, leaving himself in that deep hole. And now, he’s the one who needs some help because he was a gentleboy to her.

She left him in the middle of a wild forest to look for help. Every footstep she passed; she’s leaving a trace for her not to lose him. She used twigs she found on her way to fix it on the ground for her to look back on it when she returns to him.

The sun is setting down and she feels no ray of sunlight hitting her flesh. She needs to find somebody to help her before the night will show up. Until seconds later, she saw traces of car wheels in her way, seeking that somebody had passed by. She sees more hope as she heard a noise from a mobile truck heading to her spot.

“Hey, little girl. Are you lost?” An old and shabby mobile truck pulled over in front of her. A bearded man in his fifties got off and talked to her. He looked scary, but with her little daring attitude, she still asked for help.  

“My friend needs help. Can you help him up from the trap?” She asked him without delaying her urgent need, ignoring the question the man asked her. Then, she led him immediately on the way back to her friend to save him. The man said no words and just followed her little footstep.

“You are smarter than I thought. Why are you wandering in the middle of a forest?” The man complimented her for following the trace she did a while ago. Maybe this man can’t imagine a tiny little girl like her has great common sense for helping a friend.

“We’re not wandering, we’ve lost our tract while we were playing on our family trip. We forgot our way back to the vacation house. While searching for a way to return, we suddenly encountered a wild animal. As we ran away together to escape, we both fell into an animal trap. My friend protected me, the reason I got myself up from that pit easily.” She explained to him like an adult talking to a stranger.

They walked faster to save her friend when they were near the location. But when they arrived, the friend whom she needs to save disappeared without her knowing where he went.

She woke up from her bed feeling troubled as the dream she had was something like a memory again. She immediately noted it in her diary so she does not forget it. When she thinks about it, she remembered the dream she had during her last therapy session. It was the continuation of the last time.

“I have many things to tell you. Come here ASAP.” She called Jean immediately to tell her about the stuff that happened to her lately. Thinking about that stuff, she suddenly remembers the thing that happened to her yesterday at the library. Her eyes suddenly sparkled as her dazzling smile took over her worried face.

When she was with him, it feels like she is forgetting her dream behavior and her psychological state. She realized he has a great impact on her character.

“Sweetheart, there’s a mail for you.” Her mom went into her room without knocking while she was in the middle of imagining things with Vince. She wants to scold her mom for disturbing her every time she’s doing something. However, in reality, she can’t do it to her because she loves her mom very much.

She received the mail and thanked her. Opening it immediately was the thing she did first. The last time she received a letter from Mister Smith was a month ago. She wondered about the time he suddenly stopped writing letters to her, as she thought; he went tired of doing it as time goes by. But then again, another mail from him after a month.

Hey Cara!!!

I wrote again because I missed your smile from yesterday. The sweet little girl I knew had changed a bit. I would like to see it more often from now on.

Yours Truly,

Mister Smith

“Am I a sad face? How come I did not smile often?” She asked herself in her thoughts, thinking the opposite. Because if somebody will ask her, she can say she is happy right now. But she did not know the real reason for her being happy. Her Mister Stalker was wrong this time.

Beep…

“Hey, what’s up? Are you free tonight?” Her phone light up as it beeps. When she opened the text, it was coming from Vince. She again remembered what he did to her yesterday. Thinking about it made her face blush.

“I’m free, but I have to sleep early.” She replied to him like obviously, she wants to see him.

“Then I’ll see you tomorrow at class.” But he did not insist. Her excitement suddenly changed into a bit of disheartening.

“Hey, Dear!!! I have good news and bad news!!!” Her friend Jean showed up in front of her.

“I need good news for now.” She said to her pretending she was not in a good mood.

“Hey, what happened to you?” Her friend’s twinkling eyes suddenly change into a worried state.

“What’s the good news? I’ll tell you about it later in our session.” She asked her persistently as she became curious about the good news.

“The good news is about the acquaintance party! We had a meeting yesterday. The faculty will host an acquaintance party for a charity project at our school.”

“Oh, really? Not that interested.” She reacted in her thoughts.

“So, what’s the bad news?” She asked her again apathetically, not showing her friend any excitement.

“The bad news is, you must come with your date. Attendance is a must.”