part0049

The words rang through my dreams. My eyes bolted open to light, filtering up into the loft from below.

Immediately, my heart sped up, my shoulders tensed, and I braced, trying to prepare for any possibility. The night before had taught me that what I’d deemed impossible wasn’t, that logic may have had a place in typical life, but it couldn’t be expected to be everywhere.

I strained to listen for a long time. Hearing nothing but nature sounds, I began to take stock of my body. I was sore between my legs. I threw the heavy down duvet back and saw a streak of blood between my legs on the off-white bedding.

It felt surreal. The loft space seemed greyish, colorless, yet the streak of blood was vivid crimson.

My dress and bag were on the floor with my jacket, bodysuit, my bra, and my panties. And they were all folded in a pile beside my boots. Folded? No care like that was taken last night.

I crawled on all fours to the edge of the bed and craned my neck to peek over the wooden gates, which were closed but not latched.

No fire, no movement down there. It wasn’t cold in the space I was in. The temperature the night before signaled a pending snowfall, maybe heavy frost at least, but definitely not hot and balmy weather. The temperature in here without the fire going felt hot, like a summer’s day.

I got into my bra and underwear, my socks, and then pulled the bodysuit on and threw my dress over my head. I got into my socks and boots, so I could be prepared for anything.

I jolted in place and lifted the hem of the long, black, gauzy dress up. My leg... the gash from my thigh? It was gone and in its place, a reddish burn. It was the shape of puckered lips. Not feminine, but I knew. I knew it was from when he kissed the sizzling spot and made the burning sensation stop.

I looked at my hands. They were still a little scratched up, but not nearly as bad as I’d expected.

I blinked hard. I rubbed the back of my head, finding no bump, and gave my head a shake in disbelief. Sliding the gates apart, I then turned, and shakily climbed backwards down that ladder.

I went to the door and twisted the knob, heart rapidly smacking the inside of my chest so hard that it also echoed with pounding in my throat.

No sign of him outside within my field of vision. Leaving the door wide open, I turned back to face the interior of the cabin.

The silver chalice sat on the floor, almost against the chair, where I’d left it. I stopped in front of it. There was still brandy in it.

I moved to the table area and opened doors and drawers finding them all empty. The tabletop empty. I spun around and looked at the room at large and shook my head in disbelief.

A pile of fabric in the fireplace caught my eye. I hurried to it and saw my ripped tights in there among the remnants of the ashes, which were piled in front of logs that must have been doused in water. My witch hat was there, too.

I hadn’t had the witch hat on when he brought me here. I’d lost it on the road. It had come back to me, flew by, and been lost again, and yet here it was.

I stared at the pile of ash and fabric a moment and then I cautiously moved to the window and looked outside. The sun beat down on the ground and russet, crimson, and sunflower-colored leaves fell slowly and gracefully to the ground from the surrounding trees. The raging river of last night looked more like a little creek today with a little bit of water that certainly didn’t appear in a rush to go anyplace.

Ensuring I had everything that was mine, I took a quick look around before stepping outside. I needed to relieve myself. I needed to do that after knowing it was safe, that there wasn’t that satanic horse in that paddock around the back of the cabin, that he wasn’t anywhere around here, ready to grab me and hurt me or force me to do anything with his brute strength.

Was he still in the area? Was his head invisible all along, felt only by touch, or had it magically re-appeared sometime last night, giving him a voice, too?

I had found a tree to pee behind, paranoid the entire time, using leaves to clean myself and hoping that they weren’t any sort of leaf that would bring me an itchy and blistering rash. I cautiously approached and investigated the half-falling-down horse paddock and it was empty, except for a dusty old bridle sitting on the dirt floor beside a rusted-out feed bucket. There was a trough filled with water, but it looked old and was filled with dead bugs and fallen leaves.

I stepped outside the paddock and glanced around. I was shaking my head in disbelief and I was timid as a rabbit.

A white tail dear ran for its life, away from me, while I breathed out relief. It had been so close as it ran by that I could’ve touched the fluffy white tail. I clutched my chest, feeling my heart pound against my palm while my eyes darted all around me.

Peace. Tranquility. A forest scene with an old cabin and a horse paddock beside a little creek. This spot would be beautiful. It was beautiful. It was also filled with the memories of the previous night.

If not, it would be the most beautiful spot to reflect, to meditate, to enjoy the beauty of nature.

I couldn’t lament on the beauty of the spot, not with the urgency to get to safety. I quickly rifled through my bag and found my phone. I pushed the home button. 93% power. What?

I opened my map app and it zoomed in to show me that that I was downstream from what looked like a country road that led to open field that backed onto property directly behind Sleep Hollow Elementary School. The directions said it’d take me 31 minutes to walk. I didn’t know what terrain I’d encounter and had no idea if I was safe or not. I phoned my roommate.

“It’s Isabella. I…” What the heck should I say? I just started babbling. “I was stranded all night in the woods with no signal. I obviously have signal now, so I’m gonna start walking down along this creek that runs to the back of a road behind the town’s water tower. It should bring me out by the school I taught at yesterday. Drowsy Hollow. Can you meet me there?”

I started to sob. “Please, Katie? I needed you to know where I am and the route I’m taking. Did you get all that?”

“Yeah,” she assured. “Stranded all night in the woods? Holy shit, Iz. That sucks. Where’s your car?”

I sobbed, rubbing my eyes. I heard a noise. I screeched in reaction. A bird. Just a bird breaking through the trees and soaring up into the sky. I quickened my pace down alongside the creek, hoping, praying I’d be okay somehow.

She sleepily told me. I demanded she recite my planned route back to me and swear to me she wasn’t going to hang up and go back to sleep. I wanted to know they’d know which way I came, in case anything happened to me. She sounded very concerned and a little more awake by the end and I brushed off her questions and asked her to “Please. Just. Hurry.”

I couldn’t tell anyone what happened to me. No one would believe it. I didn’t know if I believed it.

There. I’ve written it all down.

I’m going to put these papers in a safe place until I’m ready to burn them. Tomorrow, or maybe the next day… I’ll buy a pregnancy test and pray that my intuition is wrong.