Turn.
Green leaves surround all sides of me.
Turn.
Tall walls of green are all that are visible as I keep running.
Turn.
More green. The bushes of leaves are everywhere in sight as I continue to round each corner. Perfectly straight walls made of dark green leaves start to puzzle me.
Turn.
More of the same. Spinning in a circle, I try to regain my sense of direction, but the stark white sky is void of any discernible rays of sun. The sun must be there, because it is bright out—almost blindingly so. Yet, I cannot tell what time of day it is or which direction I am headed.
I must keep going.
Turn.
Disorientation and confusion are beginning to take over my senses. I know I must keep running, but this maze of greenery seems to never end.
Turn.
My head hurts. Every turn seems to make my head spin and ache. Touching my fingers to my forehead, I notice something wet and a bit sticky. I see there is blood on my fingers. I am bleeding and I don’t know why. Regardless of the blood that is now matted in my hair, I have to keep going.
Turn.
I see something white up ahead. My legs are hurting so much. Almost as if they are severely bruised. But the green leaves are becoming less and less. I must be getting close. I need to keep going.
Turn.
More white walls are just up ahead. The patches of green are less abundant. A sharp pain in my chest is making it hard to breathe and my legs feel extremely weak. But, I must get on with this. I have to.
Turn.
I can’t tell if this maze of white, sterile hallways is comforting or overwhelming. It’s hard to tell where one wall ends and another begins. I feel the smooth surfaces to try and find any corner or change in direction.
Turn.
I feel myself dragging, becoming more weak and scared with each painful step I take. I’m in pain. I need help. I need to keep going.
Turn.
Collapsing, I hear my skin make a high-pitch squeaking noise on the surface of the cold, white floor. Looking at my battered body, wondering what is causing such excruciating pain, I see pale, sickly skin covered in dark bruises and scratches. My clothes are gone. I am naked, weak, and in pain.
I try to stand up, but my legs will have nothing of it. They hurt so bad, I almost pass out from the pain. Crumpling to the floor once more, I push myself up with my hands and look at my surroundings beyond my frazzled hair. I am no longer in the maze. I must have made it out. But, now where am I? The large space doesn’t seem to have any sense of closure as I can’t tell where the walls end and the ceiling begins. Everything is white. The white is so blinding, it causes me to wince as I search for someone, anyone, to help me.
My weakness takes over and I once again collapse to the floor. My upper body, being the only part of me that was once upright, now collides unforgivingly against the hard surface. I roll over to my back as my ribs protest every little movement, causing all of the air to whoosh out of my lungs as I struggle to breathe through the agony.
Slight movement to my left catches my eye.
There is someone. To my relief, I see a man. He must be a doctor. His back is turned to me, but I see he is wearing a large white doctor’s coat and white scrubs. He almost blends into the background with his all-white attire. His hair is dark and his skin looks... gray?
He turns and looks at me with pity in his eyes. Pity and determination.
I squint to try and focus better. Is that... that’s Divinus! It’s Jonah’s father!
Desperate to get his help, I try to reach my hand out to him, but it is stuck. Looking down at my bound hands, I realize my entire naked body is now bound beneath white nylon ropes.
I bang my head on the surface beneath me. I am now on my back with my arms and legs bound and broken. And in pain. Lots and lots of pain.
A tear begins to trickle down my temple and puddles in my ear.
Turning my head, I see Divinus has made his way closer to me. Everything is white, except for the gray monochrome color of his flesh. His eyes are so dark—they are nearly black in color. I feel undeniably frightened by him. Now that I am naked, bound, and utterly defenseless, I am unable to reign in my emotions.
A loud sob leaves my throat and is the only sound I can hear.
Divinus is kind in his movements, as if he wants to comfort me, yet he doesn’t speak. A single, gloved finger comes to my mouth as he attempts to quiet my uncontrollable cries.
Once I have quieted down a bit, he begins checking to make sure I’m secured by tightening the nylon ropes around my body parts. Of course, it’s definitely not a binding you would find in a hospital, if they even had such a thing. This rope was coarse and scratchy as it harshly bit into my sensitive flesh. Each punitive tug on my binds was like a cruel reminder my body was bruised and broken, causing anguish to radiate through my entire body.
Footsteps. I hear footsteps coming closer to me. With a painful gasp, I lift my head to see who is coming. My heart leaps into my throat at the sight of him...
Jonah.
Piercing green eyes stare back at me and take all my pain away. Not only do I no longer feel pain, but also a sensation of warmth is spreading through my entire body, taking away the shivers that had possessed my muscles.
Jonah is wearing a pair of white cotton pants that hang loosely on his hips with a drawstring. His skin is also a gray monochrome color. The only color I can see is his eyes. The eyes that take all my suffering away and make me complete. The green emeralds entrance me as my sobs quiet to a light whimper of desperation. Desperation for Jonah to release my binds and take me into his arms.
He looks at me as if he doesn’t know me, yet is interested in the creature that is bound and helpless in front of him. Our stares are locked in place, like a magnet. A force of attraction we can’t break.
Without notice, Divinus grabs Jonah’s hands and with quick, steady movements, slices both of Jonah’s wrists in a synchronized fashion. Just as I was about to cry out in protest, the first drop of blood hits my flesh.
Searing pain radiates from the point of contact. My body arches and lifts off the table in reaction to the burning sensation taking over me. More of Jonah’s blood drips onto my skin, making me wish I were in the deepest fiery pits of hell as it would surely be a reprieve compared to this agony.
As his blood continues to pour all over my naked body, I look into his eyes in astonishment that he is able to hurt me so badly. Once my gaze meets his, I realize he is not trying to hurt me. I can’t hear his thoughts, but I know his thoughts. It’s as if his thoughts are my own. He’s not trying to hurt me. He's trying to help me.
The pain subsides as I realize Jonah’s true intentions. The discomfort didn’t go away, but it seemed much more bearable now that I know my Jonah would never purposefully cause me discomfort.
As I lay there staring into Jonah’s beautiful eyes, I feel his blood seeping into my veins. Each new drop against my skin causes shocks to pulse through my body and straight to my heart.
My eyes popped open, causing me to wince from the bright sunlight that assaulted my vision through the open curtains. Throwing my arm over my face, I moaned and turned my entire body away from the blinding sun.
God, that was a horrible dream. Even though I was awake, the feeling of pain and helplessness still coursed through my body in waves. I cursed the fact that my dreams had such a strong feeling of reality, like my body was corporeal through all of my delusions. My body still felt shocks of pain... no, not pain... agony! It felt like I was recovering from my accident all over again.
Looking over at the clock and seeing the glowing letters tell me it was now ten in the morning, I realized I slept much longer than I usually do. Of course, it felt like I was wandering through that maze all fucking night, especially since my legs actually ached with the feeling of muscle exhaustion.
Grabbing my phone, I did the first thing I always do when I wake up... check my text messages. Most people think that getting up to pee is the first task in the morning, but with technology overpowering us more and more every day, I bet that statistic has changed.
A huge smile spread across my face as I noticed a text message from Jonah.
I’m so glad I got to know you better yesterday, Ella. Feel free to call me when you wake up.
Before I responded to him, I knew I had to get up and start my morning.
As I went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth, I realized I couldn’t hear my mom. Usually her thoughts were louder than anyone else around me. Peeking down the hall towards her bedroom door, I noticed it was open, which probably meant she wasn’t in there. Within moments, I found a note hung to the refrigerator door letting me know she had a few errands to run and would be back after lunch.
“That’s odd,” I said out loud. She usually always took me with her wherever she went. Not that she had to take me with her, but she usually always chose to. She said she didn’t like to be alone and the company made her happy. As soon as the thought hit my head, a huge grin spread across my face. I hope a man is the reason she chose to go without me today.
As the water for my tea increased its temperature in the kettle, I pulled my phone from my robe pocket and thumbed for Jonah’s number. My stomach jumped with the anticipation of hearing his voice.
“Hey beautiful,” the sexy voice on the other end said with a slight breathlessness, like he had to run for the phone.
My perma-grin was only visible to myself as I looked at my reflection in the microwave’s glass door. “Good morning, Jonah. Did I call at a bad time?”
“No, of course not. I was just loading the kiln with some larger pieces. The result of a workshop I hosted last week. The pieces aren’t heavy, they’re just very tall, which makes them difficult to keep them steady while loading,” he paused for a moment and took a deep breath. “What have you been up to this morning?”
“I actually just woke up. I usually never sleep this late,” I admitted.
“Did I wear you out last night?” he teased.
“Something like that,” I responded as the kettle started to whistle. I quickly pressed the phone to my shoulder and rescued the boiling water from the burner.
“Tea, huh? This may be a bit forward of me, but mind if I come over for a cup?” I froze. I definitely wanted him to come over, but I was certainly not ready. Heck, I still needed a shower! “I’m sorry for inviting myself. You can say no. I would really like to see you though,” he disclosed with a bit of bashfulness in his tone.
“Oh, I don’t mind. I would love for you to come over. I’m just not showered or dressed yet. I was contemplating how quickly I could make myself presentable,” I said as I hesitated and bit my lip. “I want to see you too, Jonah.”
“Aw, hell. I’m sure you’re as beautiful as ever. I know I’m not much to look at after loading this kiln all morning. Plus, it’s just a cup of tea, right?”
“Right,” I agreed as I turned the burner on low and darted to my room for some rescue clothes. I’ll be damned if he sees me in my robe.
“Great. I’ll see you in ten,” the distant voice said over the phone with a grunt, probably due to loading another piece in the kiln.
“I’ll be here.” Hanging up the phone and throwing it on my bed, I frantically searched my closet for something comfortable to throw on. Choosing my signature jeans and a black tank, I quickly got dressed.
As I threw my messy curls up in a ponytail, I suddenly felt lightheaded and had to grasp at the side of the dresser for support. Ever since I woke up in the hospital, I’ve had to deal with overcoming this weakness that plagued my body. It seemed whenever my heart rate increased and I tried to be more active, my muscles would give up rather quickly and I would find myself on the floor more often than not. Plus, I really pushed my limits yesterday with all the walking and then certain forbidden activities with Jonah.
“Get a grip, Ella,” I scolded with a few deep breaths, attempting to calm myself enough to regain my balance.
In no time at all, Jonah’s knock on the front door had my heart sprinting out of my chest yet again.