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“Oh lord, thank you, Jesus! It’s colder than a well diggers ass in January” I said out loud as I made a fire to warm up and dry my clothes things I had in my pack.
I checked my body. I didn’t see any injuries .
Am I dead? I wondered.
I put on my jeans and sweatshirt. My dirty outfit was in a
grocery bag from showering at the gym. This was dryer than everything else. They were dirty but dry; I could live with that. I kept my tea leaves in a Ziplock bag. The tea looked like it survived the dip with the fish. Thank God for the little things.
My fire was burning out, so I packed up my damp things. I need to move to find shelter and figure out where I was. It was getting colder, and the light dabbling through the trees was fading. I felt like I have lost my mind. None of this makes sense to me. Survival mode has me just taking things one problem at a time. I got dry. Problem one was solved. Next, find shelter and figure all this out.
I climbed a tree to see if I could get a sense of direction. The sap and pine needles made my climb difficult with the lushness of the trees. I manage to get far enough up the tree to peek at the sky.
“Holy hell! Well, hush my mouth!” I blurted out as I saw two moons rising and the sunset colors set against a light purple sky.
I gripped the branch so hard my palm rubbed raw on the bark. I climbed down before I lost all light. I was stumbling through the woods as it got darker and colder. My shoes were wet and had that annoying squish with every step. I was incredibly loud with my stride and leaves underfoot. The sound of this forest was way off. Muffled and stale, no animal noise, not even a bird or squirrel. Not the buzzing of nighttime insects like cicadas. I was so used to hearing back home. It was eerily silent. Nothing seemed right.
There’s no wind, just me disrupting the air with my breathing and footsteps. Like I was a ghost just strolling through the woods in another dimension. Maybe that’s the answer. I drowned, and this was some kind of purgatory. The ringing in my ears increased, so I could no longer hear my heart pounding.
I was going to be madder than a wet hen if I had gotten sent to hell or purgatory. I huffed at the air.
If I was dead, I wanted my family. Where the hell was I? I stomped my foot like a toddler throwing a conniption fit. I felt miserable, too miserable to be dead. I heard a voice inside my head. A woman’s voice.
‘Darah, do not fear I am . . .’ the voice faded out. Great! Now I heard voices.
I had officially broken my brain. I was on the crazy train. Maybe it was just my nerves getting to me. I felt like the porchlight was on but nobody was home. I just didn’t understand a thing that was happening to me.
I saw movement in the shadow of a tree, so I shut up and stayed still, waiting to see if I was now seeing things, too. Fear kept me frozen. After a moment, I sank to the ground to sit and wallow. I drank water from my bottle. I fished in my bag for a granola bar. The chocolate chip was a bit soggy, but my stomach was cramped in pain as I unwrapped my snack. I moaned as I chewed the first bite. I put the wrapper back in my pack and noticed a familiar little furry face peaking at me. Maybe a rabbit or a cat, I don’t know. Whatever it was, it looked unique. Was it dangerous? I wondered.
“Hi there little dude, did I scare you before when I came out of the water?”
The furry thing hopped a little closer to me.
“Yeah, I am sorry about that. If it helps, I am scared, too.” I tried to soothe the thing.
It felt curious about me. Good, at least it didn’t want to attack. The creature had Something soothing about it. My gift sent me a sensation of emotion coming from that furry creature.
That pastel-colored fur ball was fascinating, reminding me of cotton candy from the fair with its pink and blue hues. “You hungry?” I asked it as I threw a little piece toward the furry creature.
The rabbit cat-looking thing picked up the treat with its paw and ate it happily.
“Glad you like it,” I said through my mouthful. Maybe I drowned and I was in a coma now, this all must be a dream. This creature in front of me can’t really be real. Can any of this be real? The lush growth around me makes it difficult to maneuver. I was sitting on a fern, I think. I lean back to gaze up.
“Owe! I yelped as I leaned back on a thorn, stabbing my hand.
The cotton candy-colored rabbit cat got startled and jumped away from me. Death wouldn’t be this miserable. If I were in a coma, would I feel this pain? I was going with my coma theory because that rabbit-cat thing is glowing now that I was startled. I’d like to think if I died, I’d be with my parents and my brother. Sadness wells up in me as I fought back tears and rub my wounded hand.
Who knew I had this kind of imagination? I shook my hand, trying to calm the sting from the thorn that got me. I fished around in my pack to get another granola and held it out to the creature.
“Sorry, pal, I wasn’t expecting that either. I did not mean to scare you.
The cotton candy creature hopped up to my hand that held out the granola bar, sniffing with his little wet nose. I broke off another piece, and he took it from my hand and suddenly jumped in my lap, letting me pet his silky soft fur while it ate.
“You are a friendly one, aren’t you?” I crooned. I felt warm and cozy with this cute fur ball comforting me.
“If you are just in my head, I will call you Candy since you look like a swirl of blue and pink cotton candy.”
Candy must have liked it since it was rubbing his fluffy head all over me like a hug. Did I hear this thing purr? I laughed, a real, genuine laugh. I haven’t laughed like that since before the accident. I must be hysterical.
