If it wasn't because that she knew she hadn't been drinking at all that day, she would have sworn she was drunk. This couldn't be happening. It was impossible. She knew for a fact it wasn't there the day before. It had never been there before and she would know. She knew these woods inside out and she would walk through there almost on a daily basis to clear her head for everything that was going on in her life.
She stopped at the bottom and looked up. A freaking staircase in the middle of the woods. This had to be some sort of weird joke, maybe even candid camera. She looked around but couldn't see or hear anybody. Who would come this far into the woods anyway to pull off a prank?
She slowly reached her hand forward, actually expecting the staircase to disappear like a fata morgana. She let out a little sound of surprise as she felt the wooden railing connect with her fingers. It really was there. A staircase leading up to nowhere. She counted the steps as her eyes moved up. 25 in total. She giggled as it made absolutely no sense.
She moved her fingers forward, spreading out her whole hand to get a good grip on the railing. She looked around one last time to be absolutely sure she couldn't spot anyone ready to jump out and laugh. No one was there. She lifted her foot and placed it on the first step. Slowly she walked upwards, her hand sliding up the railing as she took one step at the time. She reached the top and took in the woods from a higher ground.
"I'll be damned," she said at the beautiful sight.
"Or you'll be blessed," a dark voice sounded.
She jumped and looked at the man beside her with fearful eyes. Where had he come from? How could he have moved up the stairs so fast without her hearing it? He chuckled as he saw how he had startled her and then he sent her a warm smile. Something about his eyes made her relax and she returned his smile with a little one on her own.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you," he said.
"Where did you come from?" She asked.
"I was always here," he answered.
"No one was here when I walked up those stairs," she said.
"Maybe you weren't looking hard enough," he said.
She shook her head and giggled again. He was a weird man but there was a charm to him she couldn't deny. If he wanted to play mind games, she would let him. That didn't mean she had to fall for it.
"What's your name?" He asked.
"Phoenix," she answered.
"Ah, burned to death, risen from the ashes again," he said.
"Right now I just feel like burning," she said.
"You'll rise again," he reached over to touch her cheek and she found herself leaning into his touch. "You'll rise up even more beautiful than ever."
"You got a way with words, mister," she said.
"So I've been told," he chuckled. "I'm Roman."
"The Roman empire," she fired back after his Phoenix comment. "Are you a warrior from the old times or maybe even a conqueror?"
"I'm everything I need to be and everything you need to be near right now," he answered.
"Right," she laughed. "You're a weird one."
"And yet you don't run away," he said.
He kept her eyes locked with his and she couldn't look away. Maybe he was right. Maybe he was everything she needed to be near right now. Whatever he was, or whoever he was, she felt weirdly attracted to him.
"Will you come back to see me?" He asked.
"If you want me to," she answered.
"I want you to," he said and reached for a lock of her hair, slowly twirling it around his fingers. "I'll make you rise up again, Phoenix."
"I haven't burned down completely yet," she said.
"Not yet," he said lowly. "But you will."
She quickly took a step backwards and gave him a hard stare. How dare he? He didn't know anything about her and still it felt like he knew everything, as if he could see right into her mind and soul, as if he knew exactly what was going on inside her.
"Don't be a stranger," he said, sending her on her way with those words.
She just nodded, suddenly lost for words, before making her way back down the 25 steps. She could feel how he stared at her all the way down. His eyes were burning into the back of her head. She heard the leaves crackling under her feet as she started walking away. She only took a few steps before turning around to say something. She stood there with her mouth open, not believing her eyes for the second time this day. The staircase was gone.