Author's Note:
Hi, hi, hi!
Not sure if you've noticed the new 'book cover' this story has. Yes, those are the themes that are associated with this story. If you're an old reader, then you'll probably get half of the meaning behind it but it does somewhat applies to the future happenings of story x)
Here's my answer to last chapter's question:
If I could take one thing into a fictional world and why, it's a tie between a solar powered cell phone or my glasses. Most of you said glasses and that's a really good idea because being blind in a new world is no laughing matter. As for a solar power cell phone — I would like to have those photos of my loved ones. Having my favorite music with me wouldn't be bad either — I'd be a magician of sorts if I had it with me, depending on what world I end up in though x)
Onto the chapter!
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Chapter Three — Encounters
Don't let us make imaginary evils, when you know we have so many real ones to encounter.
— Oliver Goldsmith
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I woken up with a start, my heart beat wildly against my chest.
I tried to sit up but stopped by a prickly sensation I felt at the end of my fingertips. I brought up my hands up to my face for a closer look and observed them with weary eyes. There was nothing abnormal looking about them as I gingerly tapped the pads of my fingers against one another. Huh. They felt numb, strange. With a hiss through my teeth, I used the heels of my right hand and motioned myself into the opposite direction. Though I managed to sit up, the strange tingle sensation on my fingers remained. Long gone was the darkness that accompanied me during the storm and in its place was nature's light that filtered through the tent. With this new source at hand, I took in the scene that surrounded me. Nothing out of the ordinary — the tent looked as I imagined. Random knickknacks strewn across the floor with the exception of a sack that was sitting by itself; right next to it laid the loose empty one that I threw to the side when I pulled out the cloak. Distracted momentarily by this, I then remembered the reason for my sudden start.
I had fallen asleep.
It was hopeless. I had not planned on sleeping in the first place as I meant to keep watch. The thought of being discovered while I slumbered was enough to motivate me on staying awake — or so I thought. Obviously sleep had overtaken me. Even so, what should had served as restful and refreshing for another day did not delivered. I still felt physically tired and overall uncomfortable. My whole body ached especially my sore feet and on closer inspection I noticed the thin red scrapes that crisscrossed around my ankles. I don't remember feeling anything last night but I suppose that was expected when your feelings and mind where elsewhere. And as much as I expected for the rain from last night to had left me cleansed, I felt uncleaned.
No surprise there, huh?
I flicked my fingers as I tried to cease the tingling sensation that still remained. While I had not drastically been moving my fingers around since I woken up, there was still enough movement to had "awaken" the numbness away from them. Curiously, I started flexing them instead, stretching them back and forth and observing my hands to see if anything was amiss. I wasn't sure whether it was the stretches or what, but after a couple of seconds later, the feeling disappeared.
Strange...
Just as I had awoken with a start, the realization of my situation crashed down on me.
"There's no way I'm staying here, no way that I have gotten lost..." I muttered to myself as I shook my head in disbelief. "I'm going to be okay, I'm going to find people," I repeated to myself like a mantra as I moved towards the entrance.
I cautiously crawled out of the tent, relieved to see the sky was no longer covered with dark looming clouds of yesterday. In its place were large, white puffy ones that dotted an amazingly bright, blue sky. I continuously stared up towards it, my mouth agape at the sight from above. I had seen beautiful blue skies before like this, mostly enhanced and via a photographer's lenses but I had never seen it like this with my very own eyes. Was it the rain that caused it to look so sharp and bright or was it my eyes? I never worn glasses before so my vision wasn't terrible. I don't know what it was that caused my own eyes to take in this different level of view — for a lack of a better description — but whatever it was, the sky looked quite breathtaking.
Still on my hands and knees, I noticed the ground no longer looked sodden but with the occasional pockets of mud that I noticed here and there from where I was. I looked back up again and noticed the sun was not in the middle of the sky. While I could still sense it was morning, I could already feel the slight warmth of the sun rays on my back. This would explain why the ground was not as damp as it should had been after a night's rain — that and because it was summer, so it was to be expected that a cold, dreary after-rain would not be part of the picture.
I moved onto my feet, careful not to accidentally trip into the tent or the cloak — last thing I needed was another bruised or cut. After I undid my cloak, I noticed my not-so-pristine clothes. Just as the bottom of my feet were crusted with dried mud so was my white tank that was beautifully smeared with the same concoction of water and dirt. I knew that while white was the cleanest of colors, it also attracted stains to it. What was expected after traversing through rain and mud? It was apparent to anyone who could see me that I walked through wilderness. "Well, I could pass off as a survivalist ," I muttered to myself sardonically as I threw the cloak back into the tent.
A sudden gust of wind rushed against me, a remnant from last night's storm. Though not as cold as it was last night, it had been enough to had cause a shiver to run up my spine. I shook off the sensation as I stretched out my arms above my head and gave myself a much needed stretch only to had felt a sharp pain on my left side. Slowly, I brought my arms back down. I should had known my muscles would had protested at the simple act of stretching. Due to the fact that I had slept on throughout the remainder of the night on my side, I had obviously overstretched those muscles that were not too keen on being stretched out.
It was then that I felt a twinge in my stomach and a sudden realization fell upon me — I had gone without eating for a whole freaking day! Of all the times that I've attempted to diet — which some would say I didn't need — I had never managed to go this long though I had wished it back then that I could. Oh how the tables had turned against me now, haha! Was it possible to even find *some* kind of food out here in the wilderness? Then there's the matter about water, the one thing I had not seen around here other than the rain. Had not come across a creek or any other form of a collected water source. While searching for the two sources was doable, there was the question of *what* I could eat out here. I haven't been out in the wilderness enough to notice the difference between edible fruits and the poisonous ones. Of course, I had seen small animals around but I had no clue when it came to hunting and frankly, I rather avoid that. The idea itself, just like the act, was too messy for my taste. Then there's the matter of water safety. In this time of age, was it safe enough to drink straight from the natural source? I couldn't risk it, well, not yet. I will have to hold out as long as I could. I heard people could live without food for days, surely by then I should had come across someone.
As much as I would had liked to stay where shelter was readily available, I knew it was best if I started my search for civilization. Before I could walk off though, it would be wise to take whatever I needed with me. Which meant it was required that I forage through someone's belongings and take what I needed... and so I did. I'm not going to lie, I felt a bit apprehensive as I crawled back inside the tent to forage what I could bring with me. Nothing was old old as you would expect when something was abandoned, nothing was covered in dust or random bits of nature scattered amongst the knickknack as you would expect when things were abandoned. That did not stopped me from rummaging what I could, which, unfortunately wasn't much to begin with. The two sacks were the only ones worthy enough to look into and that's saying a lot considering I had pulled out the cloak from one of them. The second sack contained some kind of sharp strange metal utensils with a ring attached to its handle; along with it there was something that looked much like paper but not quite with a strange insignia spread out on one side. Other than these distinguishable objects, there was nothing worthy to take with me other than a small knife. I wasn't sure of the wildlife out here, but I rather have a weapon of some kind than be caught empty handed.
"_ ! — —?!"
I froze, my breath caught in my throat and with a knife in one hand and a sack in another.
As much as I hoped of finding someone and be saved from this terrible experience, this was not exactly the way I wanted to be found. While the energy of the voice was rough and demanding, what I found to be the worst was the way I could not understand what the person had said. They had spoken so quickly, I could not pick out a word at all. My knowledge of foreign language was limited to English and Spanish as I was fluent in those two. While I've seen enough foreign films to probably pick out the origin and differentiate one from the other, such as German or French, I could not do the same here but that was the least of my worries though. The tone of voice from this person alone led me to believe that he — at least I could differentiate if they were male or female — was the owner of the tent or someone who clearly found my presence unwanted. In either case, this was not a good thing for me at all.
Not good at all...
"—? —- — — —!" He shouted.
This was not the way I imagined meeting the person who would lead me back home, someone who sounded unpleasant and intimidating. I dropped the sack but kept the small knife, which I slid into my pocket carefully. I knew this was not the safest place to put it but it would be helpful and easy to access in case something happened.
Better safe than sorry.
This was simply a big misunderstanding — he must had thought I was a thief rummaging through his belongings in search of something expensive. This was quite understandable actually since I would had also been pissed to see someone touching my belongings. Yes, I was going to take a few things but with a good reason! Plus, there wasn't anything really of value here had I wanted to steal something. All I would had to do was explain my situation. So I slowly and cautiously stepped out of the tent as I raised my hands before me, a sign that I hoped he would understand that I was not dangerous and much less a thief...
I expected to see someone dressed in their hiking gear, even sporty-looking — nothing fanciful or strange but what I saw before me was something different. Very different. The man, the owner of the tent, looked as if he had stepped out of a historical painting. His rather simple looking clothes reminded me of what a peasant would had worn during those days; loose khaki colored pants, an off-white cut off shirt and dark open toed sandals. To complete his look, he wore an tan colored bandana over his slick back dark hair. He was carrying a knapsack over his shoulder, which he lowered to his side once he saw me. A confused look crossed his dark, sharp features.
For a split second, I was relieved by his expression — we both were hella confused with one another.
"Um," I started with a nervous smile, "sorry for using your tent. I been lost in these woods since yesterday and with the storm, I needed shelter and yours had been the only thing I've seen around here." I did not want to completely reveal everything to him but enough to explain my situation here. While I had no idea what language he had spoken, I hope he still understood my English.
"—-," he said something quietly, confused etched over his face as he looked me over.
Okay...
I had no idea what he said but by the looks of it, I was dealing with a person who did not spoke a speck of English if that look on his face was any indication. How could he not know a single word? A simple "sorry no English" would had been sufficient enough for me as that would had given me a a reason on the why he wouldn't speak.
I slowly shook my head in response to whatever it was he had said. "Sorry, but um, I don't understand what you're saying..." I stopped when I noticed he was being overtly attentive. Could it be...? "Do. You. Speak. English?"
"— — —" the man sniggered and just as quick stopped as he peered at me, his eyebrows furrowing along the way.
That... didn't sit well with me. How the hell was I supposed to explain myself to someone who had no clue what I was saying? I involuntarily winced at this fact. "I-I can't understand what you're saying..."
The man dropped his knapsack by his feet, the clinking of metal resonating from within.
"—- —- —?" He looked around, straightening his posture as he did before he returned his gaze upon me. "—-?"
I stared at him, befuddled by the way he continued to speak as if I understood what he was saying. Surely he was not an idiot...? As I was about to open my mouth to speak, I noticed he raised his index finger and pointed at me.
"—-?" It sounded like he repeated the same statement — or was it a question?. Unlike the first time, he was purposely slower, voicing each sound he spoke. Was he trying to communicate with me? He then recreated the same action with his index finger.
This felt a lot like that game of Charades. That was the one word that popped into my head as he repeated the action for the second time. Even so, I was never good at playing it but this appeared to be easy to decipher. The finger he held up at the beginning represented number one and when he pointed at me, it meant – well, me.
Did he asked if I was alone? If that was the case, why?
"—, — —..." he chuckled underneath his breath as he scratched the back of his head.
While I was confused as ever, I low key did not like whatever it was he said. Not only did I had the luck of coming across someone who couldn't understand me but there was that high possibility he was not sane of mind either. If it was one or the other, my situation would not be as uncomfortable as it was now. Yet here I was with a person who continued to speak knowing the other person — me — could not understand what they were saying. That chuckle at the end of whatever it was he said did not sit well with me.
A sudden gust of wind enveloped us, strong enough to cause the man to stop and peer up towards the bright sky. He narrowed his eyes and looked back down at me.
Okay, it was time for me to go.
As I took a side step, the man reached out for me and I instantly backed into the tent. Just as quick, his arm jerked away and a startled look crossed his face. Quickly, he rubbed his upper arms before he pointed a finger towards the sky before the repeated the same action.
'It's cold' was what I deciphered.
He raised his hands before him, the universal signal I had used myself as he made his way to the entrance of the tent. By this time, I had stepped away from it and him, as a precautionary measure and by the looks of it, it appeared to me he didn't meant any harm. No sooner did I finish that thought that he pulled out the same cloak I had thrown inside. While no longer neatly folded, I noticed peculiar red and white-rimmed clouds that decorated the black material. It was the same exact cloak I had used last night and the very same one he offered to me.
"—, —," he rubbed his arm with his free hand as he showed me why I should take it. Today's weather was far better than yesterday as there was no sight of rain, but even so, it was a bit chilly due to the occasional gust of winds that seemed to come out of nowhere. He offered the cloak, his arm stretched out to me with a nod.
There was no real harm done if he was offering, was there? I had originally even planned on taking it with me. Still, somewhere deep in my conscious, it told me it wasn't right — that I shouldn't take the offered cloak. Yet, I quenched that thought and took the cloak and threw it on me. It was apparent the cloak was made for a tall person as the bottom hem almost brushed the ground and other than it hanging loosely over my body by how large it was, it was still comfortable enough to wear. Unlike last time where I zipped it all the way up, I only zipped it up to my chest before I gave the man a curt nod.
"Well," I slowly started, "I thank you for the cloak but I must get going." It was bizarre to think that all this time I had searched for someone to lead me back to civilization only to now willingly choose to not follow someone. The man said nothing, so I gave him another curt nod before I stepped to the side and before I could take another step, he blocked my way. I quickly looked up to him quizzically, "I rea—"
"— — — — —- — —," he voiced with a look that troubled me. He quickly reached out for me and missed when I responded just as quick by taking a step back. "— —- — —-," he growled.
There was no need for me to understand what was said for the tone of his voice and the ugly expression he held was all I needed to know that I was in deep trouble.
Author's Note:
Oh, things are happening now! But there you have it, readers – always be careful with what you wish for! Because, as you had read – Ariadna been wanting to meet someone and look what Life decided to throw at her x)
On a side note, I debated — again — on how to go about and show you the 'strange' language. There was one path I was going to go with, but it would be suited better a bit later on. So, what better way than it almost being total blank?! If you listen to a foreign tongue, you can hear the sounds but are clueless with what's being said. How would you describe those sounds? Probably only picking up the vowels of the language, huh? The whole a, e, i, o u. Ah well, this should do it for now x)
[ Question ]
Out of any of your five senses (sound, sight, touch, smell and taste) which would you give up and why?
I'll answer mine in the next chapter :D
Thanks for reading, I'll see you in a bit!
