All right! Here is the last chapter that I'm going to post for today! YES!
I mean --- uh --- oh no --- uh --- last chapter for today --- gasp.
You know, updating is starting to get exhausting. I'm not much of a typer myself . . .well, enjoy the chapter (it's longer!).
"Please, you don't want to get involved in this. It's much too ––– complicated," he tried.
She didn't respond for what seemed like forever. Finally, she replied, I will try.
Taken aback by her persistence, he couldn't refuse her. "Fine," he said impassively.
Continue, she said. Continue your story.
He took a deep breath and began. "Well, afterwards, I didn't know what to do. I was lost ––– lost in a cruel world, alone at six. My birthday was coming up in a few weeks, and I knew there would be no presents. No cake. No parents . . . no love. And when I realized that ––– I realized also that I would be alone for Christmas, then New Years, then dad's birthday! Alone . . . alone . . . alone . . . forever.
"I knew my parents weren't coming back. And that scared me beyond imagination. I was nothing without them. I ––– I didn't know what to do or where to go. I was so afraid . . .
"As I was kneeling in front of my destroyed house, my knees gradually becoming frozen to the ground, I remembered one time about a year or two ago. My parents had taken me to the city.
"It had been the first time I'd ever seen other people; our cabin-style house was secluded in the deep woods with no one around. In the city, everyone was so busy and bustling around. I mean, it was bursting with life! It was amazing just to be there, like watching a story unfold.
"My curious mind wandered through the streets, wondering exactly what exactly people were doing, why they were here, and where they were going. It was incredible . . .
"So as I knelt in front of those smoking ashes, isolated within the pressing woods, I realized that there were other people in the world. Somewhere, I wouldn't be alone. The memory of the one time I was presented with a thriving location gave me hope. Not much . . . but it was still hope."
He glanced over at the girl, and he could tell she was processing all of this. Go on, she offered.
"Well, I didn't know where the city was, but I knew I had to go there if I ever wanted someone to care for me. I never even thought about surviving. I mean, there was no food or shelter around, and snow surrounded me, yet the thought never crossed my mind.
"So I resolved to set off. As I got up–––or tried to–––I discovered that my knees had a slight casing of ice around them. How long I'd been sitting there is still a mystery to me, but I eventually cracked through the ice and broke free."
She stopped him momentarily. You did not know where you were going.
He looked at her. "No."
You were unprotected.
"Yes."
You were only six.
"Yes."
She paused for a second and finally said, I see.
Since her questioning was finished, he continued to remember.
"I began in a random direction because I obviously didn't know which way to follow. Being a child, I underestimated how dangerous my journey would be.
"It was night, and I only had the moonlight and twinkling stars to guide me. The trees were dense and thick, and it was difficult to determine if I had gone a certain direction or not. At first I was okay with it, and then it became frightening.
"It was as if my imagination forced me to believe that things were surrounding me ––– dangerous things that were following. At every small noise, my heart leaped and I quickened my pace, certain that something scary would jump out and get me. It got so bad that I began racing through the trees, dodging rocks and leaping over logs. I was terrified ––– alone in the woods at night, unprotected from danger. Alone, and only six.
"I was going out of my mind with terror. What if a bear attacked me? What if a monster slithered under my feet and dragged me away? What if I went away like my mother and father?" He paused for a second and sighed. "I was just ––– lost, I suppose."
And you were only six. she stated.
He looked up and nodded slightly. "Only six."
He took a sip of coffee and continued. "I finally came to a clearing where the moonlight was bright and I felt content. That is ––– until a stick cracked behind me. I tensed and slowly turned around, horrified at what I might see
"So as I grudgingly rotated my body in the direction of the disturbance, my eyes met with the bright yellow irises of a white wolf. I staggered back in fear, but I was frozen in utter terror. The wolf snarled and bared its teeth. The hairs on my neck still stand up at the thought.
"It looked blood thirsty the way those eyes bore into me, the small droplet of drool dripping from its fangs. It was taking so long, I thought for one beautiful second that it would just leave me alone. I was proven wrong when it suddenly lunged at me, teeth shining and eyes glistening. I cowered in fear and looked away before it reached me.
"And then suddenly I felt fangs sinking into my side, into my flesh. My own blood spilled onto the ground, tinting the sparkling snow a violent red. Transforming something so pure into something so hideous ––– it was horrifying.
"Again the fangs came, into my shoulder, piecing my skin and intruding into my body. I was thrown to the ground. Flesh being torn and blood streaming . . . the last thing I remember was looking at the gleaming snow and thinking how perfectly beautiful it was in the moonlight. Then the crimson red came into view, dying it into something evil and terrible. And then I blacked out."
The wolf ––– it was a signal, wasn't it? she asked somberly.
"What? A signal?" he repeated.
Yes. she answered. It was a signal of death.
"What do you mean? I'm still alive."
Something must have saved you. The white wolf is a sign of devastation and death. You were rescued somehow from its power.
He looked skeptical. A signal? He was not superstitious at all, and her logic was definitely driven by superstition.
It is not superstition. she confirmed, seemingly reading his thoughts. It is a fact of the spirits. They use several objects as symbols of different meanings.
"How do you know all of this?" he asked in disbelief.
It is the only thing I know of. she stated simply, looking out the cracked window.
He looked at her for a moment, puzzled at her utter mystery. How . . . ? He could barely connect thoughts anymore.
Go on. she said.
He snapped out of the trance-like state. "Huh? Oh, right.
"I don't know how long I was unconscious. It could have been between a few hours or an entire day. All I know is it was still night when I awoke.
"It was strange because when my eyes first fluttered open, I had forgotten what I was doing, where I was and what was going on. For one blissful moment, I was confused and didn't remember.
"And then it hit me. Reality slammed into me like a pick-up truck. My parents were dead. And I was alone."
Alone and only six.
"Only six . . ."
No comment . . . must sleep . . .