Chapter One
I used to talk to the trees sometimes. They listened. People never did that- people didn't want to listen. They only waited for their turn to talk.
The night I first saw Her, I was meditating in the forest on the cold ground with leaves littered about me like cigarette butts in an ashtray. I remember feeling my back itch against a twisted, old cypress tree, the bark cold and rough against my striped t-shirt. I wonder if that tree has died and begun to rot like my body by now.
I remember she was bent over, nose to an oak tree, either hiding from some perceived danger or smelling the moss-covered bark. She straightened her back up and did a twirl, her pure white sundress billowing about her tiny frame. She was like a single match burning bright against the deep, ink black night of the forest.
Can she see me? I thought to myself. Then, as if a gust of wind blew her out, she disappeared, leaves skittering across the ground like a trail of smoke. Suddenly I felt even more alone than I had before I entered the forest. The cruel metal brace imprisoning my left leg was like an ice cube against my bare skin. I shivered, rubbing an ugly bruise left as a result of wearing the contraption. Standing back up would be a chore. It was too dark to find my way back to the Path, but I remained stoic- nothing could phase me. I decided to spend the night right there, under the safe umbrella of leaves grown from the cypress tree.
A tinge of guilt pricked me like a flu shot as I recalled my sisters back at the apartment, in the city. I thought of Scarlet, my oldest sister. At nineteen years old, she was the one who cared for my other sisters and myself. She'd worry if I didn't come home. Reaching into the pocket of my black miniskirt, I retrieved a Nokia flip phone. Small red and black gems spelling out my name- Ruby- were glued to the front. I flipped the cell open, revealing a small screen with the blinking words No New Messages. How typical. I felt foolish even thinking someone would notice my absence at home. I noted the time- 9:23 pm- and flipped the phone shut.
It's not like it was the first time I'd spent the night alone in the forest. I used to come there often to expand my soul, in a sense. I didn't have any friends, unless you counted my five sisters. We weren't close by any stretch of the imagination, however. Our grandmother's house was in the forest, and finding it was easy enough. If you actually followed the Path, that is. My sisters and I liked to wander off, venturing wherever our minds drifted away to, not caring about whatever dangers lurked deep in the bowels of that endless forest. That's what I'd been doing before I parked myself under that old cypress tree. I'd wandered for an hour or two too long this time, however.
I adjusted my legs to a more comfortable angle and allowed my head to loll onto my shoulder. The thick blue-black fringe of my hair fell over my eyes and tickled me a little, though I didn't bother to brush it away. I waited for the heavy blanket of sleep to cover me, but the bitter night air pushed it away, leaving goosebumps on every inch of my pale skin. I trained my ears on the distant sound of crunching leaves.
It's probably nothing more than an animal, scourging for food or looking for its home, I told myself. Still, my heart beat faster in my chest and I straightened up my back, pushing the hair from my eyes. The crunching was becoming closer, and sounded heavy, like combat boots on the dead fall leaves. I knew it was no animal. I reasoned with myself- perhaps it was that girl in the white dress, coming back to make friendly conversation. I remained completely still, while my heart beat as if I had snorted a line of cocaine. I could nearly make out a figure, despite the suffocating darkness surrounding me. I strained my eyes, frustrated with myself that I was unable to see clearer.
It was a man with light hair, about six-foot-two, and clad in black clothing. Something about the way he walked filled me with a sense of both complete terror and absolute exhilaration. He walked as if he were some high-profile criminal trying to make his way through a crowd unnoticed whilst the secret service pursued him- quick and paranoidly, looking over his shoulder every few seconds. If he had come to stab me, or take advantage of me, or both, I knew I could accept that fate. I had been ready to die for a long time. The very thought of death filled me with a sense of purpose and fervor.
The stranger was no less than five feet from where I sat, completely vulnerable under that tree. I closed my eyes, expecting to be shot in the face point-blank, or jerked up by one of my thin arms and thrown into a burlap sack like a stray kitten. The footsteps stopped, and my heart pounded against the walls of my chest as though I had overdosed on cocaine. I opened my murky brown eyes cautiously, not knowing exactly what to expect.
A sizable hand, dressed in a leather glove, was extended towards me. Dumbfounded, I hesitated for a moment before placing my petite hand in the stranger's. Promptly I was jerked from where I sat up to a standing position, despite the limitations from my brace. The night masked the stranger's features; he would've been completely camouflaged in his all-black attire had it not been for his leucous blond hair. Much like the Girl in White's sundress, the stranger's hair lit up in the dark like a match.
"Need a ride?" a gravelly voice inquired.
"Sure," I coolly answered. I felt a brawny arm slip around me and grip my shoulder. The strange man guided me away from the cypress tree, and together we walked for what seemed like hours, but in reality was likely only ten or fifteen minutes. Abruptly, the looming blond stopped and reached into the pocket of his worn leather jacket.
This is it, I thought to myself. Death.
How many hours or days had I spent romanticizing the moment I'd finally experience it, finally find out what comes after life, how the barrel of a gun would fit like a key between my teeth? I was sweating, despite the frigid autumn air. I clasped my shaking hands together and watched the man expectantly. From his jacket he retrieved a pack of cigarettes, and as he pulled a smoke out and held it between his teeth I felt my heart drop. Maybe it wasn't time to die just yet.
The stranger shook the pack in my direction, freeing a cigarette clearly meant for me. I hesitated, but afraid of appearing foolish, gingerly accepted the square. I put it in my mouth, allowing it to hang loosely from my lips. My deep crimson lipstick acted like a glue, preventing the cancer-stick from slipping from my mouth. The blonde lit his own cigarette, then casually stooped down until his face met mine, roughly grasping the underside of my chin with his gloved hand. He pressed the lit end of his cigarette into mine, and I inhaled in response. The dim light emitted from the lit smokes revealed a youthful yet rugged countenance framed by chiseled features and the beginnings of a five-o'clock shadow. His cobalt blue eyes met mine and shyly I averted my gaze.
After regaining his posture, the stranger quietly smoked his cigarette as I mimicked him, inhaling deeply as he did and slowly blowing the smoke out of the corners of my mouth, leaving a cloud of carcinogens for the trees to absorb. I almost wished to be his cigarette, so I could at least have the certainty of knowing my fate- I'd end up a stub of a filter, damp with spit and perhaps stuck to the bottom of his heavy black Doc Martens. A beautiful ending, if you asked me.
Finally he turned to me, exhaling a billow of smoke in my face. "What's your name?"
"Ruby," I flatly responded. "What's yours?"
"Call me Charming, Ruby," he quipped, and despite the veil of darkness masking his face, I swear I saw him wink. He took a final drag off his cigarette, sucking the last bit of life out from it, and flicked it onto the carpet of rotting leaves covering the ground. Charming stubbed it out as I enviously watched. My fate would not come to swiftly. I once again felt his secure arm snake around me and I dropped my smoke as well, killing its embers with the toe of my knee-high Demonias. On we walked, Charming and I, until we reached the Path. A beautiful cardinal-red Camaro waited for us.
Charming opened the passenger's side door for me, beckoning me inside. I obediently responded, cautiously pulling my brace-enveloped leg into the car with me. As he slammed my door shut and sat down himself, the sound of car keys jangling fueled a fire inside of me. Once again I found myself shaking with adrenaline, and woefully I longed for another cigarette. Fast cars were another fantasy of mine. I envisioned myself going over a hundred miles per hour down a long stretch of endless highway, feeling as light and free as a dandelion seed being carried away by a gust of wind. I wouldn't be gracefully dropped to the soft, dewy grass, however. There'd be something in the way- a patch of ice, a deer, perhaps a hitchhiker- and the car would spin out of control, flipping over several times and crushing the soul from my body in the process. Bits of debris from the vehicle would be planted about the earth like seeds that would never grow.
I clasped my numb hands together in my lap and watched as Charming tightly gripped the steering wheel, turning the Camaro around so swiftly my body was forced against the car door. He did not relent, continuing to speed along the Path, leaving plumes of dust in our wake. I estimated it was nearly witching hour, as the atmosphere was still foggy and as dark as my hair. For a moment, I could've sworn I caught a glimpse of the Girl in White balancing herself against a tree. Charming's car finally reached the end of the Path, whipping onto a strip of paved road that would soon lead to the highway. I found myself wondering why Charming had offered me a ride in the first place, if he hadn't yet killed me. He'd had plenty of opportunities to. As if he'd read my mind, Charming smoothly spoke up.
"You're my alibi, Ruby. You were with me all night, alright? We went out to eat, then went straight back to your apartment, didn't we?"
"Yeah," I calmly responded. So that's what he was up to. Something shady, and likely dangerous. I shuddered with excitement as Charming sped up the car a little more. I checked the speedometer, which read ninety three miles per hour.
"You having fun, Ruby?"
"Yeah, I am."
"Say my name, Ruby."
"I said yeah I am, Charming."
"Good girl," he reciprocated. "What's your address?"
I observed Charming's face as I gave directions to my apartment. He was handsome, somewhere between nineteen and twenty-five years old, with a scar in his right eyebrow as though he'd once had a piercing that got ripped out. His ears were pierced with small silver hoops, framed by tossles of shaggy blond hair. We pulled into the parking lot of my apartment complex, Link's Edge. The Camaro was brought to a screeching halt, the force of which jerked my body forward. For a moment we sat there silently, reflecting on that night's events as the car continued to run. Without warning, Charming turned and leaned into me, grabbing the back of my head and pressing his lips into mine. Instinctively I inhaled sharply through my nose, and the strong scent of stale menthol cigarettes, bleach, and cinnamon gum shocked my senses. I parted my lips slightly, a foreign tongue greeting my own. We remained in that position, making out for another couple of minutes before my neck began to cramp. Gradually Charming pulled away, reached into his pocket, and extracted a cell phone, which he then handed to me.
"Put your number in there," he ordered. I did as he said, then returned the phone back to him.
"Thanks for the ride," I weakly uttered, carefully exiting the car. I heard the Camaro peel out of the parking lot behind me as I entered the apartment complex. The familiar smell of mothballs and laundry detergent greeted me inside.