Disputed Love

night in a dark forest

I start to walk deeper, leaving the tent behind me, towards the dark trees.

The problem is that I am losing sight, and the small victory of escaping the embarrassed officer is fading away and is being replaced by trepidation.

After a min into my northward walk, I can sense the trees becoming denser, the path becoming less smoother. There were stones and broken branches. I felt some of the branches poke my arms and I just hope it was not poison ivy.

I don't know how long it would take for the officer to realise that I have not returned, I guess he assumes that something is wrong with my stomach.

Just not the impression you want boys to have of you.

I walk closer to the edge of the forest, so I don't travel to the city or get lost in the dense forest. I want to be able to come out of the woods when I want as soon as possible.

Serafina has no dense forests but systematic gardens and beaches and lots of ghats.

So this is my first experience in a full fledged garden on steroids. I follow the light of stars and moon, wherever I see them peek through the leaves and onto the land, I walk towards it, as I don't want to become food to the wild or fall into some trap pit and become manure for this jungle.

I don't know the time but it seems about an hour of myself walking alone with unfamiliar sounds of insects accompanying me. I feel a surge of hunger takeover me. I can't keep walking through the night. I have to station myself somewhere for sometime.

I walk for more than twenty minutes or so, as I don't want to be easily be found. If there is a search party sent after me,I want to be undetectable, I have only experienced this freedom for sometime. I can't let it all go because I felt a slight hunger.

I see a small clearing ahead, where faded moonlight falls, and shones the land clear of dry leaves, and a small circle of stones. I quickly walked towards it and found out that the mud in the surrounding stones looked like ashes. Someone had recently camped here.

I guess this is it, even if this place was spotable. I leave that for the lord Sun to deal with.

It's either wild animals or the Elsora army.

When you are alone, time is harder to pass by. It's quiet but I feel something crawling over or something staring at me every five minute.

It's colder here, out there is the humid summer air but inside the forest it's still chilly. The summer has not spread its wings full fledged. My clothing is also not cold appropriate either, Serafina is a tropical country, we don't usually require sweaters and full covering.

We wore mainly cotton, linens, and mulmul. Anything that is basically breazy. I have my cotton fabric sewn in various designs.

And I should have gotten sewn in some full sleeves and full skirts for this expedition. My plan to run away was not the full proofed one, guess who is never going to be invited to a mission of any sorts. Yeah, you are right.

I have worn a sleeveless white cotton camisole style top, paired with a cotton fabric sarong skirt. The most Serafina outfit ever.

I have lost track of time, and have eaten all the food, and finished half of my water that I had packed.

I couldn't sit and freeze to death, I had to get something to start a bonfire.

I get up and move around. I think people who camped before me had lightened all the spare wood because I am unable to find any.

Well, I went for the bushes, which might have disturbed some worms and some unknown beings living in them.

Found drying leaves, and some pieces of wood and broke some of the branches.

It shall help through the night. One intelligent thing that I remembered to carry were matchsticks, but it was for a bonfire in a more safe place, with friends,where we play music and dance together. I didn't think of this scenario, well now we know made up dreams are always far from reality.

I hope it doesn't get harsher than this and I start missing home. I successfully light the bonfire and instantly feel so much better.

I guess the former statements didn't last long, I missed home.

I make myself comfortable on my bag of clothes as I lay my head on it and close my eyes.

I don't remember falling asleep. Another dreamless sleep.