ELIZA

CHAPTER TWENTY: PICNICS

Seconds were minutes, minutes were hours and hours were months. It seemed to me that I had already spent weeks in the cottage when I found out that only five days had passed.

I was desperate. My first signs of regained consciousness came from the excruciating pain in the chest area. It was then that I realized that I was left in the woods with a man I didn't really know - I even started to wonder if Cosmo really was in prison for innocence...

I was constantly thinking about Tom and the fact he was in a coma. That maybe if I had been with him, he would have regained consciousness. I told myself that only my absence kept him numb. So I HAD TO escape.

However, it was not easy. After my last attempt, Cosmo was watching over me everywhere. He even went to the bathroom with me (fortunately he waited outside, but he forced me to talk to hear my voice), we ate breakfast, lunch and dinner together.

I protested when he wanted us to sleep in bed together. After all, I couldn't agree to that. He wasn't satisfied, but offered to sleep on the couch, as long as I was tied to the bed. Even though it was very uncomfortable, I pressed my lips together and let him wrap my arms and legs every night, thereby holding me firmly to the bed rail.

A week after my arrival, I figured I had to start talking to Cosmo. He wasn't the type of a quiet man, so I thought that maybe when he started opening up to me, he would tell me something, or at least leave his phone somewhere (which, by the way, I hadn't seen since my escape), and it would be a chance for me. It would be enough for the police to track the phone and I would be free.

The fact that they could arrest Cosmo because of me, was not the ideal solution. It would be best if he drove me home himself, then I probably wouldn't bring any charges.

"Why did you do that?" I asked, starting a conversation after dinner. It was amazing that Cosmo cooked, cleaned and washed everything himself, I didn't help him in anything, but he didn't complain about anything.

"I needed a vacation," he clarified, eyeing me closely. He wondered why I brought up this topic, we had hardly spoken at all for a week. "And so did you".

"Vacation maybe, but...," I shrugged. I wouldn't call this a vacation, I was a prisoner here after all, but I didn't want to upset him with my words.

"What is it?" I didn't notice that he was looking at me, carefully analyzing my behavior.

"Nothing, just..." I stuttered. "We're not going anywhere..." I finished, glancing shyly at him.

Cosmo frowned. He probably thought it was too early to leave anywhere, that he should wait. Finally, after almost two minutes, he agreed with me.

"Sure, I get it. It's not a vacation when you can't even get out in the sun. Did you know it's twenty-six degrees outside?" he suddenly changed the subject.

I shook my head. Of course that I didn't know. There were no windows in the apartment, at least not in the part to which I had access to.

"Then we'll go on a picnic tomorrow," he decided. "We'll eat something in the fresh air. "

I was already opening my mouth to tell him that I was rather thinking about a trip when he closed it with a statement:

"It must be enough for now."

The next day around 1 p.m., Cosmo stood in front of me holding a bamboo basket in his hand, already prepared for the picnic.

When we were going down the stairs, I could finally take a closer look at the part of the house that was closed to me - the pit also had no windows or even if it did, they were boarded up. Nobody cleaned here for a long time - I didn't see dust upstairs, but I continuously wanted to sneeze downstairs.

We walked through the living room, into which the sun was already breaking through the door. I thought that the house in the past could have been really beautiful and it was a pity that I would never be able to show this place to Tom.

"You've become sad," it was Cosmo and his infallible intuition.

"Yes," I didn't want to lie, even if it meant that he would order me to retreat upstairs. "I remembered someone."

The truth was, there hadn't been an hour when I wasn't thinking about my boyfriend. Since yesterday, however, busy trying to figure out possible escapes, I didn't think about Tom. He was forgotten because of some meaningless picnic. It made me feel guilty.

"It's normal," he said curtly.

He had said that once before. He probably wanted me to get used to this situation, but he didn't believe I would spend the rest of my life here with him, right...?

He opened the door. It wasn't locked, which made me happy.

The sudden sunshine blinded me. I had to squint my eyes hard, as did Cosmo. I thought that maybe if I had managed to escape in the evening and wander through the forest at night, I would have come to civilization in the morning, and...

"Don't think about it," he scolded me, as if reading my mind. "This forest is dangerous."

Slowly my eyes adjusted to the sun. I saw more and more.

"Then you couldn't have chosen at least a safer one?"

He smiled, then pulled my hand.

I looked around for the car near the house, but it was nowhere to be seen.

"No, because no one will find us here. Local people are afraid to walk around here. They believe that once you enter this forest, you may not come back."

"Wonderful," I snorted, although I was glad there were some "local people." I let him hold me and lead me, trying to remember as much as possible.

The house was in a small clearing. It was surrounded by deciduous trees. The leaves were slightly yellowed, probably from the sun, which confirmed my belief that we were in a warm country.

We walked for about ten minutes while I tried to come up with a name for a forest that was said to be haunted. Unfortunately, not a single thought crossed my mind, I didn't know any foreign forest. I used to read about the suicide forest in Japan, but Japan? No, we definitely weren't that far...

And so it became our routine to go to a picnic once a week. During our third meeting, Cosmo surprised me with a proposal:

"We will go to a town the day after tomorrow," he said suddenly, adding in a serious tone of voice. "But at night, lest you run away or scream in the middle of the street."

"It's easier to escape at night," I remarked, not understanding his logic.

"Not in this town," he muttered. "Anyway, you'll see for yourself."

Two days later we left the cottage in the evening. He insisted on blindfolding me, so even though I didn't want to, I had to give in and capitulate.

Blindfolded it felt strange as he led me into the unknown. For a moment I was overwhelmed by a strange excitement - I hadn't gone anywhere (except for the forest) for a month and I was convinced that I would be able to escape tonight.

After a few weeks, I no longer thought of Cosmo as a kidnapper. I noticed that he wanted my company very much, he didn't force me to do anything I didn't want myself. Although he still tied my arms and legs, the knots were a lot looser, so if I tried, I would be able to untie myself.

He led me to the car, seating me in the passenger seat. Before he untied me, I felt he was very close. I turned my head in the opposite direction so it wouldn't cross his mind to kiss me.

He only untied my hands. He left the blindfold over the eyes, probably so that I wouldn't see any passing signs on the road.

We drove for about half an hour, although it seemed to me that it was an eternity. I was sitting upright in my armchair - I was hoping the police would see us and order Cosmo to pull over to the side of the road. After all, no normal passenger rides with a blindfold on. Unfortunately, nothing like that happened.

Only after some time did he allow me to see the world. I timidly removed the headband, watching the city carefully.