When the night falls

Heaven - Part 12

When have I ever felt this way?

Maybe when I was a child.

So calm.

At peace with the world.

With myself.

The wind delicately caresses my cheeks, while I gently swing in my hammock, side to side, closing my eyes as I inhale the lovely scent of the trees surrounding me. Slowly, I open them again, to look at the blue sky partly covered by green tree crowns, also moving from the wind. A few leaves float down and land on my body, but they don't bother me. My wet hair's all spread over my head, one leg dangling off the bed, my dress laying on the ground to dry. The murmur of the river is heard in the distance. Birds chirping all around me. It's a pleasant warm afternoon. It's spring, flowers and trees are blossoming and I couldn't be happier that they are. Last year I cursed this spring, but now I see all the good things that come with it. Life comes back. I had never noticed all the other animals that live in the forests, as I only went outside at night. Life has not abandoned the woods, at all. There are tons of other animals here: wolves, deers, bears, foxes, snakes and if you go deeper into the forest, you'll find a couple of tigers. It is truly an amazing place. Maybe it is enchanted, like the elders of Leiden used to say. There was this legend about magical creatures living in the forest, creatures unkown to mankind, but I've been here for two weeks and I've never seen anything magical about the creatures here. They seem to be normal. The only magical creatures here are the dark souls, but I've learned something about them: they don't live in every corner of the woods, they live in specific areas that I try to avoid. Their powers in here are much stronger than inside the Walls, and now that I'm almost unarmed, a little scratch could kill me. My wound has healed completely and it no longer hurts. I remember the day I threw away the bandages that once wrapped my leg, I threw them into the river. I watched them go as the current took them away. Now the only thing that's left from Leiden and my previous life is my dress. It's all ripped on the bottom from all the running through the bushes when I left. I keep it only as a memory, to convince myself this is not a dream, that I've truly made it, that I've escaped from the threatening claws of my husband, of that monster. I wonder if he has told anyone about me, where I am. Even if he hasn't they must've figured it all out by themselves, it's no brainer. My dad would have blamed my mom for not teaching me right about my responsibilities, my mom would have blamed my uncle for getting all those crazy escape ideas in my head and Alexander would have surely blamed himself for my escape. Of course, how could he be so careless and not assign the whole army to guard the Walls on the most important day of his life?

The thought makes me laugh out loud. Punked him. How could I survive living with him my entire life? He's delusional.

The sound of the wind going through the leaves calms me down and brings me back to reality, the reality I doubt for a dream, all of this is just so unbelievable. From where I was to where I am now, I have obviously made progress. I hunt for fun, when I am bored, because I make sure I'm inside a safe zone all the time left. This is truly heaven. I can lay here all I want sunbathing without fearing for the presence of anyone, because no one is here. I can say that I've actually managed to get a tan.

A sharp sound interrupts my trail of thoughts. My head turns almost immediately to its source and after I realise what's going on, I smile and get off the bed, heading to the direction where it came from. It's just dinner.

A fluffy white bunny got its leg stuck in one of my traps. It looks at me like it actually knows what I'm going to do with it. It's scared. Adorable, but food is food and so is this bunny. I gently grab him by its ears and release his foot. Then I hold it in my arms, the same way my mother holds Daniel, slowly swaying him side to side. Oh, Mr. Bunny, how I wish it wasn't you, but you are and so you will be, dinner. It tries to run away, but I grab him again and cage it with my arms.

- No, no, don't go away, - I talk to it,- you are soooo cute and adorable, but you are also delicious.

I hold it up in the air to get a better look at it. God,it has amazing eyes. They hold fear in them. Suddenly my heart falls. The bunny reminds me of myself, the day I escaped. Dressed in white, trying to run away from my monster husband. I made it, I got away. Was the bunny going to make it too?

I look at it sadly and then slowly lower it onto the ground. With no hesitation, it runs away, hiding into the bushes. I can live without eating meat for one day, can I? It's better this way.

I look up to the sky, getting dressed and gathering my stuff. I better get going, because when the night falls, nightmares come to life.