❝ 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫
𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 ❞ | mature
Too many arguments too much tears, they foreseed how it will end. Their break up was a mutual agreement and so was what came after.
Six months afte...
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The sun was shining brightly and defiantly, its penetrating rays attacking their skin and burning their sensitive flesh. It felt as if the woods themselves were trying to slow down their progress. They glanced behind them, and when they looked ahead again, trees that they could have sworn were never there before appeared to have grown in the moment their eyes weren't watching. Branches seemed to share the same intention of thwarting their escape from the natural maze; they poked into their arms and caught in Emily's hair and Aaron's torn shirt, like evil fingers trying to grasp their victims with every method available.
They sensed that the advantage they had gained when they first left the cabin was slowly disappearing. As if in the moment Frederic had escaped he had managed to reclaim control, the woods were undeniably familiar to him and maybe by his side.
Time stretched out like an oily road, while they struggled to find their balance, taking careful steps. Frederic effortlessly glided toward them, reducing the distance between them. He not only had control over the nature of the woods, but also over their bodies. They suddenly moved slowly, their bodies tired and heavy like the chains were still wrapped around them.
The delicate squeals of rodents, the gurgling and clicking of teeth, and the buzzing of invisible creatures vanished in an instant, just like the chirping of birds before they flapped their wings and flew away, leaving their song as an unfinished tune— they were too fleeting for safety.
Aaron's entire body burned, as if the sun had magically inserted its rays into him, igniting his insides. He couldn't breathe; his vision blurred, and he had to drop her hand. He threw himself against the nearest tree, digging his fingers hard into the bark until he could feel parts of that thick layer beneath his nails. He fought to remain standing, breathing violently with every breath triggering a new pain inside him. But he couldn't stop breathing to make it stop—after all, it was a human reflex he couldn't control. So he was trapped in a cycle of agony that simply wouldn't end.
Yet perhaps it could be tolerable, he believed, once he felt her cool palms against his cheek. "It's okay, breathe, we are close" she said soothingly, though he could hear the exhaustion in her voice. "Don't try to speak" she said calmly, letting a tear the permission to slip from her eye because as she looked at his face, his eyes shut tightly and a deep frown displayed.
He listened to her, breathing through his mouth and then switching to his nose as her encouraging words entered his ears and echoed in his mind. He kept his eyes closed, but less tightly than before. He tilted his head to the side and rested it against the tree, her hands still stroking his face and her voice guiding him to a steady breathing pattern. Finally, he could hear birds whistling and the rustling of movement from the bushes nearby, as if the woods were waking up again, this time with no malicious intent. It was tender and familiar, the wind floating over his face and blowing into his shirt. The sounds he heard now were no longer intimidating; he felt calm. His body no longer ached, and her hand touching his hair led him to release another exhale.
