Black as Night (Completed)

Chapter 14

Julie

We finish dinner and stop our laughter. Rain patters heavily on the roof of the tiny shelter. The fire burns brightly, but a chill has consumed my entire body. Matthew's big brown eyes stare at me. I stare back at him. I'm the first to look away.

“Well, good night,” I say.

“Uh, yeah. G' night,” Matt replies. I lay down and pull the blanket over my body. I rest my head on my thin pillow. Matthew lays on his make-shift bed.

Under my blanket I pull off my dress. My eye-lids become heavy faster than I expect. I drift off to sleep.

I bounce along in the forest. I come to a village. I knock on the large gates. A pair of large, gentle eyes greet me. They widen. The slit closes and the gate opens. That's strange, I think. I walk inside. The boy, a few years older then me, stares. I raise and eyebrow and continue on my way.

The men and boys of the village stare as I pass. A feeling of discomfort fills me. I pass a store window. My reflection startles me.

My breasts have enlarged, as have my hips and tush. My eyes sparkle in the sun light. My hair has become more airy, a lighter shade of brown, and  no longer tangled. I have chiseled cheeks and full, light pink lips. I look slimmer and taller. My skin has darkened and its tone has evened-out. My body has changed completely. 

I cock my head to the left. My hair falls easily off my shoulders. I become even more confused.

I continue to walk as if on a subconscious level of my mind I know what I'm looking for. I look left, behind, and right. 

I finally reach my destination. The blacksmith shop. I hold up the bottom of my dress and jog over to the door. I knock lightly. The door begins to open.

I sit up from the ground. It was all a dream. Again. I lay back down. I try to close my eyes and fall back asleep, but it doesn't wok. I look over at Matt who is sound asleep. I pull my dress out from under the blanket and lay it on the floor. I pull my last clean dress from my bag and put it on. It's red. I don't dislike red, but I can't admit it is my all-time favorite color.  

I grab all my dirty clothes and Matthew's. I search for the stream. 

I reach it. The sun isn't out and fog rests on top of the water. I start to wash all of our dirty clothes. After they're all washed I set them on tree branches to dry. I check around and slip out of my garments. Fully nude I step in the water. 

The cold water runs over my body sleekly. I scrub my body with a stray cloth I found in the pile of clothes. I dip my head under the water. I swim around for a short while. 

I emerge from the water and climb on shore. I shiver, my teeth chatter. I look around. I don't have anything to dry off with. A sense of anxiousness consumes my mind. I run around searching for something, anything to cover my soaking wet body. In the midst of my nervousness I didn't notice someone walking in my direction. I freeze then jump in the water. I take a deep breath and submerge beneath the water. 

My heart pounds in my chest. I twist my legs to stay floating, but not to go above water. Fatigue devours me. My lungs beg for air. My head feels as if it's about to burst. I push myself above water and gasp for air.

Matthew stands with his shirt off, undressing himself on the beach. He's turned around. He doesn't seem to hear me breathing heavily. I swim backwards. Maybe, if I'm far enough away I can hide in the fog and keep my head above water without Matt seeing me. I push on, farther away, deeper in the water.  

Matthew dives in the water, just as naked as I am. I watch him as he scrubs himself with the same cloth I used. He runs his fingers through his hair. He looks so sexy. His dark brown hair seems darker and his tan skin seems brighter. The sun has come out by now and its rays fall on his face. His eyes are big and bright. The fog rises, then disappears. I duck under the water. For the first time this morning I open my eyes underwater.

It's blurry and hard to see. I can see a tan body moving my way. Shit! I pound my legs and arms to get to shore. This is a river. The water shouldn't be this deep! I keep swimming. Someone grabs my leg and pulls me back. Matthew pulls me into his arms. He leans his head down and kisses my lips.