The Hunter's Wolf

Serendipity

Serendipity

I stink of garbage.

Through the days and weeks without having a single bath, I smell like someone who fell into a mountain of compost, dipped into a pool of spoiled milk, and crawled my way out of a pile of animal poop, over and over.

My skin that used to be a pale colour has been smudged with dirt and mud. The texture too, becomes sticky of my own sweat, and rough from the treatment that I underwent. My eyes trail along my open palms and find my wrists, both with traces of the cuffs that I was once shackled with. They create a bright red bracelet etched with wounds, and they are most sensitive with the slightest touch.

I lower my arms and with a deep breath, I decide that it is time to hit the shower, to get rid of the stench and if it might, to find solace.

Today has been a chaotic day, and what seems worse is that it has yet to end.

My legs lumber into the bathroom, and my bare feet makes contact with the cold tiles. I lock the door behind me and begin to strip every piece of clothing on me, and finally toss the deranged clothes into the bin.

Not that I am surprised, but the bathroom that lies behind the small, white-painted double doors is as luxurious as the bedroom. Nordic white slate tiles embed on the floors, and the walls are made of pure Obsidian glass, until the area where the tub is situated. On the other corner, Botella mosaics embed on the walls around the shower, later separated by a transparent glass door.

I head over to the tub with the capacity of four or more people, and pick a soap in a transparent tube bottle that I think smells fairly aromatic, and pour the whole content. Then, I twist the knob and warm water flood the tub, with steam vaporizing into the air, floating as a thin fog below the ceilings. I set the water to an adequate temperature, and sit on the toilet seat while I wait for the bath to fill up.

For the next several minutes, my thoughts wander into the depth of my mind.

They never mentioned how they found me that night; when the hunters massacred the werehyenas and I was left separated with the others to fight the Queen of the clan.

I never asked either.

When water level in the tub is just enough, I close the knob, and step into the bubbly pool.

I sigh in contentment when my sore muscles begin to relax, and I dip lower, the heat seeping into my skin to fill in the buoyancy that has been lost through the pores, giving a thermal therapy that massages the ache away, and warmth that fogs my mind. I rest my back against the tub, and start rubbing off the stains on my skin.

For the time being, I develop a certain kind of bliss to this hedonism, until the knocks on the door breaks my momentary delight apart.

Knock knock !

My body stiffens and my arms freeze.

"Rose ?"

Although muffled, but the sound goes through the door, and I blow out a relief when I hear Emma's voice.

"Just a minute," I let her know as I rise from the water, now just a dull brown colour and the warmth is no longer contained. After removing the bathtub plug, the water flows into the drain, and I rush into the shower to wash my hair real quick.