This is for the "Develop your writing" competition, April 2018. The challenge was that it had to have shadows and a bird
People ask me how I always know where he is, how he's feeling, and what he's doing. Well what can I say?
We're interconnected.
I walk through the dense forest, with a bag strapped to my back and a flashlight in my hand. Swatting away a few flies away, I grumble
Ethan where the hell are you??
Ducking under a low tree, I crouch down and remove by backpack to rest for a while. I try to connect to Ethan but it's a lost case. It's like trying to find Wi-Fi in the Thar Desert. I take our my notebook, and with the flashlight in my mouth, I start to write:
It's been three days since he left. I don't know where he's gone and who's with him, all I know is, I can't connect to him anymore. He has a shield with him. A shield, that could be possibly hurting him right now. I have been trying my best to search, but it's like looking for a needle in a haystack. I am currently somewhere in the middle of the forest. I have food but I don't think it's going to last for more than two days.
Sighing, I shut the book and keep it in my bag. After having had some water and a biscuit, I resume my search. I look around me and note that the forest is actually quite beautiful. Apart from being spookily eerie and a bit creepy, it's strangely enchanting. A bird flies just above my head and I smile at it. It's a small sparrow, with delicate, tiny wings and a cute face. It flies in a circle above my head and then goes away.
Ethan!
Most people don't believe it when I say that I know what he's thinking. It's like a metaphor for most couples but for us,it's actually real. We don't know how it's possible but the first time I met him, I asked him if his sister was currently staying in Chicago. I don't know how I came up with that. I just looked at him and it seemed like he was thinking about his sister who lived in Chicago. After that we started dating and then he proposed . That was two years ago. Three days earlier, he said he had to buy milk from the store but apparently he didn't find it and he said he'll go a bit farther to find it. And then he went missing. Ridiculous, I know. I didn't worry at first, to be honest. It was only when I tried to connect to him and I couldn't. So I retraced his steps and here I am, muddy and tired, looking for my husband .
ETHAN!!!
I'm walking on the bank of a lake when suddenly a force hits me so hard that I fall backwards in shock. Quickly getting up, I pick up the flashlight from where it fell from my hands and shine it towards the other side of the lake. I see two shadows. One tall and the other crouched. I squint a bit and that's when I see it.
Oh my god! Ethan!
Ethan's tied to a tree by his hands and he has a tape covering his mouth. He looks absolutely wrecked. I remove my bag and throw it to the ground. Holding the flashlight in my mouth, I remove my socks and shoes and jump into the water. I'm not a very good swimmer but I tried my best to reach Ethan as fast as I could.
I reach the other side and run forward to help him.
Oh Ethan.
Tears rush to my eyes. He's bleeding out from a huge gash on his forehead and his breathing is forced. I shake myself and proceed to remove the tape from his mouth when something hits me at the back of my head and knocks me unconsious.
Are you awake? C'mon child. Get up.
I look up and see a blurred face. Who the hell is this? Where am I? What is going on? I turn my head to the right and see Ethan looking at me, trying to wrestle his hands away from some.... rope? Slowly I realize that my hands are tied together too. What's going on? I look up at the woman peering at me and she says:
Finally. I thought you were never going to get up.
In a flood it all comes rushing back to me. Ethan going missing, somebody hitting me at the back of my head. This is the shield. But who is she? And what is she doing here?
What do you want?!
I yell, as I struggle to free myself from the ropes. It's useless.
Sit still! She snaps and smacks me on the face. I can see Ethan's head jerk as he sees me in pain. We just looked at each other for a moment, communicating through our eyes. "It'll be okay" he seemed to be saying.
Ah. How sweet. Love. So pure yes? Ethan would know, wouldn't you?
I just stare at her. What's this crazy woman on about? I try to connect to Ethan but it's no use.
Yes... Ethan WOULD know about love... Don't you Ethan? Why, you certainly were a good lover to me.
Shocked, I look at her and then at Ethan and back at her again. They had dated??
Ethan struggles to get the tape off and she walks up to him and removes it. In a shaky whisper he says
That was ages ago...
After a few more shaking and stammering, it turns out that this woman used to date him and he broke up with her because it didn't work out.
Didn't work out?! She screams It was
perfect and you know it!!!! Everything was fine till you left me for this... This GIRLIE!!!
The stones on the ground are slowly moving as she's getting more and more worked up. She's a force too strong for me. I glance at Ethan helplessly as he glares at the woman.
Seeing us both silent, she takes a deep breath and says
You were a great person Ethan. Shame you had to be this stupid.
Taking a step forward, she raises a hand and I can slowly feel myself rising. I look over to Ethan and he is doing the same. I try to struggle, do anything, but my hands are still tied. The woman raises us till we're both directly above the lake and says
Goodbye.
She drops us.
I fall into the lake. I desperately try to kick my feet, trying to swim but it's of no use. I look to my left and see Ethan trying to do the same. I shake my head at him and he stops. We look at each other. I can almost feel myself surrendering to the water. The last of the oxygen left in me escapes from my body. Just before I black out, I hear something clearly in my head:
I love you.
