Cirque du Minuit

Protasis

— Protasis —

A girl found herself wandering aimlessly deep within the forest. The full moon gleamed in the pitch black sky of the night leaving the girl with just a little light to guide her from the shadowy path of the woods. Tall trees surrounded her, swaying as the breeze whistling between its branches. The sound only made the girl more frightened than she already was. She never meant to run through the forest but she had no choice at that moment.

 If it wasn’t for the new job she had landed on that day, she won’t be even near that forest. She was just gone to deliver something from the other side of the city when it all happened. A bunch of guys surrounded her without her noticing and the next thing she knew was being pushed down in a cold concrete. It scared her to hell as they’ve positioned a knife in front of her and threatened her with their foul-smelling breath that a slight move will cost her life. She didn’t dare to move at that point and cursed her fate for having such a bad luck.

 Praying for it to end quickly and shutting her eyes from the looming knowledge she knew will take part, it was then that a dog came charging to their direction and biting the one on top of her as hard as the dog could do. The men were thrown into panic after that and fought the rabid dog, forgetting the girl for a moment giving her a chance to run away. For a second, the girl was confused on what was happening that her mind even conjured that the rabid dog was far from ordinary. The girl couldn’t point out what made it different but she dismissed all the thoughts about her unexpected hero and ran as far away from that place.

 It was then that her eyes caught the lines of trees of the forest. She was about to turn around and run in a different direction but the yells and the sound of heavy footsteps surged her forward and into the woods.

 Beads of sweat had already pooled into her skin but she didn’t dare to stop from running. She had lost count on how long she had last heard the cries and shouts of the men who were following her but her heart was still pounding inside her chest.

 It was then that she stumbled through the bracken that finally slowed her down. She laid there for a moment, trying to catch her breath and also listening to the sound of footsteps or angry voices to come closer but her ears were only greeted with silence.

 Slowly, she raised her head and peeked through the large grove, seeing that it was still dark and no living, except her, was roaming the forest. She sat up from her position and looked down at her scraped knees. It was bleeding but not that much and the pain was tolerable.

The girl then stood up, testing her ankles and legs if they are still fit to walk which thankfully they did. She then suddenly looked back just to make sure that the men who were following her were really gone. Thankfully, they were not in sight. She looked around her to see where she had run through but she could not recognize the place. She sighed in spite of herself for getting rid of one situation and landing on a new one. Thinking that there’s no use blaming her fate, she decided to find her way out of the forest.

 Gradually, she started walking, taking the forest in for the first time and find it not as scary as it had been when she had entered it.

 It was actually nicer than what she was used to lived in. Fresh air surrounded her and she finds it refreshing from all those fetid smell she had lived through.