My Guardian Angel

Chapter 3

I woke up in my soft purple sheets, and sighed. Saturday. I hopped out of bed, and ran to my bathroom. Looking in the small mirror I saw a torn apart girl. Her brunette hair was in tangles, her lips were pale, and her small eyes were swollen from crying. Even the makeup, that I wore yesterday, washed away revealing the splinters. She looked a wreck and felt like trash. Yes, look how beautiful God made me. What a masterpiece. After fixing myself up as much as I could I put on a plain t-shirt and shorts. I ran to the kitchen to get some breakfast even though it was already 10:40 am. Since I didn't eat dinner last night I didn't skip a beat when I saw the freshly batch of pancakes and syrup bottle on the dinner table. Sitting down I stuffed my face until I couldn't eat another bite. 

Something fury hit my leg and I looked down to see Daisy smiling at me. "Do you want to go walking Daisy?" I asked and stood up. Grabbing the leash off of the coat rack, that was next to the door, I yelled, "Hey Mom! I'm going to take Daisy for a walk! Thanks for the pancakes!" I hooked Daisy to the leash and headed out the door, but stopped when I heard my Mom answering me. "Okay sweetie, but I didn't make any pancakes. Maybe Roger made them before he left for work. You can thank him when he comes home. Well, y'all be safe!" She yelled back. Strange, I thought. Roger can't cook anything except hot dogs, and even those will send you to the hospital.

Walking around the house, I wasn't surprised when the only thing I saw were wet trees from the storm last night. I walked into the silent woods until I couldn't see the house anymore. It was nice to have some alone time, so I could think. After a while, my legs started to ache. Looking around for a place to sit down I caught a glimpse of Daisy starring at me. "What I'm not just going to sit on the muddy wet ground. I need something sturdy and as clean as possible. Do you have anything in mind, oh wait, you're a dog. Why am I even talking to you?" I scoffed at myself, and continued to look for a tree stump or something like that. 

Suddenly Daisy's leash tugged me hard to the right. She started running in no particular direction, dragging me along. Trying to dodge tree roots and fallen branches, I ran after Daisy with her leash tightly secured in the palm of my hand. "Daisy stop! Where are you going?" I yelled, and caught my foot on a root of an oak tree. I screamed as I fell forward right into a mud puddle. Daisy's leash slipped through my muddy hand and I whined. I was all covered in icky, sticky mud. I pushed myself half way off the ground, but my hand slipped and I face planted again. 

Mud covered my face, and I was afraid to open my mouth to breath fearing it would flood my throat. My eyes were covered making it impossible to see. Wiping them didn't help much since my hands were muddy too. Daisy barked from a distance away, and I decided to follow her voice. Crawling on the ground I made my way to Daisy, collecting leaves, twigs, and who knows what along with me. 'I'm going to need a bath when I get home, but first I have to get that dog' I thought to myself. Daisy's bark became louder and louder as I came closer. Stretching my hands out I searched for her. Instead of touching her soft fur I found my hands in water.

A smile spread across my face as I swished my hands in the cold wetness. I inched closer into the river until I was waist high in freezing cold water. Sucking in a deep breath of air I submerged under water. Coldness surrounded me, making me cringe. I was able to open my eyes now and saw a couple of fish swim by. They were a beautiful red that reminded me of a sun set. My hands hugged myself for warmth and I quickly rubbed off the mud so I could get out of that winter wonderland. Pushing out of the water I filled my lungs with air. I smoothed my hair down and looked for Daisy. My eyes moved to the riverbank and I spotted her sitting down. She was staring at me happily and her tail started to wag.

I maneuvered my way over to Daisy and climbed out of the river. My clothes became heavy with water as I stood, and I started to drip everywhere. Remembering that Roger owned this land and no one would come near, I took off my shirt and shorts so they could dry. Wind hit my bare legs and arms but I knew I had to do it. Knowing mom would freak out if I came home with wet clothes, I just had to set them out to dry; since Roger was at work I was sure to be alone. I kicked off my shoes and socks then sat down next to Daisy on the bank side with nothing but my underwear on. I hugged her for warmth and puffed out a cold breath, "I got you now. You really had me scared when you ran off," I pushed away to stare into her eyes. "Don't ever do that again okay!" I commanded, and shook my finger at her. 

Taking my attention away from her I took in my surroundings. I was in a small field with a few flowers. Clouds seemed to cover the sun, in a peaceful way. I was in a beautiful circle surrounded by the forest. It was truly amazing. As I looked around at the forest something white caught my eye. I stood up on my bare feet and stared at the object, wondering what it was. Walking closer with Daisy at my side the object became clearer.

It was an old gazebo. It's white paint was cracking and vines covered the roof. It looked so peaceful and serene. I walked into its shade, and sat on a wooden bench. It was rickety, and itchy. I got worried that I would get splinters on my thighs like the first night I came here, but my fears quickly faded away when I saw that the gazebo had the perfect view of the river. It's calm waters and different shaped rocks was breathtaking!

"This place is wonderful!" I awed, and sighed. "The only problem is that I don't know how to get back home," I said as Daisy put her head on my lap, and looked up at me with her big brown eyes. "Aw. Don't worry. I don't blame you. In fact I'm happy you did what you did, or I wouldn't have found this place," I smiled. Daisy jumped up and barked happily as I rubbed her neck. "Oh Daisy, you know I love you," I whispered, and leaned back so that I could rest.

~~

I sat up, stretching, and looked around.  The sky was the perfect color of yellow and red, signaling that it was in the evening. I stood up, and shook Daisy to wake her. She opened her eyes, but still whined for sleep. "Come on time to get up sleepy head," I giggled and rubbed Daisy's back. A twig snapped behind a nearby tree, and both of our heads flew up in that direction. Daisy started to growl, and I scooted towards her a bit. "Hello, Is anyone there?" I asked aloud, starting to get scared. I squinted in the dark, and could have sworn that I saw a something run away. I got up and ran over to my clothes. Wet or not I was going to shove them on. After buttoning my shorts up I found the courage to speak again, "Hello!" It was silent. When no one answered I grabbed Daisy's leash, and started walking into the forest on the opposite side. I didn't know where I was going, but I had to get away from there.

Another twig snap made me stop in my tracks. Loud breathing from a nearby bush filled the silence. Fear flushed over me, making me shake in my bones. The forest grew black which made me even more scared. I found myself jogging away. I went in any direction that did not make me feel like someone was there. After a while I finally got to my senses. "Come on Diana! You're just paranoid, and you are getting yourself more lost than before. You need to get home so Mom doesn't have a heart attack," I said to myself as I shook my head. Grabbing Daisy's leash tighter I tried to find my way through the darkness.

After 30 minutes or so of wandering around, I found my way back home. Daisy started to wag her tail when I opened the front door of the house. Finally inside, I took off Daisy's leash and set it on the dinner table. "Mom, Mom! I'm home!" I yelled throughout the house. My mom was at my side in seconds. She was in her pink silk robe, and her hair was pulled back in a slick pony tail. Her eyes were filled with worry. "Oh honey, are you okay? You were gone all day long. Are you hurt? Do we need to call the hospital or the police?" She cried and pulled me into a tight hug. "No Mom. I'm fine. Daisy and I were just playing, and I lost track of time," I lied. Roger frantically ran into the room and sighed when he saw me. He was also in his red robe, his hair tousled, and he looked kind of scared."We were so worried about you," They said together. "I'm fine," I smiled, but mom's cold eyes told me that she was not buying it. "Well now that I thinking about it, I would really like something to eat and some sleep, but other than that I'm perfect," I added, and walked over to the kitchen. My eyes settled on the digital clock that was above the stove. 10:30pm. No wonder I felt like I might faint. "No, no, I will make you a sandwich. Know you just sit down," Mom stood in front of me, and motioned towards the table. Roger came over and got out the bread. Together they made me my lunch/dinner, in their robes.

After a satisfying dinner, I brushed my teeth and laid in bed. I tried to go to sleep, but it was way too hard. I started to think about the thing that was watching me today. 'Was it a human? Or maybe a fox; A really large fox. I do not know. It could have been a human. I mean, it looked tall and it was on two legs.' I hugged the sheets closer to me. 'Oh just stop it Diana! You are not going to scare yourself over nothing. My mind was just messing with me. It was probably just a fox; a really large fox.' I convinced myself, and closed my eyes. Good night