In the morning just before the sun could rise a frustrated voice rang out. A black and purple RV with flowers was camped out on the edge of a cliff. When the morning arrived the golden rays of the sun turned the sky beautiful hues of pink and orange.
Instead of watching the spectacular display of nature's beauty the owner of the RV had her bloodshot eyes glued to her laptop that was being charged . She honestly was a pitiful sight with an air of depression and helplessness.
Due to her chronic insomnia she spent her nights binge reading novels.
Calmly typing a review the girl made herself a cup of coffee before facing the laptop once again. This was the calm before the storm. The life changing event that ended in unforeseen death.
" My poor babies!" Liara lamented wiping her tearing eyes.
" What the fudge! The ending doesn't even make sense! It's ending with a tragic cliffhanger!How could he die! That protagonist is a two-faced b*tch! . What female lead is like that?A bloody white lotus and her males are just dreadful ! You think you're so amazing but you are hella selfish!"
A hand banged down on the dash board which was precariously balancing a sweetened freshly brewed cup of coffee with a dash of cream.Liara who had been holding back her temper imploded . Scathing anger ran through her veins as she once again recalled the plot of the book she had just finished.
' Why was life so unfair! Even novels these days! What was wrong with a happily ever after?'
With one final smack of her delicate hand the cup of coffee spilled over the charging cable . There was a sudden surge and a flash before everything went black.
The blank laptop screen flashing 'Life over'.
+++
Currently in the early hours of the morning a figure drifted downstream.
Boom!Boom!Boom!
The previous peaceful blue sky abruptly vanished leaving a howling abyss of dark grey skies. The insects and animals fled, terrified of natures uncontrolled fury.
Lightening flashed and thunder roared unforgiving as if showing the rath of the Gods.
+++
'Fight.Fight . Liara fight!
Don't get dragged under!
Live!Live!Live!'
'I don't want to die...'
The freezing cold water just rushed over her head as she desperately fought against the current.
Icy cold. Silence . Darkness
"Hack"
A delicate cloud- leopard female beastkin swam to the surface before having a coughing fit .A scrawny thing that looked like a drowned rat but had a great willpower to survive.
Gasping for air she managed to swim and keep her head above the water. Liara desperately turned she head looking for something to grab.
Anything to save her from drowning and dying a miserable death. The wind and water obscuring her vision.
One could not tell whether it was water or tears that dripped from her eyes.
The water stormy grey as the sky launched an assaulting rain storm. Unforgiving needles of rain bruised her body and soaked her skin.It was a test of strength and willpower. Survival of the fittest. Death the only option for those who gave up. The world was a merciless place and this was Liara's first test.
Maybe a merciful God had heard Liara's prayers or maybe it was her own luck put there was a low lying rock in front of her.
Climbing up the rock took the rest of her energy and she felt into a dizzy state which left her physically exhausted .
+++
Cold, absolutely freezing! It was as if ice had seeped into her very bones. As if a million needles and simultaneously been pricked into her skin.
The only protection from the harsh environment was her deer skin that was soaked .That being said was it was utterly useless in providing warmth or protection in her drenched state.
Liara was freezing and in pain.
She was even more shell-shocked looking at her bleeding hands and the scraps on her legs.
' Wait a minute! This is a dream! Right?'
But what about the pain and blood? Don't they say in a dream you can't feel pain? So what the heck was going on?
Squeezing her eyes shut Liara hoped this was all a dream. Alas ,when she opened her eyes she was still on a slippery black rock in the middle of a river.
'Okay !Okay, analyze this logically,Liara .How did you end up here?How the hell did you end up here? IN A FREAKING RIVER! WHERE YOU ALMOST DROWNED! AS IN DEATH!
You know D- E-A-D!'
She looked around in a panic but couldn't make out her surroundings. There were no traces of civilisation. It was just trees, muddy banks and a roaring river.
Liara howled to the sky in resentment," Did I freaking drive my RV off a CLIFF?"
After cursing and screaming Liara finally calmed down . It took a minute or two longer than she would like to admit but she finally managed to think like a rational person.
If her Grandma was around she would have gotten a smack to the back of her head as well as a scolding.
" Liara , when you are backed in a corner you have to fight! These no use thinking someone somewhere is going to save you girly! You need to save yourself!"
+++
Liara's Grandmother was her confidante ,teacher and only person her considered her family.When she passed away six month ago and she didn't have a chance to attend the funeral and say her final goodbyes. It was something that she would forever regret and would never forgive her father for.
'So ,what if it was during my final exam period? '
It was her only grandmother. This was the person who loved her unconditionally loved and raised her.
Liara was what she deemed an 'abandoned child' and the only person in the world whose number one priority was only herself was her Grandmother. It's not that she was an orphan all alone in the world or anything like that. Sometimes in the middle of the night she lay awake and contemplated what was worse having no parents or the fact that despite them being around neither of them wanted her.
Her beautiful,gold-digger mother had divorced her father and abandoned her as a two year old. She wanted a life of riches , glamour and fame so she ran around trying to strike her luck as an actress. Last , Liara had heard she was some rich millionaires second mistress.
Well, her father was a different story. James Knight was a workaholic lawyer in Los Angeles at a major law firm. He tried , at the very least she should give him some credit.
However, he was not equipped to deal with a small , needy toddler so eventually he sent her to live with his mother. At first he tried to be a parent to her but after his second marriage and birth of her half- siblings he stopped trying. James just supported her financially and gave her a generous allowance perhaps to ease his guilty conscious .
At the age of 9 years old she realised that she and her grandmother only really had each other.Marie Knight, her grandmother lived near on a large ranch near a small town. After her grandfather's death she had sold most of the land and only retained about 40 acres . From they many horses she only kept a few
Liara's childhood was maybe a little unconventional but it was happy.She grew up with down to earth , honest folk and freedom of farm life. Even after attending University and living in the city for many years she felt uncomfortable. As if she was only her true self in the countryside.
So after she finished university she escaped for a few months on a roadtrip of the country before starting her new job. She was always looking for something.
Freedom
Perhaps for a place to belong…
+++
Looking across the river Liara was estimated could swim to the muddy bank on her right.
Obviously it was a huge risk to jump back into the river and she probably was overestimating her own strength. However the only other option was to wait for the river to fill up and be swept into even higher waters.Rather than wait for an inevitable drowning she should try to survive.
' Umm, I think 6 meters , no seven meters.' Pacing on the limited space given by her saviour a.k.a the rock and mentally counting
'One,Two,Three' as of in the middle of a dance .
Liara did this four times before abruptly stopping and staring at the bank.
Taking a deep breathe she steadied herself and tired to calm her mind.
With determination burning in her eyes she said," Liara,it's now or never !"
She plunged into the icy cold river...hopeful.
' It was a mistake...' was the only thought Liara had as the current dragged her like a rag doll and she was too powerless to resist. As she took her last breathe and sinking into a dark abyss she felt something caught the edge of her dress up.
She greedily sucked in the precious oxygen before coughing up the water in her lungs.Liara was too exhausted to even look up to see what caught before grabbing it with all her might before succumbing to exhaustion.
+++
"Hack"
Liara bitterly coughed up the water caught in her throat before keeling over dry heaving .She closed her eyes and waited for the bout of nausea to pass. After some time she felt slightly better.
Slowly she opened her eyes and squinted toward the light while her eyes adjusted.
' It's so bright'
While evaluating her surroundings Liara noticed trees, an open ground that lead to a forest and the following river that she barely managed to survive.
There was also her saviour. A huge old tree towards the edge of the bank. She had become entangled in the large roots and somehow pulled herself across the bank.
Squeezing her eyes shut Liara hoped this was all a dream. Alas ,when she opened her eyes she was still on the bank starring into the river.
'Okay !Okay, analyze this logically, Liara .How did you end up here?Why the heck do you look like you are cosplaying as a cat? With ears and a tail!'
She abruptly collapsed