The creature continued throwing itself at the door, but after a few more times it suddenly stopped, it kept quiet as if trying to listen to any sound coming from within. The lady fastened her grip on the spear, ready for whatever happened next. A deafening silence filled the air.
The creature probably realized that its will to feast on its prey was just as intense as the will of its prey to survive. It let out a frustrated growl and its heavy hoofs retreated.
The young lady could hear it walking away but even then, she didn't make any noise for some time. Her eyes and ears followed its steps as it slowly became inaudible.
When she was totally sure that it was no longer around, she let down her hand and heaved a sigh of great relief.
She looked down at her hand, spreading out her palm and staring at the spear. Her mind flashed back to a few minutes ago, then she realised what her thought had been.
Why did she wish that the creature would burst through the door? What would have happened if it actually did? She didn't want to imagine.
The hut is dimly lit, but her eyes could make out every object in it and its extreme tidiness did not go unnoticed to her. Everything seemed to be placed in the right position. It was as if whoever arranged it made precise calculations of where each item should be.
Except one thing that stood out, it was the fact that there is a thin layer of dust on everything in the room which suggested that the owner had been gone for a few days.
Looking carefully around, a feeling of familiarity engulfed her. Her hands carefully traced the small table leaving a trail behind.
She looked up and squinted her eyes observing discreetly, her eyes slowly went out of focus and her body tensed. A rush took over her, her memories are there, right there but she couldn't place anything. It was like everything was there and was not at the same time.
Suddenly, her body went into shock, her head jolted back violently, and she convulsed hard. Her eyes rolled back into her head, the blackness of it, almost invisible. Her hand trembled uncontrollably, her voice was gone. It was like someone was taking over her body.
Then something played in her head. She was running after a man in a place that seemed to be like the forest she just escaped from. The man was tall and had a broad back, he was dressed in a long, black cloak. He had short white wavy hair.
Her lips moved and she seemed to be calling to him, saying his name, but she couldn't hear the words that were coming out of her mouth.
She ran to meet him, and tapped him by the shoulder, but when he turned around she jumped back petrified of what she was seeing. His appearance is completely different from what she thought. It stunned her so much that it shook her back into reality, she collapsed heavily on her knees unto the wooden floorboard with a loud thud, her whole body trembled as she grasped at her chest tightly.
Her eyes roamed around the floor in terror as she tried to wrap her head around the unsettling 'vision' she just had. She had so many questions running through her mind, but there was no one to answer her.
Who was that? Is it a memory, a vision or something that would later happen? What had happened to her? Who was she?
Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. She wasn't crying, but something broke deep with her — an overwhelming emotion.
Her heartbeat regulated gradually and she settled into calmness. She picked herself up from the ground, and threw herself on the soft bed and laid on her back, staring into the thatched roof.
A lot raced through her mind and she could not seem to cling onto a specific thought to ponder upon, even if she did there would be no answer.
A faint stench swept across her nose, jolting her out of her thoughts. She sniffed around, flaring her nostrils. She could not seem to trace where it was coming from and tried to dive deeper into her thoughts, but the smell lingered in the air, she grew uncomfortable and sat up, the stench growing stronger this time.
Her lips curled as if realizing where it was coming from. She bent her head over her chest and took in the air again. It turned out to be her own sweat, a testament to her ordeal.
Her lips curled as if realizing where it was coming from. She bent her head over her chest and took in the air again. It turned out to be her own sweat, a testament to her ordeal.
She suddenly got conscious of herself and started to ache all over. Looking down at herself with the faint light, she finally saw the mess she was in. Her body was covered in fresh and bleeding cuts accompanied with bruises caused all over her body.
A particular long deep cut on her arm stood out, it seemed like she was slashed by a sword. It was certain that whoever made that cut aimed directly for her heart to kill her, and she just got away by a whisker.
She wanted to get out of her dress so badly, or at least tend to her wounds, but there was nothing in the room that could be helpful in cleaning her up, she realized as she looked around, too drained to get up. But just as she was thinking, her legs kicked at something hard beneath the bed which startled her.
Without second thoughts and despite the pain, she got up and knelt by the bed, hurriedly raising the coverings of the bed, her eyes widened. It was like a whole storage underneath. Arranged orderly was a small fruit basket, a pile of clothes nearly folded in a larger basket and a large gourd bottle with liquid in it.
She squeaked with joy as she pulled out the supplies and hungrily feasted on the apples. She dug her teeth deep into them and bit more that she could chew, after a few more bites, her mouth grew weary of the rush. She gave herself time to breathe as she threw her head back, closed her eyes and sat on her legs enjoying the sweetness of greatness before her. The fruit's juice streamed from her lips into her clothes.
After she was done feasting, she shoved the leftovers she had spilled on the floor back to the side of the bed. Grateful for her dinner. She then grabbed some clothes out of the basket, where she saw some towels neatly folded also.
She poured out water from the skin onto the towel and wiped herself clean. She took off her tattered gown, leaving her in her undergarment. She tore part of it off and bandaged them tight around some of her fatal wounds, then she threw what remained of it on the table and the towels too.
For a moment, she wondered what would happen if the owner of the house came in now. She prayed they would not return at least for that night.
She sunk into the bed again, finally resting her head. Her eyes shut closed and she heaved heavily feeling full and relieved from the pain.
This hut had saved her life, right now it was a sanctuary, a refuge from the darkness outside and its inhabitants. She was extremely grateful in her heart.
Everywhere was quiet – save the chirping of thousands of crickets which didn't seem to bother her – but her head wasn't which travelled back to what happened to her minutes ago.
How she got here she didn't know, what brought her here she couldn't place, but one thing was certain, she was going to get an answer to them all she just had to wait till morning came. The mornings always have an answer, it's a new day, a new hope.
She shook off the thought of everything and let herself fall into a deep slumber.