"AH!!!" Geraldine scrammed as she woke up from a nightmare from the past events that happened to her.
Sweat forms from her forehead and her heartbeat are beating so loud and fast as if she has been running for hours, "Ah sh*t!" She cursed out loud while wiping away the sweat that was running towards her eyes.
That event was still vivid in her mind that she can't fully forget. The smell of blood lingered on her nose as the sound of the girl's pleading to save her rings into her ears.
Everything went swirling as if the trees around her are dancing while whispering the word 'Save me'.
"I- I'm so-sorry," Geraldine murmured as she holds both of her ears to stop hearing the words that hunt her till today.
"I'm sorry I couldn't save you..." Geraldine couldn't help but burst into tears as the girl's begging face flashed into her eyes.
Rocking herself back and forth with tears in her eyes, Geraldine tried to comfort herself, "It's gonna be fine, it will be fine as long as I change the past," she whispered to herself.
It takes a while before she finally calmed down and fixed herself while trying to forget the nightmares she had. It was still dark and the crackles of her bonfire and the sound of the crickets could be heard.
She silently looked at it and spend the rest of her time looking at how the flames dance until it was turned to ash. Coldness engulfed her body as she hugged herself, remembering the cold temperature when she was still a spear.
"Ah, I don't have time to think about the past!" She shouts while scratching her head and slapped her face twice to wake herself up to reality.
The sun hasn't been up yet but Geraldine decided to ride through the forest after feeding her horse. She has been traveling for hours with only a short rest for her horse to be fed but the longer she stayed inside the forest, the more she feels suffocated as if she's been choked slowly and finds it hard to breathe.
Finally, after 2 days of traveling alone, Geraldine decided that she needed a break from her thoughts and find herself a distraction so that her mind won't think about her unpleasant dreams that keep on hunting her every second of her life.
Stopping for a while, she hopped down, took out her water container, and poured it over to the mud to make it wetter. Then, she touched it with her bare hands as she begins to mixed the mud to make it softer and when it is ready, she took a handful of it and apply it on her light vanilla-colored hair to turn it darker so that she can't attract some attention if she ever meets someone when she goes out.
It was sticky and created a mess on her black cloak but for Geraldine, she must do it for the sake of her sanity too as she can't afford other problems in coming her way. When the whole of her hair has been turned to a nearly black color, she started her journey again.
Shifting directions, she finds herself at the side of the road, Geraldine didn't know where it leads her but decided to follow it and see what lays ahead. It took her 30 minutes before seeing a small store ahead and a middle-aged man chopping firewood in front.
Geraldine approached the store as she felt her body's energy started to go down, putting the hoodie of her cloak back to her head as she felt that the mud has been dried on her hair, "Hello, is the store open?" She smiled a little while hiding her face on the hoodie.
The man glances at her and begun chopping again, "Yes, just go inside."
Geraldine slightly nodded and went straight to the store after she bound her horse's rope on the nearby tree. The store looked small on the outside but once you entered, it was quite spacious on the inside.
The designs are quite simple but it got a homely atmosphere that she really likes as it's radiate comfort.
"Welcome to our humble store, come in," A lady greeted her with a warm smile as she led her to one of the chairs inside.
"What are you looking for, young miss? We have a variety of things here that can be useful on your journey," The woman smiled as she showed her what she sells but what caught Geraldine's attention are the black containers that have 'X' labels on them.