Nia POV
Being a young, single adult nowadays has many advantages like technology to connect with new people, whether it's for business or personal relationships.
Unlike many young adults, I prefer to be on my own, only interacting with people when I have to or if I genuinely like the person. I was able to further indulge my desire for isolation after the death of my grandmother who left me in her will, a nice country cottage that she and my grandfather lived in before they moved to the city for higher-income jobs to support their family.
The cottage isn't much but it's enough for me, with only 2 bedrooms, a kitchen with a beautiful view of the forest out back along with a cozy living room with a fireplace for the cold winter nights. Even though I like residing in this single country life, there's a part of me that desires to have that one special person to enhance my life. Since I started a job out here at the local grocery store "Hagen Market", with nice customers and good staff but for the past couple of months I've been there, I can't help this weird feeling that occasionally I was being watched and when I'd turn around, there was no one there.
Grandmother did once tell me that this little country town is very different from many others but she never said specifically how. The only thing she hinted at was that there were more than just humans living in this town and that maybe someday I would be able to see it if it would allow me to.
I've been keeping an eye out for anything suspicious and so far all I've seen are normal humans living in their cute little country town, so I guess I'll just have to wait and see if anything changes.
I've also gotten used to shopping at the local farmer's market that is also owned by the Hagen's that pretty much have their name on everything in town. One thing I've thought about doing lately is taking a hike in the surrounding woods that extends out to the valley. There's a lot of fabulous scenery out there for me to take pictures of with my new nature camera.
Before I started on my hike the next morning, I made sure I packed everything I needed like a knife, phone, snacks, and a jacket just in case. At about 10:30 am I started, the weather was good with no sign of rain and only partly cloudy. After a few hours, I needed a break and some food, so I found a large rock to sit on and have lunch. It felt nice out here by myself in nature, even if I still kept getting that creepy feeling of being watched from the bushes.
The feeling stopped after I finished my lunch and continued with my hike. At around 4 o'clock I decided it was time to head back before it got dark to see the path. Good thing I brought my jacket with me because the temperature started to drop along with the sun over the valley ridge. The worst part I noticed was that I was out of cellular range meaning I wasn't able to pull up google maps on my phone. It was now officially sunset and I needed guidance because I was starting to get lost, so I took out my phone, turned on the flashlight, and tried my best to feel my way back home.
As if things couldn't get any worse, as if on cue a loud howl rang out across the valley meaning I was in the deep wilderness where humans rarely go, and worse, I might have walked into some wild animals territory that will probably kill me on site if I don't hurry up and get out of her. Suddenly the fear of going missing and being eaten alive by whatever made that sound had me almost in a panic which didn't help the situation. Pretty soon it was officially dark and I was just walking for the sake of moving around until I noticed something far off in the distance to my right. It looked like a flame from a campfire probably set up by some hunter or outdoorsman. At this point, I wasn't nervous about it being a stranger, given the fact I'm out here alone in need of help from someone that knows the land.
After a few minutes of walking towards the flame, I finally reached it and to my surprise, the person that made the fire was nowhere in sight.
"Who makes a fire out here in the woods and just leaves it unattended?" I said to myself not noticing the figure approaching from the other side of the fire.
"Sorry for putting nature at risk of a wildfire but I would think someone in your situation would appreciate a beacon of light in this dark forest", a deep masculine voice rang out from the darkness.
I looked in the direction of the voice to be met with the captivating sight of the most handsome man I've seen in a long time. He was tall with a broad frame covered in a tight long sleeve shirt that only enhanced his muscle definition. He also wore a pair of torn jean shorts, while also being barefoot which seemed odd given the rough terrain.
I was happy that I had made contact with someone out here but still nervous because I didn't know if this was some wild man that hides out in these woods and murders people after luring them into a false sense of security but then again, there was something about his presence that helped put me at ease during this stressful time.
He had the deepest cobalt blue eyes that felt as if they could pierce right into my soul. His blonde hair was short on top, matching a short scruffy beard that framed his face. At first, I thought I just found someone to help me get back home but now I knew I'd found someone much more.