My feet and legs hurt and I must have been walking for hours. I passed by a tree that I swore I saw for the third time.
Am I lost?
I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose thinking that it might soothe the headache that was starting to throb behind my eyes.
"Can anyone hear me?! Hello?" I shouted into the forest. "Hello!? I need help!"
No response. It was only the echo of my own voice answering my calls for help.
My headache was getting worse by the minute, and my mouth was dry with thirst. I wondered what the time was and how long I've been out here.
I saw a light moving somewhere in the distance in front of me. "Hey!" I shouted, running toward it. "Hey! I'm here! Please come help me!"
The light stopped moving and shone in my direction. I had to try harder to get those people to get my attention. "HEY! HEY! I'M LOST--"
The last word was cut off as I tripped and fell, face first, into the forest floor. My cellphone flew out of my hand and against a tree.
I quickly sat up, wincing, "Damnit!"
The light that I saw earlier had disappeared. I cried out in hopelessness, tears streaming down my face.
It was a familiar feeling. The feeling of being lost, hopeless, and lonely in the darkness. I could not remember where I have experienced this feeling before, but it was like waking up from a dream that you had dreamt with lingering feelings about whatever happened in it - but you are unable to remember what happened in that dream to make you feel that way. Call it a weird sense of Deja vu, if you want.
But my mom's voice spoke in my mind. "Look up into the sky and see how happily the sun is shining to tell you everything is going to be okay. Look up into the sky and count how many stars there are - all wanting to see you smile."
My mom always consoled me when I cried. Whenever I felt sad and hopeless, I would go to visit her and she would tell me those words. If she was here with me in this moment, she would have told me those words as well.
Whatever I had to do to get home and out of here... crying and feeling bad would not be of much help. I had to be brave. I had to look up.
I followed my mom's advice and looked up.
The sight of all the stars in the sky was so wonderous that it made me gasp, "Wow!" A whole ocean of stars filled the sky and lit up the darkness. I haven't felt this feeling in so long. This feeling of wonder.
"There you are again, staring up at the stars as if they would tell you the way home," a deep voice said from behind me. "I hope you know how to read them now, at least."
I whirled around and scampered away from the person.
"No need to look so afraid. I am here to save you. Again." The tall man said, glancing down at me.
"Wh-who are you?" And what did he mean by saving me 'again'?
A lightbulb went off in my head as I recognized his voice, "Ponytail-guy?!"
"Why in the name of eternity do you always call me that?" His voice sounded irritated. I could not make out his face well enough in the darkness.
"What do you mean 'always'? I only called you that once. And I don't even know why I did that." I respond, irritated at the fact that this man was always saying weird things without explaining them. "Maybe if you gave me your name, I would stop calling you that."
He ignored my question. "You are not hurt, are you?"
"No, I'm fine. Just thirsty and tired." I answered. This man was so strange. Why wouldn't he tell me his name? And why does he act so concerned about me, and then mask it with irritation and disinterest - as if he was doing something he didn't want to do. I never asked him to save me. He just showed up. And for the second time.
He squatted down in front of me, and then held out a bottle of water that he had pulled out of his backpack. "Here. Quench your thirst."
"Thanks," I said, gratefully gulping down the contents of the bottle. He looked at me as I drank, without even blinking.
"Are you sure you are alright?" He asked. I closed the bottle and held it on my lap. "I'm fine."
"Then why do you look like you are in pain? I can never tell what you are thinking," he frowned, looking frustrated.
I rubbed my temples. This guy was starting to get creepy, "Why do you talk as if you know me? Are you a stalker?"
He scoffed. "You offend me."
"So you ARE a stalker then!" I yelled, grossed out. I can't believe I'm here conversing with a stalker. How long has he been following me? How much has he SEEN of me? I crossed my arms over my chest as a protective gesture.
"It isn't like that! I am not a stalker!" He looked genuinely upset by my words.
"That's what a stalker would say!"
He grumbled. "Look. You would not understand. Just get up and let me take you to the forest rescuers."
"You mean the forest rangers?"
"Yes, RANGERS, or whatever they are called here."
There was no way I was trusting this man. He may have rescued me before with the car accident, and (maybe) now - but that doesn't mean that he could be trusted. He might actually be a stalker. The weird way in which he was talking; where he was insinuating that he knew me... The fact that he wouldn't tell me his name... How he always showed up at the right moments... It was all too suspicious.
"Who are you?" I asked again. I looked him in the eye.
He sucked in a breath and let it out, "You do not need to know who I am. I will disappear from your life soon anyway."
"What are you talking about?"
"This is the last time I will save your life." He looked as if it hurt him greatly to say those words. Was he so hung up on stalking me?
"How do I know that I can believe you?"
His long lashes cast shadows over his cheeks. "Because that is how it should be."
A wave of sadness washed over me. A pain that could not be compared to anything I have ever experienced. It was a sadness and longing so intense that it made me cry. My head throbbed again, it made me cry out.
My medication must be wearing off.
He grabbed my shoulders, and concern started to mix in with the sadness and longing. "I thought you said you were not hurt."
"I'm sad. So so sad. My heart--" I cried out, "my head!"
"What is happening?" He asked, more to himself than me.
I cried out again, "Make it stop!"
He scooped me up in his arms and started running. "Try not to focus on anything but my voice," he said. His voice sounded calm between the heavy breaths he was taking.
I clutched my head between my palms. This was the worst headache that I have ever experienced in my life. My head felt like it was being torn in half.
"Focus on my voice!" he said again.
His voice. His voice. His voice.
"I do not know what is happening," he said. "but try to stay awake. Do not lose consciousness, do you understand?"
"Y-yes, I'll try." I responded weakly.