Auburn Hair Amidst The Brambled Woods

         Damp, foggy and thick with woodsy odours was the air when Evan was hiking downhill on the familiar dirt path of the local forests. He took a deep breath of the misty evening air when suddenly through the dense brambles, he saw long and bright auburn hair trailing from a thick curved branch.

         Drawn in by the mysterious sight, Evan walked towards it with the daring curiosity of a young hiker until he arrived at a forest clearing. It was the hair of a slender young woman who was balancing unsteadily on a rickety chair, a rope noose wrapped snugly around her fair neck. Upon seeing him, she panicked and kicked the chair off.

         “No!” Evan shouted in horror. He ran across the clearing, crunching on twigs and slipping on wet leaves before catching her. His arms wrapped tightly around her legs as she dangled mid-air, trying to hold her body up so the noose would not strangle her. “I got you! Take the noose off!” He huffed in a strained voice.

         The woman sobbed with her fingers digging into the rope, trying to squirm her head out of the noose. Time slowed to an excruciating standstill. His hands were slippery with sweat and his heavy backpack threatened to drag him down. Every muscle in his body was screaming in pain. “I can’t hold you much longer!” Evan yelled up to her. With a final push, he drew on his last bit of strength and shoved her body higher to give her more wiggle room.

         “I’m free!” She yelled back. His arms released her weight and they both tumbled onto the wet ground. A jolt of blinding pain ran up his leg as he landed, sending his ears ringing with white noise as he sucked in heavy breaths of air. The woman crawled towards him immediately, frightened. “Are you alright?”

         It took a full minute for Evan to come back to his senses. “Yeah…. I think.” He craned his head towards his leg and saw that his ankle was twisted. “I think…. I sprained my ankle.” He groaned.

         “Oh no…I’m so sorry!” She gasped in alarm. Looking around, they were alone in the quiet woods and the evening sky was turning dark rapidly. Through the heavy foliage and dense branches, they could see thick grey clouds rolling across the sky and there was a quiet rumble of thunder in the distance. “I think there is an inn out at the main road if we can get there…”

         “No, it’s too late for that. We’ll be lost in the dark.” Evan panted in exhaustion. “Can you…unclasp my backpack?”

         The woman readily undid the clasps around his waist so he could writhe out of the shoulder straps and sit up without extra burden. He quickly unzipped his pack and began pulling his tent bag out. “There’s not much time so we have to start building this tent.” He turned up to her. “Do you know how to build one?”

         “Yes, I’m good with it.”

         “Wonderful. But we’ll have to hurry.”

         They got to work swiftly, laying out the tent poles and tarps to assemble and make camp under the trees. With each passing minute, daylight faded out a little more like a dying torch and the sharp smell of rain wafted thickly through the air, warning them an incoming downpour. Every so often, they could hear the shriek of a wild fox.

         After what felt like forever, the tent was finished and they could finally move their supplies inside. Evan could barely see his fingers in this darkness when raindrops began hitting their faces. She quickly helped him up and they limped into their makeshift shelter.

         “That was close.” He humoured as he turned on his lantern and began pulling out sachets of cup soups and a flask of hot water. “Sorry I don’t have much on me but help yourself.” Outside, rain was pouring through the trees and pattered noisily on their tent.

         The woman sat opposite him and huddled in a heap. Her body looked so small underneath her long hair and oversized clothes. She looked vulnerable. “I’m sorry you got hurt because of me.” She whimpered in a tiny voice. “And now you’re stuck out here too. I’m sorry.”

         “What happened?” He asked curiously. “Was someone trying to hurt you?”

         Her downcast eyes looked away.

         “Or were you trying to kill yourself?”

         He was met with awkward silence. Embarrassed that he might have hit a raw spot, Evan stirred up some soup and handed the tin cup to her. “What’s your name?”

         “Lily. Lily Davies.” The young woman took a small sip from the cup. The warmth spread throughout her body like a familiar hug and her eyes started tearing up. She looked up to see him wrapping his sprained ankle with a roll of bandage. “Is your foot alright?” She asked softly.

         Evan tucked the end of the bandage into the wrapping and struggled to prop his foot up on his backpack. With the adrenaline rush wearing off, the full sensation of the injury flooded back into his nerves and he hissed in pain. Lily slid over to gently move his foot into position and proceeded to check his toes for blood flow. “Thank you.” He mumbled, feeling mildly flustered by his own vulnerability as he lay down to rest. They shared a moment of silence, listening to the lonely tapping of the rain outside the confines of their tent.

         “Why are you being so kind to me?” Lily asked quietly, her voice choking with held back emotions.

         Evan stared into her crying eyes; they were a brilliant shade of emerald green. “I don’t think I could have stood there and let you die.” He confessed. Lily burst into tears instantly, collapsing into his chest in loud uncontrollable wails that rang through the forest grounds into the rain. It was as if he had opened her guarded floodgates and sorrow gushed out like a flash flood. Evan caressed her hair as he held her, allowing her to cry as much as she needed to.

         “I wish I knew you earlier, and maybe things might have been different.” Lily cried. Their eyes met and she reached down to kiss him. Evan lay there in stunned silence, not quite sure how to react to her gesture. Maybe it was the intense emotions from her close call with death, or the stifling emptiness that was consuming the both of them that drove Lily to kiss him again passionately and Evan closed his eyes in submission to her advances. Their limbs intertwined as their fingers explored each other’s bodies in the darkness like two lonely souls hungry for love. Her fine hair trailed off his face and he could smell its warm sweet scent of ripe tangerines.

         “I want you.” She breathed as she stared deep into his eyes, mesmerized by their intensely hypnotic shade of blue. “Not just tonight… but for many nights to come.”

         He smiled and pulled her back in for another deep kiss. “Then I’ll be yours.” He mumbled between their lingering lips. He could feel her lips curl into a grin against his and they made out through the night, melting into each other desires until they fell asleep in an intimate embrace.

          Evan woke up the next morning with a start and a throbbing headache. Lily was gone. Perhaps she had left for the nearby inn to get help. He stretched his limbs and his muscles ached- they felt stiff, sore and heavy. His lap and the surrounding tent floor were scattered with crispy autumn leaves. Was the wind that strong last night? He reached up to wipe his face and froze.

         Where his face was clean-shaven yesterday, there was overgrown stubble and trapped dust. Startled, he pulled his leg up and stopped in fear. The bandage wrapping his foot had disappeared and so did his injury. “How long was I asleep for?” He thought. “Then why didn’t she wake me up?”

         Confusion clouded him like yesterday’s misty fog with unanswered questions whirling inside his head. Fearful but determined to find answers, he clambered out of the tent. The trees were barren with their shed leaves matted and rotting into the ground. Perched on a branch, an aging owl hooted and Evan whipped around. His eyes landed at the base of the tree where they had made their camp and he let out a superstitious gasp.

         Sitting on crawling tree roots was a black picture frame encasing a faded photo of a young woman. She was beautiful with long auburn hair and brilliant green eyes. A small wooden board with a short inscription was nestled in a bouquet of wilted white roses, their shrivelled petals scattered across creeping roots and dry dirt.

In loving memory of Lily Davies, our sweet and loving friend.

         Evan suddenly felt sick. He held his trembling hand over his mouth as he knelt in front of her makeshift memorial, too scared to speak. Tears welled up in his eyes and he reached out to touch the frame until he saw his finger. A thin black mark in the pattern of a rope snaked around his ring finger like a tattoo.

         He snatched his hand back and tried to rub the mark off but it would not budge. His sadness was quickly turning into despair when he desperately tried to scratch the black ring off his skin. Yet, the ring tattoo stayed, now adorned in blooming red claw marks.

         “What did you do to me?” He screamed at Lily’s memorial photo, a paralysing terror gripping his throat. “WHAT DID YOU DO?”

         In the faintest fleeting moment, Evan could almost see Lily’s lips curled into a sad smile but the only sound that greeted him was silence of the brambled woods.