With frozen fingers I wrap my scarf tighter around my neck. I repress the urge to sneeze when the wind slaps me then duck my head to protect my face from its assault while blowing some air into my palm in an attempt to get my hands to warm up a little.
The cold temperature seems to be particularly merciless tonight. It has started to snow early in the afternoon and hasn't stopped since. With each step that I take my leather boots seemed to dig deeper through the snow.
I was in such a hury to leave my sister's house that I forgot to take my gloves. I couldn't bear it anymore to hear her argument with her husband Darian.
He came home late once again reeking of alcohol. Usually, Amara pretends not to notice this kind of behaviour but I feel like tonight she has had enough. Sweet Amara who has never onve raised her voice for as long as I can remember yelled so loud this evening that I startled awake from my sleep.
I tiptoed out of my roon and into the hallway separating our bed chambers, my sister's was at the end of the hall. Amara's voice echoed in the dark, angry and desperate.
I tried to go back to sleep but even putting the pillow over my head didn't prevent Darian's insults at my sister to reach my hears.
I jumped out of bed and picked a handful of clothes haphazardly. When I breathed in the cold air from outside. I felt free at last. Though this freedom was merely an illusion.
As long as my sister would be married to this prick living in this houe would always feel like being traped inside a cage with a tormentor.
It did me a lot of good to wander through the woods surrounding our small village. I was partly able to let go of the frustration boiling inside of me. And as my thoughts kept spun around in my head trying to figure out a way to put my older sister out of the misery of being forced to live through an unhappy marriage, I came to a halt when I realized that I had ventured in a part of the woods thay I wasn't familiar with.
I turned around, deciding to retrace my steps when a strange noise caught my attention, a low rumble that echoed through the woods. My senses snapped in attention, my eyes surveyed the shadows while I stood still.
Before I could formulate any kind of speculation regarding the nature of the noise a branch snapped to my left and I veered in that direction.
For a moment the nature seemed to have fallen silent as if it held back its breath. My own respiration faltered. When the shadows moved and an animal stepped out of it, my heart skipped a beast.
I've never believed in horror stories up until now.
The beast that I'm facing is nothing I've ever seen before. It does look like a wolf but wolves aren't that big. This one seems to be about twice my height, looming over me with a murderous glare and deadly fangs exposed.
When it growls again, I'm shaken out of my stupor and the danger dawns upon me at once.
I need to get the hell out of here.
My feet carry me in the opposite direction. I begin to run without looking back, even as I hear the beast following me.
My boots get caught in a tree branch and I stumble falling face forward on the ground, lips biting in the harsh coldness of the snow.
The monster chasing after me is getting closer. I can feel it.
I struggle to stand back up because my boots have gotten deep in the snow.
I give a pretty good yank at the hem of my dress that had gotten caught in nearby bushes and I'm free at last.
As soon as I'm back on my feet I continue running.
I have no idea since how long I've been running away from that horrible beast. The pain in my muscles screaming that they can't take it anymore, make it feel as if I've been running in those woods for ages.
I want to lie down and rest but stopping now would mean giving up on life and I can't do that.
I'm not a surrender. I won't give up before I try to find a way out of this terrible mess that I've put myself in.
I should've never left the village so late at night. I simply wanted to go on a hike in the woods. Unfortunately the snowstorm caught me off guard and I got lost trying to find my way back home.
Now I have to run for my life as the wind blows furiously all around me and my body aches in places that I've never been concious of before.
I have to find my way back home. I have to go back to my older sister, Amara who's probably already worried sick that I haven't come home yet under such a terrible weather.
She will probably scold me like a furious grandmother once I come back home and make me feel horribly guilty for having scared her that much. But despite her anger she will make me dinner, some tea and add more blankets on my bed to make sure that I don't catch a cold after spending most of the night outside under a raging snowstorm.
Thinking about the familiar face of my sister helps me not to give in completely to desperation.
As long as I have this comforting memory of her taking care of me I'll be able to continue putting one foot in front of the other.
I'll be able to keep breathing and push my muscles to go forward. I'll be able to pretend that tears of defeat are not falling along my face as I hear the monster getting closer to me.
Is this the way that I'll leave this world? Eaten in the woods by a nameless creature?
Will I have no future at all? Will I die at only nineteen years old without having experienced all the things that life has to offer?
I haven't even fallen in love yet...
Fiona Constantine. The girl who died because of her stupidity.
I should've never left home.
I wish I could go back but it might be too late now.
