Beyond the Cotton Fields

Chapter 14

Lucy walked through the forest, smiling up at the sky as the snow fell around her. Snowflakes fell onto her dark brown skin, instantly melting upon contact. The crunch of the snow under her feet was the all that could be heard as the woodland animals were asleep for the winter season.

As she walked further into the forest, she heard noises that made her stop in her tracks. She looked around and saw nothing but the white blanket that covered the ground and the tree branches. She continued her steps, now alert to what may be going on around her. She stopped once again, hearing the noise clearly. It was the sound of crunching snow. Someone else was in the forest. She looked around, but saw nothing or no one.

Worried and slightly panicked, Lucy continued walking at a faster pace. The footsteps quickened, also, and seemed to be following her. Her quickened walk, eventually, turned into a run. The footsteps began running, as well. She dodged trees and fallen logs as she attempted to get away from the following footsteps. She stopped running when she ran into a flesh-covered wall. She looked up into Koi's face as relief flooded her being.

"Oh, thank God, Koi! Someone's after me!" She exclaimed, holding onto Koi. When he didn't respond or make an effort to wrap his arms around her like he usually would, Lucy took the time to examine him. His face was stoic and unyielding towards her overwhelming emotions. He was looking straight ahead, as if he was either unaware of or ignoring her presence.

"Koi? KOI?!" She urged. As she tried to get a response out of him, she felt something penetrate her stomach. She looked down and saw the snow turning bright red. She felt her stomach and looked at her red blood-painted hand. She fell to her knees, sitting in a mitxture of snow and her own blood. She looked back up at Koi with her blurring vision, seeing his face morph into Apenimon, and then darkness.

Koi sat straight up from his pallet, sweat drenching his body, his heart racing, and his breathing choppy. The low fire in the middle of the hut allowed him to see around the hut. He looked down at his side, seeing Lucy asleep and unaware of the nocturnal turmoil he just experienced. He calmed his heart and breathing down and laid back down.

He turned over and looked into Lucy's sleeping face, studying how the fire's glow emphasized the color of her skin. As he continued to look at her, he thought about the dream, or more accurately, the nightmare, he just had. His mother has always told him that dreams are visions that say what's to come, and that scared him. Was Lucy going to be killed soon? Was Apenimon going to kill her? By some twisted ounce of fate, was Koi going to kill her? All he could take from his dream was that he was going to have protect and watch over her more closely, especially when Apenimon was around. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his chest, resting his chin on her head as he fell back to sleep.

~~~

Koi woke up to an empty hut. The fire from last night had burned out and the spot where Lucy had slept last night was cold. He stood up, immediately, and made his way out of the hut. He ignored how the cold air nipped at his exposed skin as he looked around the village for any sight of Lucy. Before he could go on a frantic search for his lover, she appeared beside him, with wood in her hand, and made her way into the hut without so much as a glance up at him.

"Small one, where did you go off to?" Koi asked, following her back into the hut. She sat on the ground in front of the fire pit, laying the wood next to her. She opened the pouch tied to her side, took out the fire stones, and began to spark a fire while ignoring Koi's question.

"Do you not her me, small one? Where did you go off to?" Koi asked again.

"I went to see ya ma an' get wood." She stated, lowly, with her eyes fixed on the small flame that was about to die out. She fed a branch to the small flame, allowing it to grow slightly bigger and stronger.

"Why did you go see my mother? Are you ill? Are you hurt? What is-"

"I'm withchild." She muttered in almost a whisper.

Koi became silent and stiff. Withchild? Lucy is carrying a new life in her womb? She and Koi created a a new life? The thought rendered him speechless. Shock, confusion, elation, and worry flooded his being. Shocked that they had created a child that was now in her womb, confused as to when it happened, elated that they were going to have a baby, and worried about what would happen when his father found out.  The emotions he was experiencing were so strong that he was unsure of what to do or which emotion was stronger. He walked over to Lucy and sat next to her. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her head. Her tensed and worried body relaxed under his touch. He placed his hand on top of her stomach and remembered his dream from the previous night.

"She felt her stomach and looked at her red blood-painted hand."

Koi now had two people to protect and watch over closely.