Irene, My dead best friend [Wattys 2015]

Chapter 19: I see clearly now...

 Chapter 19:

Feeling a lot more confident than when I had entered this part of the woods, I stood up and dusted off my pants. I had to get back to Irene before she came looking for me. Turning around and walking back up stony path lined with bushes, I made my way back to where I had come from but stopped in my tracks when I heard little whispering  noises coming from somewhere amongst the trees.

I could feel my palms begin to sweat; hearing any sort of noise in the middle of the woods was a bad thing.  Trying to calm myself, I discretely tiptoed in the direction of the sounds and stopped short when he trees and shrubbery got thicker and the sounds got louder. It wasn’t whispering but singing? Now I was thoroughly confused and in my confusion, I edged closer to the singing just to catch a glimpse of who was it that emitted such a melodious sound? The song was in some foreign language, one that I did not understand, yet there was something moving about it, as though my heart could understand what it meant.

I pried some of the bushes apart and stuck my head as close as I could without exposing myself and the sight that beheld me was terrifying yet beautiful. An odd combination but this is the best way I can describe it. I held my breath and watched as the centaurs I had see earlier, well their feet anyway, came into full view. They were definitely centaurs, with the torsos of men, well built men, topped with long, shaggy and unkempt hair falling to their shoulders. Their lower half consisted that of a horse; a strong, brown horse with the gigantic hooves that I had seen earlier through the tree hollow. Looking at them like this, they weren’t as terrifying as they had been back then, especially with them singing this way. It was amazing to see how such manly men could emit a sound that was pleasing to the ears. They were walking about on their four legs, singing and gathering leaves from the trees up above them and storing them in a circle they had made out of rocks. It looked kind of like a bonfire except it was without fire and had leaves.

It occurred to me that I may have found their den, this magnificent place I was at, they had cultivated this, and a triumphant smile crossed my face and left as soon as it had appeared. I realized then that I had sat, uninvited, in their resting place, and washed my face in their waterfall. It was a wonder how they hadn’t seen me yet, probably busy with their singing. Sure, they looked harmless now, with them daintily collecting leaves and singing but flashes of Irene’s projection in my mom’s house kept coming to me, with the man on the floor who bled to death and I also remembered what we saw in the forest with Irene, that dying woman on the floor and these creatures feeding on her. Oh hell no, I had to get out of here and back to Irene before they noticed that I was here.

I tiptoed back out from amongst the bushes and slowly made in back in the direction I came from. When I figured I was quite out of earshot I began running. The faster I got to Irene, the better it would be. I had to tell her what I had seen and then hatch a plan together to get out of this place and take her to safety. On reaching the spot I had left Irene at, she wasn’t there. Had I made a mistake? No, I was pretty sure this was the spot I had left her at. Darn Irene and her ridiculous need to keep wandering off!

Now I’d have to look for her and dodge those centaurs. 

************

Hafsa T.M 

(aka HTMwrites)