The Call Of The Forest

Chapter 3

My mouth slightly parted as I stared, no, more like admired my current bedroom. I took tentative steps inside, pulling my luggage with me.

The walls were a pretty colour of soft periwinkle with white ceiling. The colour palette was beautiful with small touches of mustard yellow, complemented by the mahogany wooden floor. The room was very bright and open, I liked that.

To the left was the bed made of white wood with white bed sheets and a fluffy comforter. Besides it was a vintage beige vanity with a large mirror. On the right side of the bed was a small yellow office table, with a bookcase at its sides.

To my right was a white squared coffee table with two yellow and white-chandeliers printed sofas, beneath which was a white fur-like rug. I was surprised at the mini lounge in the room. It made it look quite posh.

"I take it I did a good job? " Sarah asked, shifting my attention to her.

"Yeah it's very beautiful. Seems like you went all out."

Smiling sheepishly, she nodded. "Well yeah it was kind of old anyway and you'll be here for a long time too."

"Thanks then, I like it a lot."

"You're welcome sweety. Now I'll leave you to rest. Good night Deidre, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight Aunt Sarah"

With one last smile, she closed the door.

Parallel to me at the end of the room were a set of double transparent doors with gold lining, seemingly leading to a balcony. I crossed the room to open the windows on each side of the double doors. Cold air hit me, making me slightly shiver, but the freshness was welcoming.
A warm bath sounded good right now. I trudged to the two doors besides the lounge. Pulling the nearest one I was surprised to discover a fairly large walk-in closet. Every girl's dream huh? Of course, it was empty. Smirking to myself I thought, 'Well a little shopping would not hurt.'

Though I had clothes to fit the closet, any excuse was good to shop really.

The other door, to my right revealed the bathroom. White tiles, gray-white marble granite, gold-lined mirror. It was a very bright and chic bathroom, with its bath tub and shower area. As soon as my eyes landed on the toilet I felt a pressing urge to pee. Come to think about it, I had not peed since we left home. Horrified, I relieved myself.

The bath tub was calling me for a relaxed and soothing bath but I was too tired to let myself sink in some water. I went for a quick shower.

Wrapping one of the towels around me, I went to brush my teeth. Making eye contact with myself in the large mirror, I did a double take, blinking rapidly.

My eyes were freaking blue. Yeah I had blue eyes but these were electric blue. Heck, they were glowing ! I stared at them closely, sure enough they were glowing.

In pure panic, I closed my eyes tightly, gripping the sink. Breathing nervously, I slowly opened them. They were blue, my normal blue eyes. Taking deep breaths, I tried to calm my now erratic heart. Here I thought this night could not get any weirder after feeling like being stalked. Scrunching my face, I examined my eyes, pulling the lids apart more. Sure enough, they were my normal blue ones.

Releasing them, I exhaled. I was getting worked up for nothing. It might have been the light at that moment together with my tired state. I was exhausted and overthinking was something I could not care about at this time.

Changing into shorts and a shirt, I flopped on the bed. I enveloped myself in the comforter, liking the smell of freshly washed sheets. Sighing contentedly, I snuggled into the blanket focusing on sleeping.

~

Glowing eyes. My eyes.

I stared at myself in the mirror, broken and filled with cracks as if someone had punched it. Bits of skin rolled off my face, burning intensely leaving blooded flesh. I screamed from pain and fear from the dead that I looked like.

I jolted awake, gasping for air, my hair and clothes clung to my skin. My hands shot up to my face, trembling but feeling no burn whatsoever. Switching on the lights, I staggered to the vanity feeling weak in the knees.

I breathed hard as I stared at my reflection, face unscathed. It was all just a nightmare of exhaustion and over-working my mind. It was just a nightmare... but it felt so real. The burns, the pain...

I tried to get back to sleep but to no avail. I kept turning on my bed, unable to relax. Heck, I could not even keep my eyes closed for more than fifteen minutes! Yeah, I kept checking on that.

The first rays of the sun filtered across the room through the balcony's doors. I sighed, frustrated. I had a sleepless night and cranky was my current situation.

Tossing the covers away, I went to the doors and opened them. The morning air hit me, cool and fresh. I stepped barefooted on the balcony. Elbows on the rail, i admired the early sunrise.

I had a very weird and profound love for nature. Where I came from, it was more buildings than trees.

Here though; although I was forced to come here, was almost like entering a new world. It felt good to be here, somewhat right.

Most of the sky was still lightly dark with spots of white cloud. Only a small part of the sun was visible. My eyes shifted to Sarah's back garden. It seemed pretty, full of flowers and some vegetables. I think I saw tomatoes.

It was kind of funny imagining Sarah as clumsy as she is gardening. That was so not her, but she seemed to be doing fine.

The end of the garden had a small door through the wooden fences, leading to a trail that went directly to the forest.

Feeling more at ease with myself, but still frustrated I thought a run would do me some good. I changed into leggings, a loose shirt and running shoes and made my way out of the house. No one was awake yet. I locked the door on my way out, sliding the key in my pocket.

Cutting through the garden, I dashed for the forest stopping right at the entrance. I stared upwards, at the tall trees with clouds hanging above them. I would have never thought the first thing I would do coming here was to explore a forest.

The forest gave off an ominous feeling, which only urged me to go on. After all what could go wrong? It's not like I never went hiking or anything.

Oh how wrong was I.

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I apologise for this very late update. I've been working on another story for a challenge. It'll be soon posted. Thanks those who read this story. If you've liked it, vote & comment to show your encouragement. It really helps a writer to know if the writings are good and to write better x.