Blanca Like Snow

Chapter 35 - Nature

It's in the middle of the afternoon when we make it to this clear Will knows, with a big river that creates the most wonderful background noise, soothing and appealing. The place is open and even if the ground is uneven, I can see we can camp here. But before we settle down, we do eat something because we skipped lunch to make our way here, and once that's done we can put our things down and start our camping experience now. Will tells us the story of how he found this place one day when he was younger and liked to come here, mostly because it felt untouched by mankind and he felt the peaceful life of animals around him, embracing him. I understand him, it feels like that when you close your eyes and you just listen.

Birds chirping, ruffling of leaves, the stream of water against the rocks, with little splatters here and there. There's so much noise around, insects, different type of birds and who knows what else, but it all echoes in a perfect and natural harmony.

In this place, with clouds partly blocking the sun, the orchestra of nature playing endlessly around us, the fresh air of what feels like a mountain but it's just a hill, all my worries and fears feel insignificant. I can understand better now Jane Austen's quote: What are men compared to rocks and trees?

"Isn't this place just so nice?" I mumble while we sit by the fire with Nora. Will's gone to get more firewood for later and even if we offered to go with him, he told us to just wait here.

"I particularly like the sound of the river," she comments, smiling softly as she closes her eyes just to listen to it.

"We should come here again before leaving," I say, relaxing on the blanket we've put on the ground.

"Most definitely. By the way, I talked to Mum, she says we should go back at least one week before your birthday and show up on that day. It seems Laura is planning something, a kind of even for that day, so it's a good way to make an entrance and reveal you are not dead," Nora explains as I heave a tired sigh.

"Has she managed to find the evidence?" I inquire, taking deep breaths because that means in less that two months I have to go back.

"No. If she had we'd be there already. There are clues and suspicions, but nothing definite that can actually be used in a trial." Nora sighs, probably as overcome as I feel with this sense of helplessness.

"It's going to be total chaos when we go back, isn't it?" Nora hums her agreement and I picture that moment when I'm back and hell breaks loose. People asking who was that girl who was supposed to be me, the body they buried as me. People asking where I've been all this time and why I didn't show up before. People demanding to know what happened to me and why I was declared dead when I'm clearly alive.

When I think of all that I want to stay in this forest forever.

I feel Nora's hand taking mine, squeezing it gently in a comforting gesture. "I'll stand by your side, you don't have to worry," she whispers, so I turn my head to watch her lying next to me, always close, always stable. She's the grounding presence in my life and I know that if I didn't have her, I'd probably stay here forever and never come back, hiding like a coward.

"You always get so mushy when I'm not around, I feel like I'm the one third wheeling," another voice joins us then and when I look up, I find Will standing by our heads, his shadow all over us like one of the trees in the forest.

"You thought I was the third wheel? It's been always you," Nora shoots back, making me laugh at Will's aghast expression. "And now that you're back, Blanca, come with me."

"Where?" I ask, still following her back on my feet.

"I feel the call of nature," she replies and I chuckle while she takes my hand again and leads me away from Will and the clear, back into the woods. "You don't think there are wild boars here?" she asks me as we continue walking, looking nervously around.