The Meeting Tree [WWBM]

Chapter 4

Narrator's POV

Daniel is running at full speed right now. His legs are aching and slowly going numb. He's about a mile away from the tree where he just saw Alana. Daniel looks behind him and can no longer see the white men running after him. He lets out a sigh of relief...
But that may have been too soon...
A red pick-up truck comes crashing through the trees behind Daniel. They're all shouting, "get that n***er!" at the top of their lungs, with shot guns and rifles in their hands. One shot at him and got Daniel right in the shoulder, but it only skimmed the top, taking off some skin.

"Dang these crackers are crazy!", he says to himself while starting to run again.

Obviously, the truck is much faster than him, so the only thing he has in his favor, is small spaces and sharp turns.

In the distance, Daniel sees a main road going into the city. That's the last place he wants to be right now. Although, he remembers that there's a sewer hole in the ground right where that road is, but he doesn't think he can get to it without them seeing.
*BOOM*
The pick-up truck drives right into a ditch sending all the passengers forward. This gives Daniel time, so he starts running at full speed to that sewer hole. He looks behind him and sees them all slowly getting out, severely injured.

He makes it to the road, opens the sewer plate and jumps down. Lucky for him, it was a tiny jump, so he gets down there quick and pulls the plate over the hole. Minutes later, he hears footsteps running over it, screaming disgusting words and shooting bullets into the air above.

He waits 30 minutes before climbing out. Daniel makes a run for the forest as fast as his worn out legs can go. His eyes are going blurry from all the running in the heat, but he can barely make out the tree beyond range.

He runs to it, falls to the ground next to the stream, and falls asleep.

Alana's POV

~Next Morning~

*Yawns and stretches, while smelling breakfast from downstairs*

Wait. Daniel. Is he ok? I haven't seen him since yesterday when those men were after him. No. He has to be ok.

I get dressed and put my hair in a ponytail. As I walk downstairs, the smell of french toast runs through my nose.

"Wow mother! You haven't made french toast in a long time!", I say cheerfully because french toast... is definitely my favorite for breakfast.

"Thank you sweetheart. I picked some up at the store yesterday, and you know... I saw the craziest thing! A negro teenager was trying to buy some bread, but they wouldn't sell it to him. So the manager came out of the storage area with a shotgun and chased him out! I felt bad for the boy, but he could've just went somewhere else." my mother says, shocking me where I stood.

"Oh. Wow.", I reply trying to be nonchalant, knowing it was Daniel.

She shakes her head, "poor boy.." then goes back to cooking.

I grab my plate and sit down. As I eat, I think about what the result could've been... He could've been shot dead while running. Maybe he got away though! Or maybe he didn't. This whole situation is eating away at me. As I finish my breakfast, I decide to go over to the tree to write. I need to calm down a bit. Luckily, father's at work all day, so I can go without him knowing.

*Walks to the tree*
I'm almost there. Ugh, my legs are tired. I see something though. Something dark near the stream... As I get closer, I realize it's Daniel... He's... No. He can't be dead. Why would he come all the way back here after running away? I get closer and see his shoulder bloody and him laying there peacefully. I kneel next to him and look over his body. It doesn't look like anywhere else is injured. I lift up his shirt, but everything is fine. He could've died from losing so much blood.. But it wasn't that large of a wound.

He doesn't look like he's breathing. I start to cry to myself while looking at him. I tear off a piece of my dress and decide I should maybe try to tend to the wound. I touch it with the fabric and feel him wince. His eyes open wide and he yawns. I throw my self onto his chest and weep. His arms slowly wrap around me as he sits up.

"Alana," he says with a raspy, painful sounding voice, "I'm fine. I was sleeping."
"Why not at your own home?! Why here? I- I thought you were gone.." I say softly.
He chuckles, "No, no. I ran from them and got away. I ran so hard and so fast, that I just collapsed when I arrived here... Decided to fall asleep here for the night."

I sigh and bury my face into his chest.

"You know, I kind of like this position right now." he says smirking.

I look up at him and give him a soft little slap on his face while laughing. He laughs and wipes the tears from my cheeks. Right now, I'm basically sitting on his lap while he's sitting up on the ground. I realize it, and get up quick.

He looks at me strangely, "What's wrong?" I look away at the trees in the forest, "I shouldn't do this. I shouldn't be here with you. I shouldn't... love you." He stands up and walks close to me looking into my eyes, "I don't regret anything. I don't regret meeting you. I don't regret, loving you. For a second when we were sitting there, I forgot we were even different. I didn't even remember I was black or you were white. So if we love eachother, my color can't keep us apart." His hands rest on my face as he pulls my lips to his. His hands eventually move down to my waist to pull me closer. I love him.

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Wow😂 I took so dang long to update. I am SO sorry... It took me a whole school year to start up again. But, I'll probably continue this. I love whoever has been waiting a year for me to update. Y'all committed😂❤️