I woke up in the middle of the night. I looked around and wondered where the hell I was. What am I doing here? How did I get here? Why am I here? These were all questions that ran through my mind as I rose to my feet and started walking around. I was barefooted, and the grass felt soft on the sole of my feet. It was dark so I had to be careful of where I stepped. Paying attention to the ground caused me not to focus on what was up ahead. Something slapped me across my face causing me to fall on my ass. Assuming that it's a branch, I got back up, bending just enough to avoid any other branch that may be up ahead then continued my journey.
Suddenly the pitch-dark night got illuminated by light not so far away from where I was. I walk in that direction and found a barn with a house close by. Maybe I can stay here until it is bright out, then I can figure out how I got here and what happened. I opened the door of the barn and it made a loud rumbling noise. I looked in the direction of the house to check if anyone was coming.
"No one would have come so fast," My subconscious pointed out.
Right. I then went inside the barn closing the door behind me. There were different types of animals sleeping in their respected areas. I saw a stack of hay in a corner of the barn and I walked over to it. This looks like it could make a comfortable bed. I laid myself on the hay, being careful not to make a mess. After a couple of minutes, I drifted into a deep sleep.
I heard whispers around me. Oh shit! Don't tell me I overslept, and someone found me here. It felt like it has been five minutes since I closed my eyes. I was afraid to open my eyes. Maybe I could just lay here and pretend that I am dead. They'll leave, right? That thought was soon erased as someone poked me. Okay, so I have to at least jump up looking startled. I slowly opened my eyes and saw three figures above me. I forged fright and I tried to move away from them as fast as I could.
"Don't be afraid," the lady said.
I was standing in the corner as far away from them as possible. They look like nice people. But they could be dangerous right? I don't even know where I am. I looked around for something to grab, like a weapon but all I saw was hay. What could I possibly do with hay? Throw it in their face and run? Okay, now I'm beginning to get scared. I looked at who I was up against. A man looks like he is in his thirty's, a woman, about the same age and a teenage guy.
"We're not going to hurt you," the man said in a comforting tone.
"What's your name honey?" the lady asked.
"Kate," I said.
"We won't hurt you, Kate," she said.
She then walked closer to me and put her hand around my shoulder and pulled me away from the wall. Should I really trust these people?
"Raj, go fix her a hot bath," she said to the teenage guy.
I'm assuming that he's her son. He looked at me before turning and exiting the barn.
"Come let's get you inside," the lady said.
She pulled me from the barn. I may find out where I am and some memory of what happened last night could come back to me. We walked side by side and went into the house.
"Take a seat," she instructed.
I looked around the well-furnished living room as I sat on the chair she provided. A few minutes passed when Raj came in with a wet washcloth.
"Clean her face," his mother said.
Raj had shiny black curls and honest brown eyes. He had a concerned look plastered over his face as he stood there looking at me. He had sun-kissed skin and a lean figure. He was dressed in some rugged jeans and a t-shirt. I looked back at his face then down to the rag that was still in his hand. I took it from him and started wiping my face. Blood?!? What was blood doing on my face? I questioned as I looked down at the blood-stained rag. I became frantic. I stood up and went to the mirror in the living room. My face has been scratched. How did I get these? What could have possibly taken place yesterday?
"Let me help you," he said distracting me from my thoughts.
His voice sounded like that of an angel, smooth and rich. I opened my mouth to respond but a croak came out instead. Could this become anymore embarrassing? He walked over to where I stood and took the rag from my hands. However, his hand stayed in mines far longer than necessary, allowing me to feel the warmth of his skin. I looked up at his face and our eyes met. His eyes were really amazing but they were full of pity. I drop my gaze while removing my hand from his along with the washcloth. I continued to clean my face as he stood there watching me. His gaze made me feel self-conscious and I could actually feel his eyes roaming my body.
After a while, his mother came waltzing back into the room. She had an apron wrapped around her waist and a few strands of hair was dangling from her once neat ponytail.
"Raj, show her upstairs to the bathroom. Kate, here's a towel to wrap yourself when you are finished. Raj will show you where you can put some clothes on," she said.
I took the towel from her outstretched hand. She gave me a warm smile before exiting the room.
"Let's go," he said leading the way.
He kept looking back at me all the way up the stairs, down the hall and to a small door. He opened the door and stepped back.
"When you're finished you can just knock at my door right over there," he said pointing.
"Ok, thanks," I said.
This was the first time that I have spoken without embarrassing myself. I looked up and down the hall before I went into the bathroom closing the door behind me. I rushed over to the mirror to take a better view of my face. My shoulder-length chocolate brown hair was all tangled with grass and mud in it and my skin was extremely pale. The palm of my hand also had scratches. Okay, this is very weird. Why can't I remember anything? I slowly took my clothes off observing the bruises that were on my skin. Why can't I remember what happened? Did I hurt someone? Did someone try to hurt me? Did I hurt myself? Questions popped in my head along with some twisted scenarios as I took a long bath and washed my hair.
