Adelaide took off running through the forest. Rain beat down on her, drenching her head to foot. As her bare feet hit the rough forest floor, her feet became more and more bloody. The cuts on her feet stung from the puddles of mud she ran through. She felt the pain shooting up through her legs as they grew weak. She was going to collapse soon if she didn’t stop to rest. Looking around, she spotted a gigantic tree a little to the right. She veered to the right and expelled her last bit of strength sprinting frantically towards that tree. She reached the tree and collapsed in a heap. The last thing she heard was the sound of her heart pounding loudly in her ears before exhaustion overtook her.
Even in Adelaide’s unconsciousness her painful memories came back to her…the reason she was running away. She had a fiancé. His name was Blake. They were to be married very soon. One night he came to her cabin because they were going to an engagement party. He walked up to her and kissed her and held her. Suddenly, the door was kicked open, and there stood a man with a gun. She gasped and jumped at the sight of the man. He was tall, had greasy hair, and dark wild eyes that seemed to pierce her chest. A putrid odor had filled the room that caused Adelaide’s eyes to water.
“Give me your money!” screamed the man. Blake slowly moved towards the man with his hands up. “Don’t move.” Blake halted in his steps.
“Sir, we don’t want any trouble. If you would just put the gun down, maybe we can talk about this,” said Blake the tension building in his voice. He started to take another step forward, and the man lifted the gun and shot Blake straight through the head. Blake fell to a heap on the floor. Adelaide screamed and fell to the floor beside Blake’s body. The man just stood there for a minute until he heard footsteps running through the cabin heading towards the room. The man snatched up a priceless sword that belonged to Adelaide’s father and turned to leave. Adelaide grabbed onto the man’s legs trying to cause him to stumble, but the man shot her and dashed outside into the rain.
She bolted awake at the sound of the gun in her dream. Everything about what happened was so vivid in her mind. She stood up. Her head was pounding from the painful memories rushing through it. She placed the palms of her hands against her temples, trying to make the flashbacks stop. She tried to slow her breathing as the panic crept up inside of her, and she took off running through the forest again. Tears streamed down her face, blurring her vision. She saw a light through the pouring rain—the light that told her she was almost out of the forest. Her panic attack grew stronger. The forest felt more confining. She ran desperately towards the light as the forest threatened to swallow her up. She emerged from the forest and into the clearing, falling to her knees and bowing her head. Looking up, she was confused. It wasn’t raining anymore. In fact, the sky was a clear blue. She surveyed her surroundings. She could hardly believe that such a paradise could exist after the dark forest. It seemed so surreal. A cliff stood about fifteen feet high surrounded by the greenest foliage she had ever laid eyes on. A waterfall fell over cliff, forming a lake at the bottom. Red and pink hibiscus flowers were in full bloom everywhere. The scenery was breathtaking. The water was cool and refreshing. She stood up and walked over to a rock by the lake and sat. She had never felt such peace before. A light breeze blew, and a familiar scent aroused her senses. Could it be? She searched enthusiastically all around her for the person that scent belonged too. A figure appeared from behind a tree. It was him. She ran towards him and leaped into his arms. He held her so tightly she could barely breathe. She ran her hands through his raven black hair and lifted his face to stare into his deep azure blue eyes.
“What are you doing here, my love? I thought I wasn’t going to ever see you again. How did you get here?” The words spewed from her mouth. She had so many questions, and she was going to continue spout out what came to mind until Blake’s lips collided with hers. All the questions melted away and didn’t matter as much anymore. He broke the kiss after what felt like an eternity.
“I was running through that forest, and it led me here,” he said in answer to her question.
She smiled at him. Her heart lurched, and her smile faded as she remembered what happened.
“This can’t be happening. I have to be dreaming. I saw you die. You were shot and died instantly. This isn’t possible.”
She stared up into his face again. His eyes were filled with confusion and a pained expression. He let go of her and turned around. She had hurt him. She walked closer to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Leaning her head against his back, she said, “I’m sorry, my love. I was just a bit confused. All that matters now is that we are together.” As she said the word “together,” Blake started to fade away. She tried to grab onto him, but all that was there as air. He had disappeared. She cried out and tears ran down her face.
“No, no, Blake come back.” Panic rose in her chest again and threatened to suffocate her.
“Adelaide…Adelaide,” said a voice. It was an eerie voice that seemed to be coming from the forest. She stopped crying and walked cautiously towards the entrance of the forest afraid something was going to jump out and grab her. The voice reminded her of a siren, its haunting sound beckoning her to enter the forest again. She turned to take one more look at paradise and ran back into the dark forest.
“Adelaide, Adelaide, wake up, sweetie. The doctor needs to clean your wound and change your bandages. Confusion washed over Adelaide. Bandages? A picture of Blake’s face flashed into her mind, and she jolted up in bed. Sharp pain shot through her ribs, and she glanced down. There were bandages wrapped around her just below her chest. She lied back down gently and looked to her mother.
“Mom, he’s gone”, she said with a quivering lip. Tears filled her eyes, and she began to sob. Her mother grabbed onto her hand and cradled her daughter’s head as her daughter cried. The doctor walked out of the room for a moment to give the mother and her daughter some privacy. Adelaide’s sobs turned into screams, screams for her love who died. However, the screams for her love turned into screams of great pain. Her mother looked down at the bandages and saw the red that was bleeding through. She yelled for the doctor to come back into the room. When the doctor saw what was wrong, he immediately went to work not offering any explanation for what was going on. He quickly undid the bandages. Blood flowed from the wound. Just what he had thought—Adelaide’s screaming had caused her punctured lung wound to hemorrhage. He began to shout orders to anyone that was close enough to hear him. He would do all he could to save her.
She opened her eyes slowly. Everything for blurry for a split second before she realized where she was again. She was in the dark forest again. She looked to her right, searching for the tree she had rested at before. When she spotted it, she ran towards it. The same wet, tattered dress she was wearing before was now a pristine white. Her golden hair flowed behind her, and her blue eyes became brighter. She ran past the tree with a smile on her face. She saw the light again, and her smile broadened. She picked up speed as she neared the light. She passed through the light into the paradise where she would be with her love. Her eyes fell immediately on Blake. She approached him slowly. When she reached him, she ran her delicate fingers up his chest and neck to his lovely face. She moved her fingers over his features, starting with his eyes, moving to his nose, and ending with his soft lips. She leaned in and kissed his lips. She felt his hands entwined in her golden hair. He lengthened the kiss before pulling away and resting his forehead on hers.
“You came back,” he said.
“I missed you, of course I came back,” she said.
“I thought you weren’t going too,” he said.
“I would never leave you alone,” she said. She stared up into his face, mesmerized by the love she saw in his eyes. She always loved him, but now it felt purer to her, and it was an intoxicating feeling.
“I love you so much, Adelaide. We’ll be happy here together forever in our own paradise,” he said. He cupped her face with his hands.
“I love you too, Blake,” she said. Adelaide felt such peace and joy there with Blake. She was overjoyed to spend forever with him. Their paradise may have been small, but they didn’t need anything grand. All they needed was each other, and that was enough to fill forever for them.
