escape

A warm breeze wafted in from the lake, and I took a few deep breaths and looked around. The sky was dotted with hundreds of tiny stars, and the air was quiet and calm. I slipped on a thin jacket and felt the chill of evening air and the softness of the forest under my feet. There was nothing but me and nature around me, and I felt free and alive. I knew there was this deep sense of belonging to nature, and this was something that I had missed for so long.I sighed as I turned to walk back towards the cabin. The path led through the forest, and I was enjoying the beauty of the night.It was a beautiful sight, and it reminded me of the time when I used to come here with my parents. I smiled as I thought about how much fun we used to have exploring the forest.We would be out here until late into the night, exploring the trails and playing hide-and-seek. I could still remember theexcitement of sneaking up on each other, laughing and giggling like little kids.It was a great memory, and I was glad I was able to share it with my friends. "Hello?" I heard a voice call out, and I stopped walking and listened carefully. "Hello? Are you all right?"It was a great memory, and I was glad I was able to share it with my friends. "Hello?" I heard a voice call out, and I stopped walking and listened carefully. "Hello? Are you all right?"It was a great memory, and I was glad I was able to share it with my friends. "Hello?" I heard a voice call out, and I stopped walking and listened carefully. "Hello? Are you all right?"What should I say to him? He was looking at me, and he seemed nervous. He must think I'm crazy. I looked down and saw that I was trembling, and I put my hands over my face.I was afraid. I was afraid that he might not want to talk to me. I was afraid that he would tell everyone that I was crazy. "Are you okay?" he asked again, and I looked up. "Yes," I said quietly. "I... I just need to sit down." I walked slowly towards him, trying to make sure that he wouldn't notice that I was shaking. He came out from behind the tree and held out his hand. "Hey," he said. "What's your name?""Oh, um... I'm sorry. I'm Claire." I took his hand and shook it gently. His skin was smooth and cool, and he smelled good. "My name is James," he replied. "I live in town. I'm sorry if I startled you.""No, no. That's fine," I said. "I just... I haven't been out here since..." I trailed off, unable to finish the sentence. "Since what?" he asked. "Since my parents died." He looked sad. "I'm really sorry. "He nodded. "That's okay. You don't have to talk about it." "Well, I guess I'm just going to sit here for a while." He sat down next to me, and I noticed that he had a small backpack. "Do you live nearby?" he asked."Yeah. Just up the road. Why?" "Oh, no reason. I just wanted to get some fresh air before bedtime. Do you mind if I join you?" "No, I don't mind." I smiled. "It's nice to meet you, James." He smiled back. "You too."We both sat there quietly, watching the stars twinkle in the sky. After a few minutes, he spoke. "Claire?" "Hmmm?" I looked at him. "Have you ever seen anything strange or unexplained around here?" I shook my head."No, not really." "You're not lying to me are you?" I thought for a moment. "No, I'm not lying. I've never seen anything weird." He smiled. "Good. Because I've got something to show you."He reached into his bag and pulled out a notebook. "This is the book that I wrote. It's about the town I grew up in. It's kind of a journal." I looked at the cover.It was an old-fashioned typewriter. "Wow, this is neat!" I exclaimed. "Thanks." "So, do you like it?" he asked. "It's pretty cool. How did you write it?" "I used to write all the time when I was younger. "He smiled. " I can't believe I didn't know that. " I laughed. " Yeah, well, I guess I've always been a bit of a loner. " He shrugged. " I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier. " I smiled. " No worries. "We sat there for a while longer, talking about our childhoods and how we ended up where we were. When he realized that it was getting late, he stood up. "I should probably be heading home now." "Okay," I said."See ya tomorrow then." "Yeah. See ya." I watched him walk away, and then turned to look at the lake. I couldn't help but think about how strange everything seemed tonight.There was something about James that made me feel very comfortable with him. I wondered if it was because he reminded me of someone else, but I pushed the thought aside as I walked home.The next day, I woke up early, eager to see James again. The sun was already high in the sky when I left my house. I felt a little nervous walking towards the lake. What if he wasn't there?What if I scared him away? I decided to take a shortcut through the woods. As I got closer, I saw James sitting on a log, reading a book. "Hey, James! Over here!" I waved. He looked up and smiled. "Hey Claire.""How are you today?" "Great. How about you?" "I'm good." He put his book down and stood up. "Ready to go swimming?" "Sure!" I grabbed my towel and my swimsuit from my bag and followed him to the water.Once we were in the water, he held out his hand. "Come on, let's go." I took his hand and let him pull me under the water. We swam around for a while, playing tag and splashing each other. After a while, I stopped."James, can I ask you something?" "Sure." "Why did you come to the lake last night?" "Well, I came here to get some peace and quiet, and I just wanted to relax. I don't usually go out much. "He smiled. " So why did you come here?" "Well, I was feeling a little lonely." "Really?" "Yeah. I guess I've been feeling a little lonely lately." "I see." "Do you mind if I ask you something else?" "What's that?""Do you want to hang out sometime?" "Yeah, sure." "Cool." We spent the rest of the afternoon together, swimming, playing games, and laughing. It was fun spending time with him.And by the end of the day, I could tell that he liked me too. We talked until it started getting dark, and then we went back to my house. I invited him inside for dinner, and he accepted."You're really nice, James." "You're welcome." "I mean it. You're really nice." "Thank you." I smiled. "So what would you like to eat?" "Whatever you're making will be fine." "Great. I'll be right back."I went into the kitchen, and started cooking. While I cooked, I tried to think of a way to ask him out. But I couldn't decide on anything. "James, do you have any plans for the weekend?" "No. Why?" "Nothing. ""What's going on?" "Nothing. I was just wondering if you'd like to hang out with me over the weekend." "Sure. Sounds great." "Great. Well, I'm going to finish cooking. You can come in whenever you're ready."Alright." I finished cooking, and set the table. When I had everything ready, I called out to him. "Hey, James, come on in!" He opened the door and stepped inside. "Wow, this place looks great." "Thanks. I try.""Let's sit down and eat." "Okay." We sat down at the table, and started eating. Afterwards, we cleaned up the dishes, and sat down on the couch. "So how was your day?" "It was great. How was yours?" "It was okay.""Did you have any plans for the weekend?" "No." "Me neither." "Then what do you wanna do?" "I don't know." "Maybe we could go to the movies or something." "That sounds cool." "Yeah, I think so too.""Cool." "But first, we need to decide what movie we wanna watch." "Okay." "How about we pick one out tonight?" "Sounds good." "Great." We picked a movie, and headed upstairs.When we got to my room, I turned on the TV. We watched the movie for a while, but I didn't pay attention to it. All I could think about was James.I kept looking at him, and thinking about all the things I wanted to do with him. After the movie ended, we decided to watch another one. This one was better than the first one.We watched it for a while, and I kept staring at him.