In Search of Epsilon

Two Women

I had little idea of where I was going.  

I wondered how Louis was doing. But all that came to mind was the face he gave me.  

“You are not alone, darling,” said Ana. 

I gave her a weak smile.  

She’s right.  

I’m not alone. 

I have her. 

The cold was burning.  

My fingers felt like they were slowly starting to fall off.  

I kept going, barely able to see anything.  

I stumbled upon a large wooden tree. It had pretty much suddenly appeared in front of me. And because of that, I hit myself in the face. 

After circling the tree, I realized that the tree wasn’t big. It was enormous.  

I found what seemed to be an entrance. The giant red tree actually had people inside.  

Two girls lay in the middle of the giant resting place inside the tree.  

I clumsily fell inside, my knees had plummeted me into the ground. I had not been in a condition to move for a while, and I finally gave in. 

The moment my face touched the ground, I lost consciousness.  

Upon waking up, I found myself in the same exact place I was before.  

But I had a blanket wrapped around me. 

I sat up, and finally got a good look at the two women.  

One had long, black hair while the other had short, white hair.  

The one with black hair was leaning against the other woman, resting peacefully. They were, apparently, very comfortable with each other.  

“Hello, stranger,” said the woman with the white hair.  

I nodded my head as a sign of a greeting, not trusting my mouth to function properly.  

She was playing with the fire, moving a large wooden stick within the boundaries of the small wooden center.  

“Thank you, for saving me,” I said. 

This time, it was she who nodded.  

I looked outside but to no avail. It seems like this storm was going to last quite a while.  

“Could I interest you in some coffee?” she said.  

“Ah yes, I would love some”  

The coffee was terrible.  

I tried many times to make conversation with the woman but failed miserably. 

She would always respond with as few words as possible, which did not allow for much rapport. 

She finally took out a book and started to read something about a catcher with a protagonist whose name is Holden.  

Finally, I felt the cold leave my fingers and my feet.  

“Help yourself get something to eat,” she told me.  

At that exact moment, my stomach began to rumble. I was, unsurprisingly, starving. One could tell with a simple glance. 

I got some food and sat down in front of her.  

The food was also very bad. Just some canned rations. But beggars cannot be choosers. 

After I ate, I finally felt revitalized.  

I had slept, rested, and ate.  

And was not being killed by frostbite.  

The moment I finished; the woman then offered me a g*n. It was as if she was waiting for me to recover my strength before she conveyed this action. 

She was offering an old revolver.  

The type that you see in the Wild West.  

“Why are you offering me this?” I asked her. 

She said nothing.  

Her outstretched hand did not move, as she waited for me to grasp the weapon.  

I finally decided to touch it.  

Worst idea ever.  

At that exact moment, everything became blurry.  

I could no longer see the lesbian couple that was in front of me.  

And I was sucked into the weapon. 

The woman then placed the g*n in the middle of the room and continued to read her book.  

There was something about this book that was special, she thought. But she could not understand why. What made Holden so special? She knew that she would never know that answer.