Prismatic

Awakening

I was woken up by the buzzing of the flies around my face. I opened my eyes feeling lethargic, like I was sleeping for an eternity. I got up thinking what I was doing before I slept and I kept on thinking but nothing was coming to me as if I have had amnesia or something. I couldn’t remember anything about me, except that my name is Josephine Hazel.

I was in a seated position scanning my surroundings. At the corner of my eye, I thought I saw a deer hiding behind the trees as if it was watching me. The deer was crystal white with beautiful antlers branching like the trees in winter. Well, as I said, I thought I saw a deer as there was nothing there when I looked again.

The sun was just rising and it was quite windy. The dancing grasses are shining emerald green as if to greet the sun. Among the grasses were marigolds, daisies, and tulips, all in white. It was as if someone planted them there because they were in a distinct pattern around me. The trees were taller than me and were far greener than the grass. They had thick branches but did not bear any fruit.

As the wind blew a gentle breeze, I knew there was something wrong. And when I looked around, it finally hit me. It was poop! I was shocked to the bone by my sudden realization. The pile of refuse was just sitting there in thumb’s length from where my head was laying down while I slept. I rummaged my hair for any sign of contact with the horrid mass, and thankfully, my hair didn’t make any contact with it.

I yawned at my mouth’s limit and got up to my feet. “Well that’s that, I guess I have to find a pond or something”, I said shrugging. So, my quest started with wandering around the forest until I stumbled upon a beautiful pond. The water was crystal clear mirroring the cloudy sky. As I was approaching the pond, I saw a beautiful young lady in her teens. She had almond-shaped eyes that are light hazelnut in color while her hair was a heavy corn color. Her skin was eggshell white, glistening as if she was wearing pearls all over her body. She was wearing marigold, daisies and tulips in a distinct pattern like the one I saw in the meadows from whence I came. What set me off were her wings. They were a faint translucent pinkish violet in shade. I was so amazed and so speechless by the figure before me that it left me paralyzed in place.  Then, the figure saw me and I heard the buzzing again. This time, the flies obscured my vision. I tried to get them off me. After a few seconds of my desperate flailing, the flies and the lady disappeared. At least I got off the flies, but I have to get out of this forest.

I went to the pond to remove the morning stars in my eyes that might have fallen out of the sky last night. After making sure that I got all of them, I looked at my face in the pond. My eyes were round and even with an amber color. My hair was a dark chestnut while my skin was slightly fair. I was wearing an edelweiss dress suited for a special occasion. My shoes were open-toed that matched my dress. “What was I really here for? What happened to me? How did I get here?” How do I get out of these repetitive trees, crystal deer and mysterious ladies with wings and majestic poop? I was so lost in thought and before I knew it, the sun was right above me signifying noontime. I felt a deep growling sensation in my gut like I owned a ferocious lion inside of me. I was so famished that I thought of hunting the deer or the lady.

I got up and wandered around the forest while I tried to figure my way out of this forest. I looked for any sign of human life. Then, I saw some smoke above the trees north of me. I pushed through the fruitless trees to see what caused the smoke. There, I saw burning wood with a skewered mass of meat hung above it that made my mouth water. I was so hungry that I rushed to the scene before me, like I was invited by the succulent meat for a feast of a lifetime. But as I approached the cooking mass, I saw a man filling up his gun with one round of bullets. It’s too late to back out now, I thought to myself. The meat was just there before my grasp. I approached the man, hands to my stomach. “Excuse me sir. Can I have a piece? I am just so hungry and lost”, I asked pleading to him. Without a word, he handled me what appears to be a rib part of the meat. Without hesitation, I helped myself with the slab and ate it piece by piece.

We sat around the fire facing each other and just ate there in silence. He was near the door of his navy green tent. I was fidgeting my mind on what to say to him. Well, he is the first human I came upon in this never ending forest. He was a tall, medium built, well-sculpted man in his early twenties. His eyes were like the first bloom of cherries in season. His hair was light honeydew in color and his skin was lightly tanned. He was wearing a simple hunting attire that would have screamed “no trespassing”, if not for the shotgun.

I saw him eyeing me from head to toe. He hid his eyes when I caught his. I flushed a vibrant fuchsia in my abashment. I started looking at him and tried to break the silence. “Thank you for giving me food. It was really good. I liked how you seasoned it well. You know your meat well”, I said to him when we have finished our meal.

He was astonished to hear what I have said, “Thank you ma’am, I didn’t know you were such a cook”.

“My name is Josephine Hazel but you can call me Jo for short”

“Bryce Hemphreys, Bry for short”

“May I ask you something?”

“Shoot”

“Do you know this place? I don’t even remember how I got here. Can you perhaps direct me out of here? I have been wandering around for quite a while now”

“I don’t only know this place, I own this place and I haven’t even seen you enter this forest of mine. I can escort you out if you like. But let me warn you, this forest may mess up your head”

I have seen a lot of things today that horrified me and I couldn’t imagine the worse things that may mess up my head. So, I said, “Thank you so much! I don’t know how I can repay you. I am deeply indebted to you. Believe me, I have seen a lot of weird things today, I thought I was still dreaming”

“Oh, you don’t have to be so modest. A ‘thank you’ is enough. I am just glad to be of help to you. We will start by tomorrow morning. It will be too dark soon if we try to venture out now”

“Thank you”, I said feeling relieved.

“Why don’t you try freshening up by the lake there?” he offered. I looked at him suspiciously, thinking he might try something funny. He reassured me, “With all due respect ma’am, I am not that guy, I have a little sister at home whom I look after.” He dug out his wallet from the left pocket of his pants and showed me a picture of his little sister. She looked quite like him. Her eyes were bright light cherries and her skin was a bit sun kissed. Her hair was formed into a wraith of golden pasta. She was wearing a floral dress that might signify some kind of occasion. “She will be seven by the time we get out of here. It’s her birthday tomorrow and I am preparing a feast. I haven’t gotten her a gift yet, though. I am still thinking what I would give her tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry about that, I will help you find a gift for her. What does she like?” I asked, ashamed of my previous thought about him. How could I have judged him so easily? What a sinful woman I am!

“Oh, you don’t have to. Thank you for the thought”

“No, no, no. I wanted to help. I insist. It is the least that I can do for what you have done for me. Please?”

He flushed a baby pink, looking away from my pleading eyes. “If you put it that way… okay. I guess its fine”, he said smiling.

After we have cleaned up after ourselves, I went to the nearest lake west from where I came from. He called after me, “Don’t go too far. As I said, this forest may mess up with your head.”

“I will keep that in mind. Thanks”, I replied.

I took off my clothes and bathed by the side of the lake. The lake water felt so good and I relaxed for a bit. As I was enjoying myself, I saw the same deer again and it disappeared behind the trees. I leaned forward and scattered my eyes around, thinking it might show up again. Instead, I saw something sinister. Something across from where I was bathing. It was the same lady I saw by the pond. Horrified that it might attack me again with the flies, I jumped up and hid among the bushes to dry myself. I dressed up and ran back to Bry as if I was going mad. He looked at me puzzled, “You are finished already? I was just preparing the tent, just wait for me outside.”

“I thought I saw something there by the lake, I thought it was going to attack me”, I said with all the shaking nerves in my body.

“Maybe it is just some wild animal or something. Don’t worry, I have my gun ready in case something encroaches us”, he reassured me with a smug grin, patting his shotgun. “I will prepare our dinner. We will get out of this forest soon enough by morning.”

I helped him prepare our dinner. He was well stocked than I had imagined. He had a lot of seasonings and sauces. I prepared the sauce while he prepared the meat. We mixed the meat and sauce together and let it simmer for some time. While we ate our dinner, I told him what happened to me from when I woke up while discounting the unbelievable things I have seen. I was afraid that he might brand me as crazy, a wacko loose in the forest. I finished my story with a big sigh. He was listening to every word I said with glimmer in his eyes as if I was a magical creature that had awoken from a thousand-year slumber. Well, I did look lethargic. After I get out of this forest, I will find out what happened to me. I don’t know where to start, though but I will think things through as I go along.

We finished our dinner and cleaned up for ourselves. We went inside the tent and he showed me where I would be sleeping. Our sleeping bags were on either side of the tent. I tried to start a conversation with him but I thought that it would be best to start in the morning. I looked up and waited for my eyes to drift to sleep.