Stranger in the Woods
1002 Words
Lana's POV
Hello?
The voice seemed to be coming from far away. Everything was foggy. I struggled to open my eyes.
"Hello?"
It was a man's voice, but not one I knew. It wasn't that bastards voice at least.
"Are you OK? Hey, lady!"
My head was pounding and I could feel something warm and sticky on the side of my face.
"ughhh"
"Hey, you're OK, can you open your eyes?"
I struggled to lift my eyelids. They felt like they were made of stone, dragging grains of sand across my eyeballs. What happened?
Bright rays of light stabbed into my eyes through the c***k of my eyelids and I flinched, closing them again.
"OK, take it easy"
I felt the presence of a hand hovering over my eyes and slowly eased them open again, allowing them to adjust in the shadow that hand was providing.
"Okay..." my voice sounded wobbly and unstable even to myself, but the hand started to slowly lift away from my eyes.
Around the edges I saw the forest, the dirt path. That's right, I'd been riding a horse...
My eyes now opened fully and the hand in front of me had dropped to my side. I realized I was being propped up in a half-seated position by the arm of... the most attractive man I had ever seen.
His hair was light brown with hints of gold and he had lightly tanned skin and surprisingly dark blue eyes that seemed as deep as the ocean. From his high cheek bone to his collarbone and jaw, down to his muscular arms, everything about him looked chiseled and mean. Yet somehow, his expression was soft.
I couldn't help but wonder if I hit my head harder than I thought, and was still dreaming.
Slowly, I realized I must have fallen from my horse, and I also became aware that the sticky feeling on my face must be blood, my own blood. Feeling panicked, I raised my hand to my head to check and winced when I touched the cut.
"Don't worry" said the handsome stranger, with a voice that seemed to rumble up from his chest. "It's not that bad. Head cuts, they just bleed a lot."
He shrugged, like assessing injuries was an everyday occurrence.
"Do you think you can stand up?"
I nodded and accepted his help to slowly get to my feet, feeling a little awkward about this ridiculously perfect specimen of a man currently holding my hands.
I looked around suddenly, feeling worried.
"Where's the horse?"
"Bolted for home, most likely," replied the man. He had a strange accent that I couldn't quite place.
I winced. It would be a long walk back to the town, then. As if he could read my mind, the man replied.
"Don't worry, I'll help you ...?"
The statement trailed off with a question and I hastily introduced myself. "Lana. I'm Lana."
"Nice to meet you Lana, I'm Markus, but you can call me Mark."
He bowed his head slightly by way of introduction and we started heading back the way I had come, as I leaned heavily on Markus since my legs were still a little wobbly. He was right, the cut on my head didn't seem too bad, it had stopped bleeding at least.
The stable I had borrowed the horse from wouldn't be too pleased to see it come running back by itself, I was sure.
It would take them at least a couple of hours to walk all the way back, so I decided silence wasn't the best idea.
"You didn't have a horse or a car?" I asked questioningly.
"I'm a long-distance hiker. I'm always out in the woods." Mark flashed me a perfect grin. That explained his fit physique, but it was a pity. A car would have made life way easier right now.
"And you? I thought only experienced riders would be out here alone."
Feeling a bit embarrassed, I replied "Well, I am experienced, I was just... distracted." I admitted.
He seemed to pick up on the fact that I didn't want to talk about it more, he left it alone. We made small talk on and off for the rest of the walk. After about halfway, I could walk fine on my own, but he insisted on accompanying me back to town anyway. He was easy to talk to and I found herself quickly becoming comfortable with his company, which was surprising considering how much I really hated men right now.
Just before they got back to the stables, he stepped back. "I'll drop you off here then."
"Oh. Of course." I felt surprised that he was leaving at the last few hundred metres when he'd insisted on coming with me all this way, but not offended. After all, we didn't really know each other.
"I'm really grateful to you for your help. Um..." I hesitated "Don't take this the wrong way, but I really owe you one. Can I buy you dinner or at least a drink?"
"Are you asking me out on a date?" he raised an eyebrow at me, kinda arrogantly. Immediately it reminded me of him. Ugh.
"NO!" ok, that came out a bit harsh. I thought to myself.
"I mean, no, like, I don't even know if you have a girlfriend and we just met. It's just to say thanks."
"No problem." His eyes sparkled with laughter. "You probably need to take it easy today. How about tomorrow? Where are you staying?"
"We can meet at the central square at 8?"
He nodded and I wondered if I should shake his hand, but in the end, decided that would be weird, so I just gave a little wave as he turned away. Just as I was about to go into the stable and sort things out about the horse, he turned back and threw one final comment my way.
"No girlfriend, by the way!" he chuckled a bit as he turned away and left.
- Writer
