I walked in the direction Jared told me to go. I could still feel his large hand on my lower back when he pointed out the direction. He was right. I didn't know him. But what I did know, was that I had never felt as safe as when I was with him. It was only a couple of hours since we parted, and I already missed his presence like crazy. I felt somewhat protected with the knife now, but I would much rather that he followed me the rest of the way. At least to the river. But that would be selfish of me. He was probably too busy doing whatever it was they were doing every day. Why didn't I ask more questions about him? Why didn't I ask him what his job was? Maybe he was a ranger? Or maybe was he a full-time hunter? And why did he live together with Buck when they obviously didn't get along as well as I first thought?

I followed an old trail made by generations of deer and other wild animals. I was careful not to trip on any of the random roots, because my ribs hurt like mad every time I moved more than just normal walk. But I managed, mostly thanks to the softness of the ground I was walking on. Most of the trail was covered in moss or grass. But since it was late autumn and close to freezing at night, it had left some trees with only a few dry leaves to cover their naked bodies. The rest was sprawled out on the ground like a rare carpet in shades of copper and gold or swept away by the wind.

I suddenly found myself wishing that I could be windswept like that. Then I would have my destiny laid out for me clear as a day, and I knew that when I got disconnected from my branch I would just vanish and return to the nature, waiting to be reborn. Right now, I was just disconnected from everything. Even myself. And I had no clue about anything. Not even what would happen tomorrow.

I walked until the sun changed the colors of the sky. I knew that when I first saw the beginning reddish light, it wouldn't take long until it was dark. And what Jared said about me not being able to see in the dark was absolutely true, because I really was blind as a mole. I probably saw even less than normal people, and definitely less than him. I especially wondered why he could see so well in the dark. Maybe he had been out here for so long that he had gotten used to it? Well, I refused to get used to it. Period.

I managed to collect some wood to make a bonfire like Jared did, but I failed to make it burn. I just didn't have the right technique, and the stick kept falling out of my grip and made my hands sore. It looked a lot easier when Jared did it. And eventually, I gave up and threw the stick away in anger and instead searched towards one of the trees nearby instead. An old pine-tree that had thick, twisted branches with pompoms of needles on each of them, almost like a strange nature-shaped cheerleader. The thought actually did cheer me up, too. Maybe it was nature's way of encouraging me until I made it home? I giggled at how ridiculous it seemed, but at the same time there was a scary truth to it.

I put the blanket down on the ground and pulled Jared's thick, woolen sweater tighter to my body. It wasn't exactly a sleeping bag, but it was better than nothing. For some reason it also felt comforting to be surrounded by his smell. I'd learned to like it now. The smell of wet dog and something masculine. Normally I would probably find it disgusting and maybe even nauseating, but to be honest I probably didn't smell any better myself.

Tired of the world and the challenges it threw at me, my eyes started to get heavy even though I was anxious about what the night would bring. I tried the longest to stay awake, but when the darkness tightened its grip, I lost the battle against the fatigue and fell asleep against my new bark clothed friend, curled up between its roots, uncomfortable and restless.

I missed Jared.

*****

I have no idea how long I slept, but I was starting to believe the sun had died and the daylight had died with it. I'd been lying awake for what felt like an eternity and struggled hard to chase away the panic that threatened to consume me for every little sound I heard. Suddenly something small ran over my leg and I jumped up and screamed, until I found out that it was probably just a mouse. Then I felt stupid and scolded myself for freaking out about pretty much everything. But five minutes after I freaked out again. And again. And again.

Finally, the darkness was replaced by dawning daylight, and I relaxed a bit. Unfortunately I wasn't blessed with another sunrise like I expected. I was surrounded by fog. Thick, gray fog that left me almost just as clueless about which direction to go as the darkness did. Where did I come from yesterday? Where was the trail I had followed? Was it even possible to find it? And even if I did, how did I know if I was walking in the right direction and not back the same way I came? It had barely been visible to see in daylight, and some places it disappeared completely. Now I couldn't see the mountains as guidelines in the distance, either. I had to face it. I was lost.

For a while I just sat there, fighting my own mind. A part of me was about to give up. I was exhausted in a way that I couldn't even believe. And I was convinced that if I only found somewhere safe to sleep, I would probably sleep for weeks, maybe even months in a row. My body hurt. Not just my ribs, head, and shoulder. All the wounds that made me look like I went through a war, and my incredibly sore feet too. My entire soul was hurting. And what was I even trying to get back to? The memory of my previous life was still mostly gone, and I could only hope that there was someone out there who missed me. I missed someone, too. Of course I missed Jared, since he was pretty much the only person I knew on the entire planet. But right now I just missed... Someone.

"You won't make it, you know."

I let out a startled scream when someone suddenly peeked out from the trunk behind me. The voice wasn't very loud, and I immediately recognized it as one coming from a child. Nevertheless, it was so unexpected that I jolted up in a flash, then groaned in pain when my body protested against the sudden movement.

It was her. The girl in the blue dress. Her blonde hair looked even more matted now and hung around her shoulders like a flared, torn curtain from a broken window. Her blue eyes tried to tell me something. Something I wasn't sure I wanted to know, yet felt I needed to know anyway. I was stunned, and quite a bit frightened by how empty they seemed. Almost a little... Soulless? However, I pretended like nothing and smiled at her.

"Hi. I'm sorry. I didn't see you coming, so I just got surprised, that's all. I hope I didn't scare you."

For some reason it felt wrong to talk to her, but I ignored it and asked out of well indoctrinated politeness.

"Uhm... So, how are you?"

But the girl just gave me a strange smile and looked up at me, even though her face was turned towards the ground. I shuddered.

"It sure is foggy today," I continued when she didn't respond. "I hope it won't rain."

The girl still didn't do anything else but to smile, and I felt a chill creep up my spine that wasn't from the cold temperature. There was something about this girl that freaked me out. But before I got to say anything more, she turned to leave.

"You won't make it," she repeated while she walked, and even though I didn't see her face, I was almost certain she giggled a bit. Then she disappeared into the fog.

And so did I. In the opposite direction.