reply, stubbing the end of his cigarette out on the weather-beaten, wooden surface. The noisy hum of the refrigerator fills the stretching silence. Shifting restlessly from side to side, I scan the room around me. It’s as shabby as the sitting room. Tea stained counters, chipped mugs crammed together, unrinsed dishes in the sink.
“Well thanks for letting me stay the night.” I hitch my thumb nervously toward the hallway. “I’m going to go find a town or something. I’m sure signs of civilization can’t be too far away, and someone must be missing me by now and trying to find me.”
The guy doesn’t answer just continues to watch me with an unfathomable stare. He seems to be lost in his own drink and opiate-clouded world.
Silence follows me as I leave. Through the hallway and out of the front door. All the while I’m half expecting for some bad guy with a gun or knife to appear and chase after me.
The porch creaks under the weight of my bare feet as I take the few steps, one at a time. Like the rest of the house it looks unloved. White paint is peeling from the wood. In my hurry to find shelter, I’d been unaware of the state of the place. So, intent on getting out of the rain. It has a serial killer hideout vibe.
A cool breeze plays with my hair. The dazzling rays of the sun overhead shine hotly from above. I don’t look back but keep my attention pinned intently on the treeline before me. Putting distance between me and the stranger. There’s no sign of the damage from the storm like I expect. No uprooted trees or debris. Maybe it wasn’t as violent as I remember? My mind magnifying it in my fear.
The air is rich with the heady fragrance of damp earth, that musky smell entwined with plants and flowers. Soles meeting the damp grass, I curl them for a moment enjoying the sensation.
I still have no idea where I am. How far civilization is from here. It can’t be far though. If I walk in one direction, I’m sure to find a road or town somewhere along my route. A crazy bare-foot woman, in unicorn pajamas is going to get attention.
It doesn’t take long to hit the edge of the forest. The sky disappears under the canopy of branches and thick leaves that stretch above me. Only fragments of blue scattered among the greens and browns. Nothing stirs. No sign of birds or beasts.
Uneasily I peek behind me. I can’t shake the growing sensation of being watched. A sixth sense as if something somewhere is stalking me. The guy from the house or something else?
I’m not sure how long I walk before I hear the hypnotic sound of water. Waves crashing onto a beach. Speeding up my pace, I halt jerkily when the ground before me suddenly drops away. I find myself standing on a cliff. A jagged coastline is spread out before me. A chalky ribbon of white cliffs shrinking into the horizon. Turquoise waves lap at light pink sand that stretches out ceaselessly. In awe I stand staring, certain somehow I’ve never seen anything like it before.
A lone figure wanders the lengths of pink. From this distance I can’t make out much. A beach comber? Lifeguard? Hopefully whoever they are have a phone and a car to get me somewhere safe.
Traversing a rough narrow path to my right, I make my way toward them. I leave footprints in the warm, satiny smooth sand beside another set.
A man, I realize getting closer.
He’s looking down at his feet like an awkward teenage boy, hands tucked in the pockets of his jeans. A loose open necked shirt outlining a lithe physique beneath. Sunlight catches his coppery mane of hair threading it with streaks of honey gold. He looks close to my age in his early twenties.
“Did he send you?” he questions when I’m close enough to hear.
“Who?” I ask in confusion.
“Morpheus.”
My movements stop only when the cool water laps at my feet an arm’s length away from him. “Is that the guy back at the house?”
He nods, eyes flicking up to scan our surroundings apprehensively. They hold the same shifting quality as the man I’ve already met. Brown orbs of fluctuating shades. Yet not as intense.
“No…I’m trying to work out where I am,” I explain slowly. “Do you know where the nearest town is? Do you have a car? Could you give me a lift there