2. My Winter Escapade

After My Journey:

It was a cold, snowy night, and I was afraid, shivering, and shaking. My car has broken down on a deserted dark road. There was no cell service, and I was stranded for over an hour until a black car appeared. A tall man stepped out of his vehicle wearing a long black trench coat. From afar, his headlights only reflected a pair of icy blue eyes staring at me. Did he come to save me? Or will he force himself upon my body and leave me alone afterward? Or will he take me by force and make me his own?  

  

Before My Journey:

Filled with giddy excitement, I had closed up my herbal medicine florist shop for the day. I had helped my last customer, who, by the way, was very pleased with my green jasmine tea. Even though I worked about nine hours, I felt alert because I was looking forward to our first winter vacation trip planned with my girlfriends. Taking vacation trips became a thing about a year ago after I had gone through a terrible engagement breakup. It was a horrible experience that I don't think I will ever recover from or be able to trust another man. I was made to feel less than a human in that twisted relationship. I was told I was a waste of his precious time.

Having many heart-to-heart talks with my friends, I admitted I felt broken and afraid to get close to the opposite sex again. My ex-fiance started sweet and seemed to have changed overnight into a cheating monster! But my dear girlfriends decided to help by getting my mind out of the past and giving me a reason to look forward to the future. We begin treating ourselves twice a year on summer and winter vacation trips. My friends have taken it upon themselves to invite a few of their different co-workers on these trips. This year we decided to experiment with a winter vacation at a Ski Resort for fun and relaxation. 

None of us had any experience with skiing, so we all thought it would be a great adventure to learn to ski and enjoy the views of the mountains. I was indifferent to winter, so I wore whatever I liked, no matter the season. Months in advance, I saved to buy my outfit. A new pair of light blue jeans, a white turtle neck, and my blue and white mixed suede fur boots were everything! I did a lot of overtime at work to purchase these thousand-dollar boots! Then I looked up at my clock on the wall, and it was time to go, so I grabbed my puffy white coat off the rack in the store then double-checked my bags to see if I had forgotten anything.

"Ah, the wine! I can't forget the wine." I grabbed the two bottles of homemade hibiscus red wine I make yearly from the fridge. A few years after obtaining my herbal medicine license, I also explored my love for plants and flowers. I started experimenting with flowers and plants some years ago by making herbal teas and wines. My friends love this hibiscus red wine; they ranted and raved over it, swearing it has healing powers. My girlfriends are hardworking and stressed, so I think they like how good it makes them feel. So now that I have everything, it's time to close up the place for a couple of weeks. I get in my new cherry red mini cooper and drive away around six that evening to head to the next State, Colorado.

I came across a sign that told me to take a detour because the road was closed due to the weather. So, I find myself off the main beating path and now on this narrow road. Nightfall has come along with the snow. On this road, I kept seeing the same sign.

"What the heck is a frost heave?" Taesha asked Cameron, her best friend, who called periodically to check on her since she had to leave much later than everyone else.

"Searching," Cameron said, indulging Taesha.

"The long journey to this lodge feels like I'm going to the end of the earth. Well, Cam, what did you come up with?"

"I need a freaking Ph.D. in geology to understand these explanations, but if I'm reading it right, it's what happens when water freezes under the road, and the pavement heaves upward."

"This road must have the potential to heave because there are warning signs every two minutes," 

I tell my friends as my stomach tightens, along with my fingers on the steering wheel of my cherry red mini cooper, purchased yesterday with this trip in mind. But unfortunately, what should've been a leisurely five-and-a-half-hour drive up the scenic route has turned into seven tense hours due to the weather. My inner-city driving experience had proven no match for the twists and turns of mountain roads. 

"Are you almost here? Girl, I'm tired of making excuses for the guy I got lined up for you to meet this weekend. So hurry and get your butt up here! Girl, this trip is perfect for relieving some stress. You must see this view and this large cozy cabin, plenty of snow for the slopes, and the perfect place to hook up with Mr. Right! Now you need to do your part and pick up the speed." 

"The GPS says an hour and twenty minutes more. Who is this guy? I have specific types, Afro-Latino, Afro-Italians, Afro-French and African Americans. Anything with African in it. I don't have time for the cultural struggle. I need a man who already understands my culture and me."

"Oh, trust me, he's your type. I know how picky you are, but you do like them tall, big, and rough around the edges," Cam says, snickering.

"Wait! Rough around the edges? No freaks, Cam! Remember that last guy? The one who likes his pet reptile in the bed when he's having sex?"

Cameron laughs. "Oh yeah! Girl, he's twisted. But, Taesha, come on, not all foreign guys are weird. Besides, you love plants and flowers unlike anyone I know, and not because they are pretty." 

"First of all,  my love of plants and flowers are for medicinal purpose. They can do things and make you feel in ways you can only imagine. Besides, flowers and plants are universal. Everyone loves a pretty plant or a beautiful flower. But not every guy loves the skin I'm in. Cam, do you get my drift?  

"Some might think of you as an exotic flower or an aphrodisiac," Cam says.

"Which in their minds amounts to me being a freak in bed. "

"I don't get you, you met one weird guy, and that list of yours has gotten even stricter. Girl, you got to be more open-minded." 

"Open-minded, my foot! I don't do snakes and octopuses in my bed." Taesha says, rolling her eyes.

"Girl, you're talking to Cam! I got your back! Would I set you up with a weirdo? They both laughed.

"I'm just trying to stay in my lane...I don't need all that drama from some guy's family and friends. I want to date a normal guy. So I try to avoid issues at all costs if I can."

"Maybe if I send you a picture of the guy I'm talking about, you'll drive faster and get your butt up here sooner than later." 

"Send it. I can use motivation," Taesha says. They laugh together, waiting for the picture to pop on her phone. Finally, the notification beeps, and his photo is arriving.

"Oooh, he's big and hot, Cam! Is he a football player? Girl, you know my kind of man! You know me, girl! Manly is my type! I can't get with the pretty kind. Robust is what I like and need." 

Then suddenly, my phone made a series of strange clicking noises.

 "Cameron? Hello? Cam, are you there? Ugh!"

No one had warned me that mountain cell phone reception was spotty at best. I hit redial on the smartphone and reached Cameron's voicemail. At least she was trying to call me back. I put down the phone and focused on driving. In addition to the frost warning signs, there were moose crossing signs. As a city girl, I had no idea what that even meant or why a moose would be crossing a highway. 

I had never driven on such a dark road, and now I'm having visions of missing my turn and seeing my car fall off the side of a cliff. My fingers ached from gripping the steering wheel so tightly. It was too bad I had to work this morning. Driving up here with everyone else would have been ideal. My eyes darted from the dark road to the GPS. 

I looked down briefly, and when I returned my eyes to the road, something large and black was in my path. A shriek escaped from my clenched jaw as I slammed on the brakes! My tiny car skidded perilously, spiraling into what felt like an abyss. But instead, I smashed straight into an immovable object, deploying the car's airbag smack into my face. That was the last thing I saw before everything went black. 

I didn't think I had lost consciousness. But my headlights went out, which pitched me into the inky darkness, unlike anything I'd ever experienced. In the city that never sleeps, it didn't ever get dark. Not like this anyway. With the headlights also went the heater. Within minutes it was cold, and I was trembling from head to toe from cold and fear of being alone in the middle of nowhere with something blocking her path. The smack to my face and lead from the airbag hadn't helped. Oh boy face hurt something terrible, and my eyes were watering.

I reached for my phone. But, unfortunately, it must have slid onto the floor at impact. I panicked, feeling around on the floor; it was soaked and wet. That's when I realized the wine bottles must have broken and spilled onto the bottom of my car. I  finally found my phone swimming in red wine; it had no service when I tried to turn it on. 

"Ugh! You gotta be kidding me!"

 Squinting, I tried to determine what was blocking her path, but it looked like a black wall. So finally, I shoved the airbag aside and turned the key in the ignition. The engine clicked in response but didn't turn over. 

"Fantastic!" If I could call someone, who should I call out here? Did the auto club send tow trucks in the middle of nowhere? I noticed it had started snowing again. I was powering up the phone to try again when I saw a flash of headlights coming toward me. With frozen, fumbling hands, I managed to get the door open. My legs didn't want to cooperate as I forced myself out of the car.

Immediately, my beautiful, expensive boots started sinking ankle-deep in the fallen snow. But I begin waving the only movable part of my body, my arms, as I start yelling.

"Stop and Help! Help me!"