Chapter Two: Stranger Danger

Julia stared at the stranger for a long time now.

How did she bring him here? It’s up to your imagination but it involved almost half a day and a lot of rest.

Was it a good idea to bring a stranger that was chained inside a cave for a reason to her home? Absolutely not. But does she care? No.

Her conscience will never let her sleep or eat peacefully knowing that she abandoned a man inside a cave to starve to death when she could have helped him. Perhaps the man would murder her when he wakes up, but she only prays that wouldn’t be the case.

She treated most of the wounds using some herbs that she picked in the forest. She doesn’t know the reason why but she knows the plants that could be used for different purposes. Maybe it’s from her hidden memory but whenever she sees a strange-looking plant, she automatically thinks that ‘hey! This one’s poisonous! Or this one’s edible, or this one can treat wounds and rashes’

That’s also one reason why she was able to survive the forest. Her knowledge of herbs and plants helped her greatly in surviving these past few months.

Her stomach grumbled. She was hunting for a rabbit but instead, she brought a strange man home that could possibly kill her when he woke up. She wanted to hit her head with a rock for being so stupid. Someday, her kindness will come and bite her in the butt.

She looked down at the strange man she found. She washed off the dirt smudges on his face and upper body and figured that she was strangely attracted to him. She envied his mellow copper-like skin that looked warm to touch. Compared to him, hers was pale with a red and yellowish tinge and felt like it had no personality. No matter how much she works or basked under the sun, her skin color would still remain the same.

The man’s hair was russet and reminded her of autumn. His whole image reminded her of autumn: the warm colors of the dried leaves and the coolness of the air reminds her that it will soon be winter.

Her pale skin and deep black hair made her feel ghostly.

The stranger looked fit and muscular except for his hollow cheeks from not being able to eat or drink for who knows how long. Julia somehow envied him for his physique. Unlike his muscular frame, flaps of chubby fat hung on her arms, her soft stomach protruded forward whenever she sat down and her thighs always rubbed on each other whenever she walked. Despite not eating that much for the past months, her body stayed the same.

Maybe she’s just on the chubbier side, she thought. At least her chubby and soft body kept her warm during the cold nights and it doesn’t hurt as much when she sleeps on the ground.

She started to feel sleepy. The exhaustion must have caught on with her. It wasn’t easy carrying a person whose taller and bigger than her all the way here. It’s even impressive to think that she was able to come home without getting lost. But right now, she needs to sleep. No matter how hard she tries to stay awake in case the stranger woke up, her eyes were too heavy to keep open.

“Please don’t kill me when you wake up before me,” she mumbles right before she drifted asleep.

The night passed and the bonfire she lit up the night before distinguished. The man started to groan in his sleep and eventually, his eyes flung open.

 Bullets of sweat trickled down the side of his face and he sat right up. His red eyes flickered as he bared his fangs ready to jump on whoever tried to kill him. He looked around, there was no one there except him inside a small shabby shed made from sticks and planks tied together poorly.

He washed his palms over his face. The nightmares never end. It feels like someone is always after him whenever he sleeps. He can never let his guard down and –and

He paused when he felt something breathing beside him. When he looked down, a girl was snoring softly with saliva trickling down the side of her lips. His brows immediately furrowed and a sweet smell lingered in his nose.

His red eyes reverted back into their original golden color and his canine-like fangs regressed back into human teeth. His body tensed, and his breathing grew heavy. The scent of the girl intoxicated him. He shook his head to shake off the thought. This can’t be possible.

Julia groaned when she felt something move beside her. She slowly opened her eyes and the man she saved from the cave was sitting down beside her. She sat up, rubbing her eyes and yawning.

“You’re awake,” she sleepily said. The man did not respond and only stared at her.

‘Does this woman have no fear?’ he thought. ‘who does she think she is, bring a stranger, let alone into her home.’

“Are you thirsty?” she asked and stood up. She stumbled back and accidentally touched the stranger’s shoulder to which he immediately flinched and moved back. Julia’s eyes widened as she pulled her hand away.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized. The man looked away looking troubled. She wanted to scoff. She saved him from that scary place and that’s how he reacts to her? Like she’s some sort of dirty being?

Instead of letting the situation get to her, she went out of her small hut and fetched fresh water from the stream using a wide leave that she turned into a cone with the ends pinched to keep it from running. She went back inside the hut and offered the water to the man.

He was hesitant to receive it at first but ended up drinking it. He was parched.

“I don’t have food to give you. Even I’m struggling to find food.” She reached out to the berries and handed them to him. “you can eat this for now.”

The man started eating the berries while looking around. The small hut was poorly made. If a strong wind comes, this house will surely crumble down.

‘What is she doing in the middle of this forest?’ he thought. She is merely a human girl with not even a proper house to shelter her from rain. It’s a wonder that she even survived this long.

“So, why were you chained in that cave?” she asked, sitting in front of him, “are you a bad person?”

It was the scent again. He could barely concentrate on her face without being lightheaded by the scent. This woman is dangerous.

“Why did you go there?” he asked, slowly coming back to his senses, “how did you find me?”

“Oh, so you know how to speak!” Julia clasped both of her hands and nodded in approval, “for a second there, I thought you were mute. You don’t know how happy I am just to talk to you. I haven’t talked to someone in ages. I sometimes talk to the animals or trees just to vent out, but you know it isn’t as amusing as having someone who actually replies.”

‘and she talks too much.’ he thought.

“I asked you, how did you find me?” he asked her firmly, trying to dominate the conversation. In the past, everyone he talked to powered their head in respect and no one dared to look into his eyes. But this human girl was different. She stared right into his eyes and beamed like he was nothing.

“I was chasing a rabbit and stumbled into a scary large cave,” she answered shortly.

“You merely stumbled?” he asked, “while chasing a rabbit?”

The girl nodded. “Are you a criminal or someone scary? Why’d they chain you into that cave?”

The stranger clenched his jaw. A criminal is merely an understatement of what he truly is. Everything cowers in fear whenever he is near and death trails behind him along with the spirits of those he killed. Every living being senses death when he is near and yet this girl. This girl broke her from that prison?

“Who are you?” he asked, “what are you and how did you get me out?” he asked. For years he tried to get out of that cursed place. He used all of his strength trying to break free from those enchanted silver chained and drained out all of his strength and this human girl took him out of that cave?

“You didn’t answer my question.” Julia furrowed his brows. “it’s rude.”

The man looked at her in disbelief.

“I don’t want to answer that,” the man replied.

“Then tell me your name.”

“Just call me whatever you want.”

“Don’t you have a name?”

“No.”

“That’s sad.”

Silence washed over them. Julia kept looking back and forth at the man. She was elated that he didn’t kill her and he seemed like he won’t hurt her. He has attitude problems and is rude but she senses that he’s not a bad person, at least not to her. The man didn’t answer properly to any of her questions even though she wanted to know more about him.

The silence was disturbed by a rumbling sound. Both of them looked at each other. Julia’s hand flew down her stomach.

“Are you hungry?”

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END