Lost

The warm water caressed her skin, washing away the dirt from underneath her nails to in between her toes. She could feel the tub beneath her feet, the cold metal under her palms. She clung loosely onto a bar so she wouldn't slip and fall back into reality. The harsh reality.

If she hit the ground, she would wake up. If she stepped out of the shower, she would wake up. She just had to enjoy her small fantasy for now. She would have to enjoy the warm liquid that kept flowing from the showerhead.

And that couldn't be very hard.


"Kaplan! What're you doin' in the stream?"

And that's all it took. The stern tone caused her to flinch, her hands slipping. The heels of her feet slid across the wet plastic and down she went. Tumbling into a void.


But it wasn't long before the sound of rushing water filled her ears. Coldness enclosed her body; she shivered. Hard rocks sat in the stream, feet holding them down before the water washed them away.

"Kaplan!"

A mournful sigh escaped her lips and she carefully turned around, facing a burly man.

He was tall, maybe 6'2. His black hair was slicked back, hiding the growing bald spot in the middle of his head. The light brown of his eyes shined in the sunlight, making him seem a bit younger than he actually was. It was unfortunate that his sharp jawline, tanned skin, and graying hair gave away his age. 46. But overall, most ladies he strolled past stared with their jaws hanging.. until they saw her.

"What're you doin' down 'ere, girl?"

Nope. He's no different than the last time she saw him. Which may have been an hour ago; give or take.

His huge, almost elephant-like feet moved gracefully along the rocky shore as if he had walked the path a hundred times before.

"You gunna answer me?"

She only continued to survey him, lips pursed. He didn't need an answer; it was already obvious, what she was doing.

His navy green boots stopped where the water started, hesitant on getting wet. "Are yah gunna make me come get you?"

Her shoulders rose and fell and she crawled to the opposite bank.

"We're not playin' a game of chase right now, girl. Get yer butt over 'ere."


There was one thing that really threw people off about the man. He had a thick country accent, as if he were from New Jersey or Alabama. But he had raised her in the skyscrapers of New York, and grew up in a Gated Community of Hawaii.

Nobody really knew where he got the accent from. She just told herself he thinks it's cool to be from a countryside, and chooses to talk that way. But, she could be wrong.


"I'll come back," she stated, voice monotone, giving off the expression that there was no changing her mind.

And with that, she disappeared into the brush, leaving the buff man to call her name. With false hope, he thought she was just playing a joke. But, she wasn't. She was leaving until she felt the need to come back.

She had done this runaway many times before, but he was still scared of the day she might never return.

No matter how much he couldn't admit it.


Roughly a mile later was when she found a tree with sturdy branches, close to the ground. For the first twenty minutes, she struggled to find the top, even if she knew that she would never make it.

Forth of the way up, she gave in and met the ground. As she sat in the dirt, she surveyed the small scratches on her arms and ankles, most of them not deep enough to even bleed. There was no major damage; there never was.

She sighed and lied down, some needles becoming entangled in her hair and soil digging its way into her nails. But, everything was peaceful; that's all that mattered.

Birds chirped faintly, their song mixing with the wind that brushed softly between the pines. The Sun's rays broke through a few branches, casting its comforting light here and there.

Nothing could take away this place's beauty.

She closed her eyes, exhaling in content as her arms crossed over her chest, radiating the feeling of protection she rarely had. The ridge in her back straightened and she heard a few satisfying cracks.

A smile appeared on her lips.


That was when she let herself go. She let herself slip away. Because they were coming. Just not soon enough.