Forest Fire

”Little Gray, Little Gray. You should know better than to run from me” He snickered as I ran through the forest. Just a little further, just a little further and I would be safe I kept telling myself attempting to ignore the shooting pain as my bare feet scraped against the twigs and rocks scattered throughout the forest floor. My heartbeat pounded loudly in my ears as I pushed my limbs to keep moving through the pain and made my way towards the cemetery gate. I couldn’t die like this, I wouldn’t let myself be another one of his victims. This would not be how my story ended.

“Little one, I’m growing bored of our game” He whispered, his voice sounding as if it were part of the wind itself.

Quickening my pace, I finally arrived at the gate. Clasping my hands firmly onto the iron handles I tried to pull them open, but they wouldn’t budge. His laughter echoed throughout the night air as he realized I was trapped, that the cat had almost caught the mouse.

No, this can’t be happening I thought as I looked around trying to find a way to escape, but there was nothing but plain fields to my right, the forest to my left and the locked cemetery gate in front of me. Seeing no other way, I grabbed onto the rusted iron bars of the gate and began to pull myself up. Pushing my feet into the bars, I kept moving up as I fought to keep a firm grasp on the bars and see through the thick fog that was creeping up.

“Goodbye, Evie Gray” I heard him say before I felt a cold hand clasp onto my ankle pulling me to the ground. With a crash I landed on the hard ground, trying to catch my breath as he made his way towards me. His black eyes watched me as a predator would his prey as I attempted to pull myself up. Slowly as if he had all the time in the world he walked over to me, pushing me firmly against the ground with one palm against my chest. Using all my strength I tried to get out of his grasp, but it was no use. I was going to die and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

“Such a shame, Evie. It didn’t have to end like this,” He stated as he hovered over me, gently dragging his knife along my face using just enough pressure for me to feel the edge of the cool knife without breaking the skin. I tried to push myself further into the ground, anything to get away from him as the tears began to fill my eyes. I didn’t want to die, especially not like this.

“Please don’t do this.” I sobbed looking him in the eye, hoping I could convince him to let me go.

“I’ll stop, I promise. Just please let me go.” My voice breaking off as the tears flowed down my face.

“It’s too late for that my love.” He whispered and then brought the knife down piercing my heart. I gasped as I looked up into the star-filled sky taking my last breath.

~ 1 Year Earlier ~

Mornings were usually my favorite time of the day. With the smell of coffee, the soft chirping of birds and golden pink rays of sunlight rising slowly over the lake, Mornings had become my sanctuary. Yet, despite the beautiful Saturday morning painted in golden hues and the smell of strong Cuban coffee, I could feel myself growing more on edge as the seconds passed. My normal sanctuary would do me no good today because today was the day I would confront my parents.

With my strong tendency to play peacemaker throughout my entire life, it should be of no surprise that I had avoided telling my parents I knew I was adopted for the past eight months. I tried more times than I can count to find the right words to ask them about it, but each time I would play out the conversation in my head it always ended with my parents upset and finding out answers that I didn’t truly want to know. As the moon’s shape changed in the night sky and the seasons began to pass me by, my mind had grown restless with who my real parents were, why they abandoned me and most importantly why my parents or I guess I’m supposed to say adopted parents hadn’t told me. Altogether, this Tuesday morning was definitely not one I wanted to even think about dealing with.

The temptation of snuggling into my comfy bed and not leaving for the remainder of the day was strong, but the anxiety over not knowing who my biological parents are had nearly driven me to the brink of insanity. So I either stayed in my safe apartment and let my mind ponder countless potential answers to my questions or I leave my apartment and talk to my parents. Unfortunately, I already knew which path I needed to take and had scheduled a brunch with my parents at 11:00 am.

Tightening my grip on my favorite coffee mug, I took a sip of coffee and let my eyes wander to the clock on the kitchen counter. 8:30 am, I still had two and a half hours before I would meet my parents for brunch. Feeling my frustration grow I quickly poured the remainder of my coffee into a to-go mug and headed towards the lake. Following the dirt path I walked countless times over the past two years, I quickly found my spot. When I first moved out of my parents home things had been stressful, to say the least, and I came to the lake often to help calm my anxiety. Once during a particularly terrible day, I had decided to walk into the forest by the lake, trying to escape everything for a short while. After a few hours of mindlessly roaming the woods, I had stumbled upon my spot, a small clearing in the woods right on the lake shore. Since finding it I’ve added a few things to make it cozy including a small wooden bench and a waterproof trunk that held blankets, books, water, snacks, a flashlight, and some snacks. This place was my hidden gem and I would spend hours here whenever I had the chance.

Grabbing a book and blanket from the trunk I let myself become lost in a world of fantasy and magic. Biting my lip as the protagonist fought against an evil warlock, I flipped the page impatient to find out the ending only to hear the loud beep of my timer telling me it was time to go. With all thoughts of the magical battle dispersed from my head, I let out a shaky breath as I put everything back into the trunk and headed to my car.

Pulling into the parking lot I quickly turned the car off and walked into Roxy’s Diner, finding a red corner booth in a quieter part of the restaurant. Thankfully, fate decided to help me out and my parents walked through the door and made their way to me quickly, leaving me little time to over analyze how this conversation would go again.

“Sweetie are you alright you look a little pale.”

Not expecting her to catch on so quickly I sipped my water and stared at the corner of the table unable to respond just yet.

“I’m okay, we should order our food though, the afternoon rush is going to come in soon.” I managed to say, all while staring at the scratched corner of the table. What can I say, I’m a wimp. I know this about myself and I’ve accepted it. Evie Gray, mayor of wimpville, population 1.

“Okay, do you want the same thing you usually order,” My dad asked, knowing I always get one stack of banana pancakes with a side of strawberries and an iced coffee. I know, I know, I’m predictable and a wimp, but that’s not so bad.....is it? Okay moving on from that train of thought I nodded my head before clasping my fingers together as I peered up at my parent’s.

Slightly startled I met two very concerned pairs of blue and brown eyes as soon as I looked up. My parent’s both staring so intently I quickly looked down.

Almost a minute had passed as the silence seemed to surround us uncomfortably.

“Welcome, to Roxy’s Diner. I’m Asher and I will be your server today. Can I get you started with a drink”

“Yes, can I please get one iced coffee, one peach tea, and one diet coke please?” My mom ordered for us.

“Honey, are you okay? Did you fall into some financial trouble, is your job doing okay? What’s wrong.” The concern in my mom’s voice gave me the push I needed. They might not be my biological parents, but they had raised and loved me as if I were their biological child and I had to believe that they had a good reason for not telling me I was adopted.

Biting the bullet, I said the one thing I’ve been dreading for months.

“I know I’m adopted.”

Hearing both my parents take a deep breath I looked up nervous for what would come next.