"A character writes a secret message somewhere"
The second week of #wordbound is coming to a close, and I am pretty excited about sharing an excerpt from my novel. Hope you enjoy!
“Welcome home,” he says, his voice
sounding cheerful and welcoming however, when I am close enough to make out his
face his smile morphs into a sneer. My
feet halt, all thoughts of hunger driven away and I begin backing away from
him.
“Where are you going?” He snaps.
I ignore his question and take another few
steps backwards.
“Come here,” he gestures with his
hands. One more step back.
“Stop!”
He yells. Two more steps back.
“You will regret this, you ungrateful
girl!” He pushes off the side of the
structure and I turn on my heal and run as fast as my legs will carry me, back
around the sides of the garden and up the hill.
At the top, I stop hands on my knees panting and glance down to see if
he followed. I make out his silhouette at
the edge of the garden, unmoving. Having
caught my breath and fairly certain he is not going to follow at this time; I
walk into the cover of the trees.
As I put more distance between him and
myself a calm comes over me, even in the midst the darkness and the falling
temperatures. Not knowing what else to
do, I wander back to the clearing where I first woke up, if only to be in a
space he may not know about yet. I am
thinking about how I will most likely freeze if I do not build some form of shelter
as I merge into the clearing only to find a small canvas tent pitched near the
opposite edge, a lantern glowing softly at the entrance. A pit of fear falls in my stomach and I spin
around expecting to see him lurking somewhere.
I walk around the clearing several times, squinting into the trees and
find no one.
I move slowly towards the tent, the grass
providing a near soundless progress for my feet and I dare not say a word for
fear he is somehow waiting for me inside.
Once I am an arm’s length away from the tent, I reach out my hand and
grasp one flap, take a deep breath before flipping back the flap. The inside is void of another being but it is
not empty by any means. I pick up the
lantern and take a tentative step inside.
A pallet piled with blankets fills one side, the other tucked closely
together on a small table is a basin with a towel placed inside, a pitcher
filled with clear water, a small bar of soap, a brush for hair and smaller one
for teeth. Underneath the table, a small
basket overflows with various food items I cannot fully make out, my mouth
watering at the very sight of it. The
last thing in the tent is a bag at the end of the pallet near the opening flap.
Out of hunger, I grab the basket first,
knowing it is wrong to eat someone else’s food but the pain in my empty stomach
overrules all decency. Inside the
basket, tucked in amongst a loaf of crusty bread, dried meat, a small wheel of
cheese, and various nuts, I find a note saying, “Eat and enjoy.” I spread it all out in front of me,
hesitating for a moment wondering if I eating food not knowing from it came or who
left it, regardless of a note telling me to do so. Another painful rumble in my stomach hits my
body and before another thought crosses my mind, I reach out, tear off a chunk
of bread, and pop it into my mouth. Once
the first morsel hits my tongue, I do not stop until the majority of the food
is consumed.
