A Secret Message

"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.