Bianca: Hidden Identity

I'm walking desperately down busy Cleveland Street, seeing all kinds of people chatting by café terraces, shopping in several local grocery stores, waiting at the bus stop, walking their pets... I have been walking for hours and hours, it will be a whole day when the sun sets. Most citizens stared at me and whispered things as I passed by, which made me walk faster, almost running. A tall man with chunky glasses dropped a big package when he saw me, his gaze expressing shock.

After a while, I notice I must be reaching the end of the neighborhood I've ended up in. There's a considerable contrast from its other end, which is closer to the city center, because of the few people outside and the lack of shops. It feels like I've entered the outskirts. The road is now a one-way, old, and deteriorated path. Buildings and balconies are filled with strange vegetation, growing wildly, resembling long, green tentacles trying to get out of a trap. Even the air feels different, colder, uninhabited.

Since nobody is watching me anymore, I slow down my pace. Now that I feel safer, my mind is clearer and it makes my brain cruelly remind me of my naked and exhausted feet with sharp stings of pain that go up to my thighs. All the little cuts that have been digging into the soles of my feet began to make themselves sharply present. However, I can´t stop. Some confused and intrigued looks are directed my way from a few locals, who are quickly entering their homes. It seems like they're all in a rush, escaping from the inevitable fall of the night.

The landscape is now engulfed in rural houses, cracked sidewalks, and undergrowth with altered colors from the sun-setting red sky above. In the distance, there's a crooked and run-down sign that reads: "Daintree Rainforest". It's hard to decipher properly because it's covered in red graffiti letters saying: "No Trespassing". I knew going into that forest wasn´t the best idea, but it was a good place to hide, at least until the next morning. I couldn´t turn back now. So, disobeying the sign and not looking back, I enter the lush rainforest, trying to ignore the burning pain circling through my entire lower body

I walk avoiding branches, leaves, and roots of many plants I've never seen before. The further I go in, the less visible my surroundings are. Then night fell completely, I had to extend my arms to feel the trunks of the great trees so as not to fall. Sounds of various wild animals were heard as an echo, along with the light breeze of the leaves in the wind and the grilling of crickets. My legs were screaming for help sending pangs of pain from my toes to my thighs, as I felt how dirt and mud were impregnating the little wounds in my feet. But I have to get deeper to hide. All these sensations keep me going, they keep me alive. Even though my body was starting to give up, the fear of being found and the uncertainty of what would happen if I were, made it impossible to cease my escape.

. . .

Eventually, I lost track of time along with that frantic motivation to move forward. I'm limping as my legs can't stand any longer. At first, I was following a path marked by the big trees, but now I have so deeply integrated into this huge tropical forest that my steps are careful in order to dodge the completely scattered logs without an order to guide me. I'm unsure how much time's left for sunrise, how far I am to get out of this grove, or whether I could do it without collapsing.

Not only do my legs hurt, but my head also started to weigh more than usual and I was beginning to perceive my chest getting harder, which meant it wouldn't be long until I passed out. Fearful of being tracked down, I use my last efforts to walk as fast as I can. Panting, I raise my head to look for any lights on the horizon, a few meters away I see a few lights illuminating something I can't distinguish because of the large treetops.

Without stopping to debate whether it's actually real or just a forbidden fruit of my imagination, I drag my forceless body forward. My vision turns blurry with small black dots, the lights illuminating the spots in between. The last thing I can appreciate is a cold, stiff, tile floor under my shattered feet.

. . .

A distant hum, followed by a slight discontinuous breeze, makes me try to open my eyes, which feel like curtains of steel. After a few tries, I manage to see a ceiling fan slowly spinning. Rigidly turning my head both ways, I realize I'm lying on a bed, not a hospital one, but a dorm-style one with a wooden headboard.

I continue looking around and spot big glass windows, a wooden dresser to match the bed, and a bedside table with a reading light. A few moments pass before I decide to sit up and stretch, discovering that various areas of my lower body are sore, but nothing too grave. I try to remember what happened. What is this place? Who brought me here? Could it be that strange building I saw before passing out? Was that vision just a hallucination, a dream?

All those questions racing with each other in my mind vanish as I hear the door open. I turn my gaze to a young and kind-looking woman. She stands out with her platinum blonde hair and blue, grayish eyes. She's carrying a silver platter that contains a tall glass of water and four pills. Following her, another woman enters. She's a lot taller and fitter than the first one and has fiery brown hair, honey-colored eyes, and a freckled face. The blonde girl leaves the platter on top of the nightstand and carefully leaves the room without saying a word. Before she closes the door, I notice how the other woman, who is now standing next to my bed, nods at her covertly.

"I see that you are awake…"