14 Masopine Woods

She switch the position from lying on her back to sleeping on her side. Her hand hides itself under the pillow while her head perfectly sinks into the soft stuffed object. Her body slowly relax in the arms of her bed after being out almost for the whole day.

She got home on about 5.30 o'clock and went straight to her room. The first thing that she did was throw herself on her bed. She wanted to rest but her mind refuse as it keeps suggesting to take a shower before she could enjoy drowsing peacefully. So she took a shower.

But just after she put on her clothes and dries off her hair, she was called for dinner. She mentally sighed at another obstacle that hindered her from having a rest. Instead of saying no, she just gave in and go downstairs to eat, and of course faced some questions from her parents about her "outing" which she later explains to rather a meeting since she don't want to face questions about making friends.

She finish her food and went into her room again, finally having the chance to have a proper rest. That leads to where she is right now. Peacefully resting without a single thought in her head. It is a temporary blessing that she isn't aware of.

After some minutes, her mind begins to walk again as a picture of him plays in her mind.

*Flashback*

After writing her notes, she put the piece of paper in her coat, keeping it safe until she gets home. Upon feeling a little bit bored, she look around the store again and turn around to get a whole look, but instead, she is met with a familiar figure again.

He is grabbing something which looks like a hanger and went into a room with a signage board hanging on the door.

"Staff Only"

She has an idea of who that person is, but you are never too sure until you confirm it. Lucky for her, the figure walks out of the room again, with a piece of knitted sweater in his hand is hanging on a hanger.

Her eyes captures his face, confirming her assumption.

"It is Harlan."

*End of flashback*

It seems that he is working there since he went into the "Staff Only" room. Him doing a part time job is definitely not something she expected but that is only because the topic never even went into her head. Well, at least she learns something new about Harlan.

Speaking about her Harlan, her head gives her flashbacks of little details of him. His beautiful doe eyes along with his dark brown iris. Also, his clear jawline along with his rosy lips, that is always seems to be dry.

Talking about his dry lips, it reminds her of the banana milk. A sense of lightness gushes through her body which can also be seen on her face. Somehow, the thought of it kind of makes her feel... delight?

Slowly, unconsciousness starts to take over her, leaving her small smiling face on while her body call it a day.

~*~

The morning comes as the sun lights up the sky. Just like every other people, she wakes up, stretching her body before her mind becomes fully conscious. She drop her hands on the bed. Her head changes its direction to the window, her eyes focusing at the bright sky.

The longer she looks at it, the more she feels attracted to it. It is like the outside world is calling her, waiting to be explore. A spark of energy lit up in her.

She makes her way out of her bed, walking to her closet, searching for a suitable clothing for the chilly season. Putting the outfit chosen on the chair at the corner of the room, she grabs her towel and get into the bathroom, taking a quick warm shower. She dries herself beforehand then puts on her attire of the day, checking herself out in the mirror.

She walks out of the closet to her table, specifically targeting a bag that is sitting on her chair. She flips the fabric that was covering the opening of the bag and then stretch the skin of the bag so that the bag lace will be loose enough, allowing her to access the insides of the bag.

Her fingers rummage through the stuff while she mentally checked out the items. Having everything in her bag, she hold the bag in her hand, walking out of the room. She got downstairs looking at her left and right, not finding a trace of her parents.

Taking that as a clear sign, she walk to the kitchen, heading directly to the fridge. Opening the door of the refrigerator, she scans through the items, looking for something that she can bring along. She ended up taking a chocolate milk, which is her favorite.

However the item next to her dear flavored milk, there stand a stock of banana milk. To be honest, she doesn't taste it yet. The only time she had touched the milk was when Harlan comes into her house. The thought of it kind of makes her unexplainably warm.

From Harlan's expression, it seems like he enjoyed it. So, it can't be bad, right? She takes the banana milk in her hand too, closing the door as two drinks are enough.

She keep the drink in her bag, placing it on its feet so that it is stable. Of course, drinks are enough, but snacks are a must too. She open the cabinet where the snacks are located, also keeping it in her bag.

Having everything ready, she closes her bag by tightening the lace and flip the piece of fabric, covering he lace. She walks to the door of her house, putting on her shoes, making sure it is nice and comfortable. Opening the door, she is met with the outside world once again.

A small smile form on her lips.

"Let's go."

~*~

The sound the dried leaves rustling is the only thing that can be heard as I walk into the woods. My eyes are focus on my way, although I am quite familiar with this place. After minutes of walking, I finally reach it.

My hiding place. Honestly, my hiding place doesn't really look any different from the other part of the woods. I remember the place by the trees and the area of it is just a little bit spacious than the others. I have always roam the woods that it is not stranger.

I sit on the ground, leaning back against a tree, letting my weight fall on it. I take a deep breath and slowly exhale, feeling my body letting go of the muscles and joints that was contracted. Hearing the whispering sound of the wind, my mind clears up from any thought.

I breath in and out, repeating the same action, cherishing the peace that I am blessed with.

Suddenly, sound of the leaves crackling, my eyes shot open. I look at my right, where the sound is coming from, to see a figure walking closer to where I am.

~*~

He stands up from his place, hiding behind the tree he was leaning on. The crackling sound get closer and closer, while his heartbeat get louder and louder. The waiting hurts as he gets nervous inside, not knowing what to expect.

On the other hand, she was searching for a nearby spot to have a rest, when her eyes caught an interesting spot. The spot seems suitable to rest at somehow, so she makes her way to it. Just as she arrived at the spot, she notice a black figure besides her eyes.

Her heartbeat immediately rise up, hoping that it is not actually what she is thinking. She slowly looks at her left, her heart is trying to jump out from her. Her eyes bravely capture the face of the thing, except for, it is not a thing.

It is a human. Her heart instantly calm down in relieve, however, it is not done yet. Her eyes glued to the figure wearing all black.

It is Harlan.

Both of them are staring each other, freezing while the assumptions in their head turns out to be a little bit wrong. Upon seeing the stock-still Harlan, Emily relax her tensed muscle. However, Harlan's face is still frozen while his fingers are playing with themselves.

Trying to tame the situation a little bit, Emily open's up her mouth. "Hey," she says looking at Harlan. Harlan starts to look at ground, signing anxiousness is starting to take him over.

Noticing the sign, Emily knew that she needs to do something that can make him comfortable while also making him present in the moment, not in his thoughts. "Harlan," she calls once again, trying to have his attention, which she succeed to gain. "What are you doing here?" she says and her hand signs.

Her action definitely makes him more comfortable, as his expression ease up a little bit. He just shake his head. Receiving his answer, her mouth and hand repeat the same action again. "Can I sit here?"

Harlan takes a pause before nodding to her question, which she later show her appreciation by a "thank you."

She walks closer to Harlan, while he didn't move as if there are spike on his shoes that pricked into the ground, preventing him to move an inch bit. Her steps are getting closer as she stops at the tree besides Harlan. It is not too far from each other and not too close. It is just perfect.

She sits on the ground while swinging her bag so that she can hold it. She put the bag on the ground, flipping the fabric and opening the bag, accessing the items inside of it. She takes out her chocolate milk, which was easy to reach and put it in her lap, while her hand gets into the bag once again, taking the banana milk.

She was planning to taste banana milk for her own, but it seems that it is not bad that she had a feeling to bring it along with her. Who knew that they are going to meet on a day like this.

She takes out the milk and hand it to Harlan. "Yours," she says while signing with her other hand. Harlan hesitated but he takes it since Emily didn't stop from handing it to him. He minimally move his hand, signing a thank you.

"You are welcome," Emily says in a light tone. She shakes the milk before poking through her drink using a straw that comes up with it. Following her action, Harlan shakes his drink before opening it, taking a sip of his banana milk after Emily.

Both of them sits like that for a while, enjoying the tranquil silence in the woods. Emily starts to lean back on the tree behind her, taking a deep breath as she closes her eyes. She slowly breathes out, opening her eyes to catch a beautiful view as she looks up to the sky.

The leaves of the tree are elegantly scattered hiding the view behind them. The wide sky is spread with blue, while a little bit of whiteness can be seen as the effect of cloud formation. The leaves will probably covers the things under them from the sun, protecting them in the shade. She cannot confirm it now since the weather is not sunny but breezy.

She looks around the spot from where she is sitting. The spot feels comfortable. It doesn't feel like it was idled. Someone definitely comes to this place often. Who else from the person she found at the exact same spot?

It is not really something that she expected but again not really something that is surprising either. She couldn't really read Harlan. He is a little bit... mysterious.

"Do you always hang out here?" Emily suddenly pops a question as she looks at Harlan. Harlan looks at her with her mouth slightly open. He just nodded.

Emily nodded in response.

"Do you have a problem with your sign assignment?" she asks, bringing up about the topic that they did a few days ago. Harlan hesitated, but he nodded. "Are you sure?" she asks again for confirmation. "You can tell me if you have problems with the assignment. Same goes to other homework. I might not be the best, but I will help as much as I can," she says, looking at Harlan.

Harlan looks at her before looking at the ground. He darts his eyes at her once again, this time his thumb and index finger are almost touching, but leaving some space between them. "A little bit more?"

Harlan nodded.

"Okay then, I will help you," she says looking at him. "At school, tomorrow?" Harlan nodded at her. "It is set then."

She leans back on the tree again, closing her eyes. Breathing steadily, she opens her eyes back again, looking at the Harlan who is sitting on her left. "Do you want some snacks?"

~*~

The sound of foot furiously tapping is the only thing that can be heard in the living room. The man takes a glance at the clock hanging on the wall every now and then, anxious about the time passing. He lets out a sigh, opening his mouth. "I should go and search for her," he says, standing up from the sofa he was sitting on.

The woman puts her hands on his arm in attempt to stop him. "Just wait, I am sure she would be home soon." The man still stands on his feet, freeing himself from her and face his wife. "How can I wait? She was gone from the morning and she didn't head home for lunch. Now it is almost 6 and we already have dinner waiting in the kitchen," he rants, trying to keep his anger that formed out of worries.

She doesn't know what to say to calm her husband down. Yes, it is something that is worrisome but at the same time anger doesn't help in situation like this. "And why didn't she bring her phone," the father sighs in defeat.

"I will just go and find her," he says before walking to the side table, wanting to pick up his keys. His wife follows his steps hurriedly, looking at him who is not hesitating. "Can you calm down for a minute? I am sure she will be home soon," she says, making her husband darted his eyes at her.

"Calm down? You are telling me to calm down?" He looks at her with anger evident in his eyes, while he is still containing his anger. "My daughter is out there and I don't know what is happening to her!" He says almost in a loud voice. "I know, but-" "aren't you worried? I don't want to lose my daugh-" suddenly the sound of the door opening stops the argument that is happening, the couple move their heads to look at the door.

Emily looks at them with a gape, while the door slowly closes itself. She remove her eyes from them, walking to her room. "Emily-" the father call as he follows her. Looking at his husband and daughter, she follows them.

Emily run upstairs, a couple steps away from her dad while grabbing the shoulder strap tight. She sprints into her room, hearing her father calls her name one more time. She closes the door behind, locking it as she leans back on the door.

Just in time, her father reaches her door. "Emily," he calls, knocking on the door softly. Her back slides down the door, her bottom meeting with the floor. Sitting on the floor, her hand is still tightly hold the shoulder strap.

Her heartbeat still can be felt beating fast while she takes a steady breath, trying to calm herself down. "Emily, honey," he call his daughter again, just to be ignore. He let out a quiet sigh. "Come down when you want to eat."

The sound of footsteps getting further makes her cool-down, while the atmosphere feels a little more comfortable to her now. She lets out a deep breath, the pace of her heartbeat slowly becoming normal again. Gaining her strength, she stands up and walk to her table, placing her bag on the chair and continues her way to her bed.

She makes her way on to the bed, lying down while taking a part of her blanket and hugs it. She maintains a steady breath while closing her eyes, loving how comfortable she is feeling right now.

She knows she has to come down sooner or later, plus she is a little bit hungry. She only ate bread and drink the milk that she brought from her home. She also didn't bring any money, which is the way she used to do it.

She will come down. She know that her parents won't scold her that bad. Just probably some advice and a talk.

But for now, she is enjoying the position she is in a little bit too much. Her cheek is kissed by the soft pillow while hugging the blanket in her arms just feels right. As if the bed is hugging her, she don't really want it to end.

"Let's just stay like this for a while."