Favourite place...

We sat silently, watching the blaze of the fire as it grows up to meet the stick on top of it, Eric had started the fire a while ago with the woods we had picked up...

Eric watched the fire silently as it began to die down, before getting up to bring something he had kept wrapped up in a foil paper.

I watched with undivided interest as Eric unwraps the thing from inside the foil and it appears to be some leftover meat he had kept aside for dinner. Eric then fixed the meat over the fire for warming. He must have gone hunting before I got here, I thought to myself. I looked at the meat, and It looked like some kind of big bird or something it had been cut already so I couldn't fully tell what kind of animal it was...

"How long have you been here for Eric?" I asked breaking the ice like silence.

Eric was silent for a while, and I was beginning to think he wasn't going to answer, but then he did.

"I've not been here long enough to have gone crazy or long enough to want to go back home." Eric uttered, while staring intently at the fire.

I watched him, and noticed an emotion flickered through his eyes when he said the word "home" but the emotion was gone just before I could decipher it.

I ignored it and decided to ask him more questions, so I asked him the one question I've been wanting to ask him since the first time I saw him...

But before I could open my mouth, Eric said something first.

"Why were you crying this morning?" He asked in a hushed voice.

I shook my head at the memory, before speaking.

"It's not every day you wake up in a strange place with no memories of what happened to you or how you got there or even any memories of who you are... So, I guess thousands of emotion had hit me right at the same time I had woken up, so that's why I was crying" I asserted.

Eric looked at me, with a raised eyebrow, his face construed into that of pure perplexity at what I had just revealed...

"So you are saying that you don't know anything about you or your family?" Eric asked confusion apparent in his voice...

"Yeah, I don't remember. Nothing about anyone not even myself, uhh..except for my full name" I said a little bit too nonchalantly for someone in my predicament.

"Wow, and you are talking about it as if you were somewhat discussing the weather," Eric asked his eyes a little wide from surprise at what I've just revealed I guess.

I simply looked at him and shrugged with both shoulders before saying...

"I mean what else can I do, I know worrying won't help me in any way, so all I can do right now is live at this moment, and not dwell on the past that I can't even recall," I said and let the words sink into my head as they left my mouth before I continued...

"I kinda like to think of this as being given another chance at life... Like think about it this way.. my memories could be bad for all I know, and I think I'd rather have no memories at all than have a head filled with horrible ones,"I declared.

Eric then stares at me for a while, probably letting the words I just finished saying to sink in as he appeared to ponder over it,

"Well, I guess you're right to some extent. since you at least don't have memories that would keep hunting you for the rest of your life. And even if you did, you probably don't remember." he said after concluding on his own.

I looked at him and he was looking at the meat that he was trying to warm but his mind seemed to be elsewhere...

And that only compelled me to mull over what he meant by memories that would hunt me. Does that imply he had some that he'd want to forget, or did he only just say it because of what I said?

I wanted to ask what he was thinking about and also ask about what he meant by memories that would hunt me, but then I just decided against it...

At least this night is going smoothly I shouldn't just spoil the mood with my inquisitive nature. I thought to myself.

Eric removed the meat from the fire and started to cut it, he handed me a large chunk and we both ate our dinner in silence...

After we finished eating the fire had died down a bit but we were still sitting by it. both of us silent as we had few thoughts running through our heads.

Eric stared off into space probably thinking, or remembering something or someone from back home... Eric only continued sitting there without saying a word or looking at me, the silence growing thicker the more as we sat there with no one making the move to say anything. But then I couldn't wait for him to say the first word anymore so I decided to say something.

"Eric?"I called his name slowly "yes," he answered, still not looking at me.

"Do you think we would ever find our way back home?" I implored gently hoping to get a positive vibe from him...

"I don't know keera... I don't think am ready to go back home just yet" he said softly and appears to be thinking about what he had just said... and his facial expression turned sullen after a while...the sad expression on his face, made me a little bit concerned as I wondered what actually caused him to be sad.

I was silently thinking about the way he had just said keera, as he made it sound as though we've been friends for a while now, and that kinda felt nice...

I tried not to too think much about what he said, hoping in my mind that we were going to go home even if it's not now, someday at the very least. And even though I don't know what I'll find when I go back I still want to return someday as I might have someone who really needs me to return, or someone anxiously awaiting my return...

We both sat there for a few more minutes in silence before Eric stood up picked up the new camping bed and started to unfold it. after making the bed, he then looked towards it before pointing at the new bed...

"you can sleep here," Eric announced after he was done setting it up...

I looked at the bed then back at the one I slept on last night and the distance between the two made me feel a little bit pessimistic as I suddenly wished he had made them close to each other...

I slapped my forehead mentally for having such thoughts when it's not like I was scared of sleeping alone or something, so I discarded the thought and just proceeded to lie down after thanking Eric. He nods his head at me before doing the same on the other bed.

I drifted into a dreamless sleep the moment my back hit the bed as I was too exhausted for even my subconscious to work on its own.

So when I woke up the next morning, I was feeling less stressed and less tired. I looked at the other bed and saw that Eric was no longer there.

"He must have gone out early," I mumbled to myself.

I then stood up and walked slowly to the bathtub as I like to call it, to take a quick bath before Eric comes back from where ever he went.

On reaching the bathtub I started to strip off my clothes without paying much attention to my surrounding... but then Eric's voice startled me making me stumble and I almost fell into the water...

" What do you think you are doing," he said his voice thundering in the empty cave.

I looked behind me expecting to see him there since that's kind of a habit of his...

And I was busy preparing for a sarcastic come back at him but he was not behind me and that only meant one thing, he was in the water taking a bath...

I turned back and looked in front of me and just as I thought, he there he was shirtless leaving nothing to the mind's imagination.

He stood in the water which stopped a little above his waist displaying all his strong-looking perfectly assembled abs to my hungry eyes...

I unconsciously continued to stare at him, with my mouth agape like a freaking fish...

" You should take a picture it lasts longer," Eric cajoled, immediately snapping me out of my dumbfounded state...

I felt heat crept up my face due to the pure mortification I was feeling and all the sarcasm left my mind just when I needed them, and the only I could think of doing was to run... so, I ran out of the cave feeling abashed...

When I got out of the cave, I went to my most favorite place here which am sure you can already guess where that is... " the waterfall."

As I reached the lake by the waterfall, I crouched down and scooped some of the water into my palms, and splashed it on my face hoping it will reduce how hot my face feels and probably how red my face appears to be...

I repeated it several times before sitting on the grass by the lake, as I listened to the magnificent sound of the waterfalls...

I was staring at the lake, and feeling excited at how the sun glistened in the water, which then compelled me to look up after using my right hand to shield my eyes from the brightness of the sun as it was shining so bright, but it wasn't hot at all.

I then decide to soak up some of the suns, getting a little bit of tan wouldn't hurt I thought to myself...

We least I could do that before returning inside hopefully Eric's gone out of the cave by then... but that's if I ever summon the courage to go back after embarrassing myself like that...

I simply sighed and sat there, silently thinking about how I should act when I go back inside and Eric happens to be inside...