Olifina: Love And Trouble

12. Heart to Heart

My dad and the other person turned in our direction and we hid. As if on cue, they both walked away through the path they normally took.

"Wait here," Oliver said and went after them to our second hiding spot. My heart raced as I bent down behind the bushes. Just one month before I was eating at the same table with my father, but now, look at me hiding and spying on him. I shut my eyes tight, overwhelmed with the pain in my ankle.

Feeling a hand on my shoulder, I opened my eyes again. Oliver knelt in front of me with a concerned expression. He helped me to my feet and took the clothes and his bag from the ground. To my surprise, he went under me and swept me off my feet.

I held onto his shoulder and looked up at him in shock, feeling uncomfortable in his hands. He stopped in front of the small stream.

"Are you okay enough to walk now?"

"Yeah, I think so."

He gently put me down and held my hand over his shoulder, putting the other hand around my waist.

"I'll support you, but you also need to try jumping on one leg."

We moved closer to the narrow stream and jumped together. He held onto me strongly to keep me from falling. We landed safely on the other side, but my bad leg was affected and I tried so hard to stop myself from shouting due to the pain. Oliver turned to me and hugged me in a comforting manner. I held onto him tightly and pressed my head on his shoulder as the pressure in my leg increased.

Raising my head from his shoulder, I exhaled as the pain reduced a little.

"Sorry about that. Let's just get to the house so you'll rest, okay?"

I nodded and then adjusted to continue walking again. We managed to go down the mountain until we got to the clearing where Oliver's car was.

"Please let me rest a little."

Oliver helped me to lean on the car and stood in front of me. Placing his hands on his waist, he examined my ankle. "How does it feel?"

"Like there's a nail in it."

"It's probably twisted."

I averted my gaze to the moon. It was one of the things which gave me a calm feeling; the gift of nature.

"I don't think it's a good idea for us to still be out here. I mean, in this particular area."

I sighed and shifted from the car. Oliver held me again and we continued to walk together.

"It should be about 2 am now," he said. I didn't mind the time, as long as I could keep enjoying the light from the moon and the cool wind. At least I could spend a whole minute without thinking so much about Dad. Although the main reason I enjoyed watching the moon was because of the memories I had from my childhood; I would sit outside the house and stare at the moon with my father. The same father I was dying to meet right now, but can't due to some 'reasons'.

Tears rolled down my eyes but I didn't clean them so Oliver wouldn't notice. Eventually, he noticed and let me off track without saying anything.

"Where are we going?"

"Some place."

We walked for a distance before stopping at a small clearing. I looked up to see the moon in clear view. It was unlike the other parts of the woods, especially the part where the frogs could be heard loudly. It felt peaceful.

"What's this place?" My voice echoed in my ear.

"This is my comfort zone," he said looking around the place. "I used to come here whenever I was angry or just needed some peace."