Out of the Woods (HIATUS)

Chapter One

   Arashiyama Bamboo Forest. A place I had been dreaming of visiting ever since I watched a commercial ad on YouTube regarding the Kansai prefecture which also portrayed the nature's beauty and tranquility. It was even more breathtaking during winter – layers of snow covered the forest's grounds, making it looked magical in a way. It was my second day in Japan and so far, everything went smoothly and as planned. Nothing bad came up – not until I bumped into the least expected people.

   "Why, hello Aquila. I didn't expect to see you here," he exclaimed.

   Neither did I anticipate to bump into you.

   Instead of rephrasing what the inner me said and avoid further complications, I just smiled; to him and the woman he was linking arms with. I tried my best to ward off memories from the past that were resurfacing when I looked at her in the eyes – the proud eyes that showed triumph but were covered by a veil of innocence. I knew her too well, well enough to tell that the one standing in front of me was not in her truest self.

   That man, Rydal, was supposed to be wedded to me, but due to some unavoidable circumstances, our ties were cut off. Yes, we were already engaged, but only weeks before our marriage, that woman came storming into my parents' house, claiming that she bore his child. Typical drama, I thought to myself, but that was what happened. Raged, my parents urged the marriage to be cancelled and it did. I had nothing to regret too, considering that I found out about his true colours a few days after the incident. He was a playboy, and she was one of his lovers whom he made love with constantly. Not trying to label her as a whore, but that was the truth. The thing that I was disappointed with the most was that, she was my own best friend – the one who had been with me through ups and downs ever since our high school years. Shocking, indeed.

   The woman's scoffs brought me back to reality. She was staring with one eyebrow raised a little higher than the other. I waited for Rafique to grab his attention somewhere else before making silly faces at her, and it seemed like I succeeded in annoying her for she had started to whine incessantly. I observed her frame from afar and made a conclusion that she was, no doubt, sucking the riches out of Rydal's wealth. She was carrying, what I was sure I would not be able to afford, a designer handbag and a pair of Bonia's sunglasses. She even wore a silver-glittering Seiko wristwatch and a pair of limited edition Timberland boots.

   "Are you here alone?" she asked.

   I broke my gaze and looked at her face. I knew for sure that she was trying to come up with something to bash me, especially when she thought that I was intimidated by her looks, although in fact, I was not. Really.

   "I'm sure you're not blind because I am here alone. Me, myself and I," I said.

   "That's so sad of you, dearie." She pretended to be down as if she was able to feel me. She elbowed her partner and told him that they should do something about me. I said that I was fine being alone, and that she did not need to be troubled by my sole existence.

   "I'm no queen, so I don't need anybody's attention 24/7. I prefer being alone anyway, instead of bothering my partner and forcing him to satisfy my materialistic needs." I made a sarcastic remark, hoping that she would be butthurt. I fathomed I hit the bull's eye when I saw the look on her face changed almost immediately.

   "Well, if you need anything, be reminded that we are here and our house is always open for you," Rydal stated, giving me his business card. I never held a grudge against this guy anyway, so I nodded and thanked him.

   After what I thought was forever, I was finally able to leave the place in peace and harmony, and a tinge of satisfaction bloomed in my heart after being able to reply to a question with sarcasm – a talent I almost forgot I had. It was getting dark and the cold wind was starting to get a little bit frostier, so I decided that I should end the journey and get back to my hotel. I took the city bus to get to the nearest railway station.

   Snow began to fall when I reached my hostel, which was a good thing because I would not be chilled to death. It was already my fault for buying two pairs of thin-knitted mittens at Lawson. I thought that the weather would be a little bit hotter considering that it was nearly springtime, but I was wrong.

   The receptionist welcomed me in Japanese with a jovial smile and I had to bow slightly to show my respect. I greeted back in the same cheerful tone and managed to sneak a glance at the onsen room opposite the reception counter and secretly hoped that the number of people would slowly decrease as nightfall came. It would be a nice thing to do – dipping myself in the lukewarm, calming water – especially when the weather was cold enough to cause me to shiver under my wind breaker.

   "Are you planning to have a dip in the onsen, miss?" the receptionist asked. I turned around to face her before nodding my head twice. "If that's the case, then you should take this," she said, handing me a pack. She continued, "There won't be anyone who'll be in charge of the onsen counter later tonight."

   "Why so?" I asked.

   "The assigned staff phoned me and said that he won't be able to make it to work because the heavy snow at his place had disrupted the trains," she explained. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience caused, by the way."

   I smiled and said that it was nothing. I even praised her fluency in English and said that it was rare for me to have a Japanese speaking the international language without any slang. Embarrassed and proud of it at the same time, she told me that it was compulsory for the hotel's staffs to take English lessons before being able to work officially. "The director is very strict with our communication skills and that he wanted the best for all of us as well as the hotel, although it's not a five-star hotel. That's why he's the best boss I have ever worked under," she said.

   "That's nice of him, and I can see that he's loved by everyone here," I smiled yet again. I excused myself to my room since my legs were starting to hurt after walking a lot. I was out immediately after I had my breakfast and was only able to rest comfortably around twelve hours later; in my rented room, of course.

*****

   I woke up with a start when I heard a few loud thuds outside. I wondered what had caused such massive sound so I got dressed in a rush and went out of my room. Turned out, it was one of my next door's luggage that fell down the staircase – the handle slipped off their child's hands and the bag went surfing down to the lower floor. The parents apologised to us for causing such noise but I told them it was fine. The other foreigners even said the same thing and went back into their rooms like nothing happened. I laughed a little; amused by how panicked I was, thinking that somebody fell down instead, but upon seeing the little boy crying; worried that the luggage might be broken, my laugh subsided and I went to comfort him. I gave him the remaining lollipops I bought back at a stall in Arashiyama before the family of three headed out for the airport. The smile on the six-year-old's face literally brought warmth to my cold night.

   Again, I peeked at the onsen room and was glad to see that it was empty, so I hurried to my room, grabbed the pack that the receptionist gave to me earlier and went back to the onsen. Positive that no one was around, I slid off my pajama and put on the clothing that was prepared by the hostel. I walked up to the human-sized mirror which was placed nearby and found myself laughing at my own reflection – the apparel was baggy, I began to doubt whether I chose the right size. I turned my back and tried my best to have a quick once-over at the size tag sewn to the collar of the shirt.

   Medium-sized. I always wear medium-sized shirts.

   But why did this thing appeared baggy on me?

   "Because that's the males'," a voice chuckled, answering my question.

Author's Note: OOOOHHH DAMN, a cliffhanger. G'luck mate, on guessing who that person is *wink*.