Her Soul

18. spending the night together

Aviana kept close to Riaan. The last thing she wanted was to get separated. As he walked by he put the broken branches aside.

"Oh, by the way, you owe me a big explanation for this stupid act of yours," he said without turning. Aviana had seen it coming. Of course, he was going to demand an explanation. She had no issue in telling it to him but he would not believe her. Her mom did not believe her. She decided to leave out the crazy part of the story. Leaving the crazy part out, it would only be dramatic, not stupid.

They kept walking. Then and there Aviana would check if Riaan was waking in her front. The climate was cool but they barely felt it as they kept walking. She looked out for logs and boulders. Falling down was not going to help. They had walked for nearly fifteen minutes now. But there was no sign of 'wood burgers' or Riaan's car. They must have reached by now. That is if they had walked in the right direction.

Riaan still kept walking confidently. Aviana decided it was time to stop. "That is it!" She threw her hands up, giving up. He turned towards her. Her eyes had got adjusted to the darkness. She could make out his expression clearly. "We should have reached by now." She gave him a 'told you so' look.

"Save the told you so speech. If it was not for you I would be in my home now." He did not need to keep remembering her that. She was well aware of the fact.

"Okay come on, let's try my way," she said and started moving in her direction. Opposite to the one they walked.

"Wait," he called.

She stopped and stomped her feet. "Now what?"

"For all we know we might be getting deeper into the forest," he supposed.

Aviana had no idea what he was arriving at. "Okay so?"

"So I say we stay here and wait till morning. With light, we can find the way back easily."

Just the thought of spending another night in the forest scared her. She had done it once, it was not an experience to remember. She still had nightmares about that night. "No way. Let's go back."

He gave a sigh and came towards her. "Why can't you just agree with me? You had to argue every damn time."
He was unaware of what it meant to her. How much it scared her.

He must have seen the look on her face, his voice softened. "Aviana this is the best way. Nothing will happen if we stay together."

Maybe he was right, this was the best way. As soon as the sun came up they could head back. Mom! Aviana panicked. But then she remembered it was Tuesday. Her mother had a night shift on Tuesdays.

"Ok." She looked at Riaan warily. He looked confident in his decision. She went with his hunch and hoped they would stay out of trouble.

"Let's find a cozy place to settle in," he said and started searching for one. She went behind him. Even in the dark, she marveled at how well his hair went with the forest. It was like they were meant to be together. His strides were long and sure. Hers also would have been, anywhere else. In here, hers was small and unsteady.

"This place looks good." He had found a big tree, its bark had a curve near the roots. They could fit there comfortably. There were not many trees around this one, so the moonlight was at the maximum. The tree had a gigantic bark. The branches and dense leaves were spread up near the sky like a mushroom.

Riaan took his place between two big roots; using the roots as armrests. He leaned back and looked at her. Aviana glanced back and forth to check if they were followed. When she was satisfied they were alone she went to sit near him. It felt like heaven, to simply sit. Her leg muscles burned from pain.