The life in me (part 3)

“Peteeeeee, you are embarrassing me” she said as she buried her head into his shoulder. Pete just laughed and responded by flexing his muscles and commenting that she was the reason he was well built. “I spend time in the gym, working the muscles so that it is available to serve my angel anytime she needs a life” he said in a bragging tone.

Ellaine’s tears snapped the lovey-dovey couple back to reality and while Pete when to check, he on her he sensed something strange as a dark shadow moved rapidly across the back of the tent. It was as though Ellaine had sensed some danger towards her and her response was just to cry. Pete although scared had to put up a front for his wife – he is the man of the house right? Looking at her phone it was almost mid-night and Ellaine needed to be fed. She just made some cold camp oats for her which strangely was her favorite. The complete Pete family was now under the bright star light basking in silence as the night ran its course.

That little girl was now a major source of concern for the wild beast. Could she smell him? Could she tell his presence? Apparently he attempted to launch an attack from behind when Ellaine brought the couple back from fairy land to reality. Now, he saw there was another human – a smaller one which was an obstacle to his plan, he wasn’t sure of her abilities yet but resolved to keep silent watch for the time been and retreated to the darker plains of the night.

Seeing his daughter eyes wide open, Pete concluded that he wasn’t going to have any couple-time and rather settled for a joint family session which his daughter could partake in. They had planned a hiking event and since their daughter was too young to ride a bike, they settled for a family bike. He then took the lead to tell jokes and riddles to his wife and child as they used that as a vehicle to close the night.

As his wife steadily bowed her knees to nature, falling in deep sleep, day one of their three day camping trip was successfully completed and as his ritual was he carried her and his daughter into the tent to sleep. It wouldn’t be a wise decision to sleep as his mind kept running towards the shadow he saw earlier. Could the legends be true? Are their lives really in danger? The thoughts of ending the trip was prominent, however, his wife would not agree, she is not the type to buy into fear. To her, life is to be lived to the fullest and fear would only set a limit on what could be explored and the events that could be experienced.

Asides the fear of the shadows, the fire could not go out. If the fire goes out for whatever reason, then they are at risk of the cold as well as the beast of the forest. While tending to the fire, he thought about the events of his life, his family and the general outlook of his community. The community had reports of missing persons in the last summer and all the reports had a common denominator – the forest. The winter period was quiet as no one goes camping in winter. Here he was, not only but with his entire nuclear family in the eye of danger. Should he survive this period, then the rumors could be false.

“You slept outside!!!?” Mary screamed as Pete struggled to gain composure. The fire had gone out it was day break already. The hiking trip needed to commence if they were to return to their safe spot before dark. “Why did you sleep outside?” Mary queried. “The fire needed to be attended to and everyone couldn’t be asleep at the same time for security reasons” he said as he rose to his defense.

“Don’t even think about it” Pete said as he knew he wife would soon ask for bathing water. It was a campsite in a forest with no river flowing thru. They had done a minimalist packing and as such a tank for bath water was a luxury they could not afford.

…continued in my book, do well to purchase to read the rest.

Light, Love, and Life

#story #MMBA4