Absolute silence. That is what echoes throughout his ears when he awakes from his deep slumber. He is surrounded by trees, trees, and more trees. He cannot recall how he got here. He looks around slowly, waiting for a bird to fly by or to possibly hear sounds of civilization. He slowly stands up, the leaves and forest debris loudly crunches beneath his bare feet. It is much louder than he expected. He also takes notice to each breath he takes. In and out. The air condensates slightly as he exhales. He stays as quiet as possible while he looks around. He looks up at the sun which has begun to rise but the clouds are slowly approaching. He looks to his left which has a steep incline to a possible viewpoint while the right has a decline that might lead to people and civilization. He ponders for a moment in the silence. He decides to brave the uphill. Every leaf, every twig, every forestry debris has a its own distinct sound. He occasionally has to grab a tree trunk to up himself up the hill. There is a soft but frigid breeze against his bare skin which slowly begins to freeze him under the barely warm sun. He makes it to the peak of the hill. Clouds have now covered the sky. Suddenly he hears rustling of leaves. He hides behind a large tree. He peeks out from behind and sees a woman. She has brown hair that may spike outward but looks soft to the touch. Her hair covers the right side of her face and some of her chest. She feels familiar to him. She is as bare as the man is out in this frigid weather. He comes out from hiding and slowly approaches. The woman smiles instead of running or even shouting.The man relaxes and smiles back. He looks into her golden eyes as snow begins to fall from the sky. She grabs his wrist then pulls him into a nearby cave. He is surprised by her actions. The snow begins to pick up speed and size while they stay protected in the cave. The stone feels very cold on his feet. She points deeper into the cave. He smiles and they walk together deeper into the cave. It gets darker momentarily but fluorescent mushrooms begin to light up the cave. There is a bed of leaves and, what seems to be, a naturally heated body of water. She leads him into the water. The rush of hot water feels amazing on both their cold bodies. They both recline and relax against the wall of rock, warming up. After staying in the water for a while, they get out. The woman walks over to the bed of leaves and lays down. She motions to the man to come lay with her. He looks at her with eyes of hesitance but her eyes speak, they say don’t be afraid. She smiles softly at him. He walks over and lays beside her. The man holds her tight as she nuzzles into him, staying very close to one another. As they lay there in the absolute silence, they feel at peace and warm. In an instant he remembers who this woman is. He looks at her and smiles and she lays asleep. He silently kisses her forehead. He begins to fall asleep as well and just as a he falls asleep, he whispers something that is barely heard… “I Love You.”
