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Pete?s eyes flutter open as cool droplets of rain fall upon his face. Everything is blurry, confusing. He squints through the streaks and droplets clinging to his glasses.*He?s outside. When did he go outside?Raindrops splash on the top of his head, reminding him of his expanding bald spot and matting his thinning, scraggly hair as he gazes ahead. He?s standing alone in a clearing, staring into a thick, dark forest just a few meters before him. The tall, wet grass clings uncomfortably to his soggy shoes and pants. Everything is so grey --the ground, the trees, the endless clouds above-- so colourless, and it?s so cold.Pete shivers, tendrils of frosty vapour coiling about his nostrils and rough-shaven mouth, his lower lip slack and plump.**He doesn?t want to be here. He wants to be home.?Where am I?? he asks. His frail voice is almost lost in the patter of the rain.From behind him, beside him, around him, a voice --feminine, warm-- speaks, ?Where you?re supposed to be.?Slowly turning his head left then right, he sees no one and returns to gazing into the forest.**?It?s so cold,? he says. ?Why am I here??Soft laughter tickles his ear.*?Because you?re supposed to be here...? responds the voice as a young woman slips around him into his view, ?... with me.?The first thing Pete sees is her smile -- gentle, easy as if a breeze had settled it upon her pretty, freckled face.* She?s also wet, her wavy brunette hair weighed down by the rain past her shoulders, strands clinging to her cheeks and forehead.* Yet, she doesn?t seem to mind. It doesn?t even bother her that her white blouse is practically sheer, and Pete avoids looking too long at the circles of her pert, dark nipples pressed beneath the wet fabric.He notes that she?s in a pair of cut off jean shorts, her exposed, long legs slicked wet by the rain. She?s barefoot, as well, yet there?s not a tinge of trouble or concern in her fresh face.?You?re Anadolu yakası escort not cold?? he asks, even as he thinks that she looks anything but cold: vibrant, carefree,* alive.*She shakes her head as she stands before him. ?It?s refreshing. Are you?? she asks, and casually reaches out and cups her supple palm against his wrinkled cheek.Pete hesitates as her thumb caresses just above his whiskers. He was shivering just a moment ago. As he gazes dreamily at her, he can only think of one reply: ?No.?The young woman smiles with a crescent curve of her eyes, a cool green like a sweet, untravelled meadow. It?s the first colour Pete has noticed since he found himself in the clearing.**He reaches for her hand, holds it against his cheek for a moment, then removes it.* Once again, he shivers.?But, I don?t like being outside,? he says, wearily looking around.* ?I don?t want to be here.?Her smile softens but doesn?t fade. A blush of pink colours her cheeks as she tilts her head aside and says, ?Oh, Pete.?He senses it?s a playful scolding and asks, ?Who are you???You know.?His chin moves forward and he peers through the rain streaking his glasses. Shaking his head slowly, he says, ?I don?t.?She steps backwards, her hands behind her back, pinching her lower lip with her teeth teasingly as she smiles. ?You do.??Where?? Pete watches her as she moves away, moves towards the forest, ?... where are you going??Still smiling, she turns around and casually strolls into the thick trees and brush.?Miss?? he calls to her. ?You shouldn?t go in there. It?s too dark. You?ll hurt yourself, your feet.?Within a couple of breaths, the forest has already closed around her.**Pete is alone in the clearing again. He looks around anxiously, then down towards his feet. He has shoes and pants and a long sleeve shirt to protect him from clawing branches and sharp Kurtköy escort bayan rocks and cold mud.*But he?s old, and heavy, and tired, and aching.**And he wants to go home.From deep within the gloomy forest the sound of laughter echoes through the air.* It pulls at the hairs upon his chest and the back of his neck and, to his reluctant dismay, draws him forward.* He drags his feet --his shoes now sopping wet-- through the cold grass and stops at the edge of the forest.?Miss?? he pleads, his lips trembling. ?I need to go home.??I?ll bring you back.? Her voice calls from somewhere in the wilderness.Compelled by her cajoling beckoning, Pete pushes aside the branches and bushes and enters the forest. His progress is slow, baby-steps, practically, as he inches forward at first. He turns his head away from the sticks and leaves that grasp at his face, and he walks with his hands outstretched like a blind man without a cane.His heart is racing and his breaths exhale with a subtle whimper. He feels so lost.?Where am I?? he asks again.?You?re with me.? The young woman appears before him, peeking out from behind a tree, just a few meters away but with so much foliage and crisscrossing branches between them, she may as well be a mile ahead. She giggles and disappears again.?Wait,? Pete calls to her and pushes his way through. He arrives at the tree where she had appeared but she?s no longer there. He does find, however, her white blouse on the ground.When he picks it up and holds it in his fingers, he frowns. The shirt is soft, white? and dry. Pete looks up, blinking, and realizes the rain has stopped. He removes his glasses to wipe them on his shirt.* When he puts them back up and gazes upward toward the tall trees he sees? colour. A multitude of dark green leaves shifts and rustles above him, flecks of shimmering light from the sky breaching through Escort Maltepe the cracks in the vast canopy.**For a moment, Pete is mesmerized, stunned. It had just been raining, hadn?t it??Pete. You?re almost there,? the young woman calls to him. ?You?re almost back.?He sets off once more, a little faster, a little more confident and bold. The shrubs and branches seem to part as he moves through them, opening a path.* The ground beneath his feet feels more firm as his strides lengthen. Fresh, clean, earthy air fills his lungs, reviving his body and mind and spirit.**He hears her laughter, her sweet voice just ahead of him.* Pete?s pace quickens. The daunting challenge to find her now becomes an inspired chase.* His eyes narrow and he realizes that his glasses have fallen off. It doesn?t matter. He?s seeing as clearly as he has ever had. The forest is vibrant, alive. The dust of time that had muted his senses brushes away and suddenly they?re in overdrive taking in everything the forest has to offer.**There it is. He sees the end. It appears as a bright golden light through the bushes and trees. Pete charges towards it as it intensifies, flaring before him, shining till it almost fills his widened eyes with a white glow.**Then he stops.**As the light subsides, he finds himself in another clearing in front of a sparkling lake. He?s breathing hard, but not from exhaustion, though. It?s excitement he feels, a type he had long forgotten.*?My God,? Pete gasps as he scans the serenity nature unfolded before him, ?it?s beautiful.??Pete.? The woman emerges into his view at the edge of the lake. She?s nude, covering herself with her hands.* A silent breeze lifts and teases her soft brunette hair aside as the sun kisses her creamy flesh.*As he is*with the world around him, Pete is in awe of her presence, her calmness and beauty like a balm on his tired heart.*With a smile, she raises her arms forward and opens her hands to him. ?Come to me.?As Pete takes a step towards her, he reaches down to pull off his shirt, then hesitates. For a moment, he regards her standing there, her body bare and beautiful, fully comfortable and at ease with herself. She belongs here, in this world of natural splendour and vitality.*