Authors note.
Hi all.
This came to me out of the blue. It's a bit different to what I usually write and features a bit of werewolfieness (not a word. I know :p).
Anyway. I happen to like it and thought I would share a little whimsical thought.
Hope you like it too. Comments and feedback keep me writing so please do so.
Also. For those of you waiting for more on ANB, I'm still working on it and it's taking time because the next chapter is quite long. After being told to not have a cliff-hanger ending it's hard to write it all out.
Flic.
*****
The forest track wound slowly uphill and Nicola had been wandering along it for well over two hours. The leafy smells filled her with a sense of freedom and she had desperately needed to get away from city life so this was perfect. The day was still young and the temperature warm but not unpleasantly hot. A light breeze played with her shoulder length light brown hair as she walked along at a sedate pace in hiking boots, shorts and a loose fitting flannel shirt. She had a small back pack with her that contained a few supplies too. Not too much as she intended to be back in her car before dark.
Her father had used to bring her here as a child so she knew where she was going and knew the way fairly well. Some of the sights familiar even though the forest had changed over the years. She past by an old tree stump that was worn smooth by numerous people sitting on it. It was covered in peoples carvings. Various initials or names, love hearts with this or that carved out in them, on them or under them were a regular theme.
Nicola walked past without checking if hers was still there. It was the spot of a bittersweet memory, a reminder of the day she had lost her virginity in a fumbling yet passionate embrace with Danny Hallick who hadn't known what he was doing either. He'd died six months later in a drunken car crash that had devastated a teenage Nicola who had at the time imagined they would be together forever.
Leaves crunched underfoot as she veered off the pathway just a few yards past that stump. The going was a bit tougher as the ground was uneven and she had to use her hands to grasp hold of things to help her along. She wasn't weak but she was no mountaineer either, city life and a gym membership didn't help much in this environment.
When she was a teenager this almost unused route had been difficult, now at twenty four with nearly eight years away from the forest and it's hidden depths she found the going just doable. More from memory and determination than anything else.
It helped that she was taller than the average woman. At five nine in height she had long legs and a slim body that slipped between the trees with ease and her long legs coped with some of the jumps and gaps that she was now forced to traverse.
"Not too far now." She told herself as she reached a fallen tree that conveniently bridged the small ravine that separated this part of the forest from her destination.
She eyed the tree and speculated that using it to cross would save her a good twenty minutes of trekking to the place she had planned to cross. It seemed sturdy enough as she pushed at it with her boot and couldn't move it.
Branches stood out from it still and it looked like it had fallen fairly recently so wasn't likely to be rotten inside. Tentatively she stepped up onto it and carefully started to cross, the branches acted as handholds for her and she gained confidence as she went from branch to branch, weaving past each one and smiling to herself. This was easier than the uphill route for sure.
With a loud CRACK. The tree lurched to the left as she neared the other side. Nicola shrieked in fright as her feet slipped off and she grabbed a tight hold of the branch she was at.
Her feet dangled over the ravine as she held on for dear life. The tree shuddered a bit and then settled into it's new resting place. Her heart pounded in her chest as she prayed the thick branch she had her arms wrapped around would hold.
Breathing hard, she scrambled back onto the trunk, ripping her blouse open as it caught on something as she went and not caring as long as she got to safety.
Her bare breasts jiggled as she crawled on all fours the last few meters and let out sigh of relief when she got to the other side without any further mishaps.
"Stupid, so fucking stupid." She scolded herself as she leaned on a rock and stared at the tree. Her father had always told her not to trust fallen trees and be wary of what the forest held.
After calming down she checked herself. A red line ran along her ribs, it was a nasty graze but wasn't bleeding. Her legs were covered in small scratches too that stung as she ran a hand over them to brush away bits of tree bark.
Her blouse was a ruin with a rip in it that ran from under her armpit right the way to the hem, all the buttons were gone too.
Nicola tied it together at the front with a sigh of annoyance.
"Guess I should have worn a bra after all." She said to the trees and rocks as she felt exposed, the rip under her armpit meant that the loose fitting top now gaped on one side and at the front too. Her C-cup boobs were very much on display and even after tying the blouse shut she was showing a great deal of side boob and cleavage.
"Oh well... at least there's no one around to see." She consoled herself as she adjusted the straps on her backpack and set off again.
The going was a little easier now and she progressed quickly and within forty minutes entered the clearing with it's pool of water. The pool was fed by a small stream that fell from up high in a waterfall of sparkling water. Nicola grinned as she saw it and congratulated herself. Her and Danny had found this place by accident or so it seemed. Both of them had skinny-dipped in it's crystal clear waters when they were fourteen. That had been the day they had first kissed too.
Taking off her backpack she walked to the waters edge and knelt down to wash her grubby hands. The water was cold, fed from high up by the stream it never really heated up much even on warm summer days like this one.
She cupped water in her hands and washed her face with it too. The water seemed almost magical. It refreshed her and cleared her head. The fright she had received from almost falling off the tree left her fully and she sighed happily. She drank from her cupped hands. Water dribbled down over her chin and neck to soak her blouse and leave glistening drops between her breasts.
After a while she took off her hiking boots and socks to wriggle her toes in the pool. It felt good and the coolness made her smile at the memory of skinny-dipping in it. She had come here just before leaving for the city at sixteen. Like now she had come alone. In a way it had been to say goodbye to her secret pool. A pool that she had made love in, swum in and held some of her happiest memories.
