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Description
A small girl wearing a white nightgown and pink bunny slippers slyly entered the room and tip-toed over to the bed on the opposite wall. She crawled under the cover, making sure not to disturb the woman sleeping on the left side of the bed. As quietly as she could, the girl rose up over the woman and stared into her face.
The woman’s eyes slowly opened, and she smiled. “Hello, Lily. Good morning.”
“Good morning, mommy,” said Lily. She giggled and began bouncing on the bed. “Can I see the pretty singing box again? It’s so beautiful, and the song is happy. Show it to me, please,” Lily begged. “I just want to hear the song once, and then we can go eat some cereal.”
The mother laughed at her daughter’s excitement and innocence. “Alright, you can see it. First, you have to stop jumping on the bed.”  The girl immediately fell on the bed and sat anxiously.
The mother released her legs from under the cover and retrieved a small wooden box from the mahogany dresser to the left of the bed. By the time she had gotten back to the bed, Lily was squirming with excitement. “Be careful with it. It’s not a toy,” the mother told Lily before placing the box in the girl’s outstretched hands. Lily ran her tiny fingers over the surface of the wood and then lifted the lid. At once, a cheery tune emanated from within. A huge grin spread across the girl’s luminous face.
“It’s so pretty. Where did you get it?” Lily asked as she sat enthralled by the music.
“Your father gave it to me while we were dating,” She replied. Her eyes sparkled at the old memory, but the twinkling in her eye only lasted for a moment. A hint of fear entered her gaze. “That was a long time ago, however,” she added quietly and sighed.
All was quiet for a moment, and then there was a loud bang at the front of the house as the front door violently opened. Lily’s smile faltered, and her mother stood staring through the open bedroom door. The box’s sweet tune was the only noise, and it pierced the silence, breaking the mother’s trance.
“Lily, shut the lid,” she said frantically. Panic filled her voice. “Mommy wants you to go into the closet with the box and stay there until I say you can come out. You must stay quiet, Lily.” The woman opened the door to the closet, and sat the girl down among the various shoes on the floor. She then shut the door, leaving Lily in the dark.
“Maxine!” yelled a voice from the front of the house. “Where are you?” the man screamed, obviously drunk. The woman heard him tromp through the house until he appeared at the end of the hall through the bedroom door. There was a bat in his hand, and he banged it against the wall, creating an impression in the floral print. “I know what you’ve been up to, Maxine. You wiped out our account, and you were gonna run off with our Lily, weren’t you,” he mumbled through slurred words as he pointed the bat accusingly.
“You’re drunk, Frank,” Maxine said sternly. “Put down that bat,” she added as fear creeped into her voice.
“Why should I? What’re you gonna do?” he scoffed bitterly. “You’re not gonna call for Sean now are you?” he asked in contempt. Maxine’s eyes widened. “Oh yes. I’ve known about you and him from the start. You thought you were so clever, but you were obvious from the beginning of it all, and now, you are gonna pay,” he raised the bat.
“Lily isn’t yours,” Maxine said as the bat swung through the air.
Lily sat quietly in the closet as her mother had instructed. She could hear her mother and father talking and could see her mother through a small crack between the two closet doors. Lily couldn’t understand what they were talking about. Then, her mother screamed.
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Lily gasped and sat up in her bed. A single tear rolled from her eye as it almost always did on the nights that the worst day of her life replayed in her head. She quickly rubbed it away and took a deep, cleansing breath. It was two in the morning.
She knew there was no chance of going back to sleep because the nightmare that so frequently haunted her sleep was surely going to start all over again. It always was the same; not even one detail was altered.
Lily got up from the disheveled bed. The mint chocolate ice cream in the freezer called her name. However, when she got there, there was no ice cream to speak of.
“Go figures,” Lily muttered to the frozen turkey occupying the freezer. She closed the door and snatched up the car keys lying on the counter. “Falling asleep in my clothes comes in handy sometimes.” She left her house and smelled the fresh mountain air.
Her jeep started reluctantly, and she backed out of her driveway. There were no other cars except for a red pick-up parked near the end of the street. It seemed vaguely familiar to Lily, but she could not quite remember where she had seen it before. She pushed the thought from her mind, thinking it could only be one of the hundreds of red trucks in the area.
The twenty-four hour store was down the mountain in a small town about ten minutes from Lily’s house. She arrived there and went inside, heading straight to the frozen food section to retrieve the mint chocolate ice cream. Lily checked out at the only open register which was attended by a teenage boy. He smelled like cheap cigarettes.
As Lily walked out of the store, she noticed the red truck parked at the end of the street was now idling at the end of the parking lot. It caused Lily to feel very uneasy. “Why does that truck seem to be following me?” Lily thought to herself. The truck pulled out of the lot and went down the street, out of sight. Lily stood there a moment, and then she climbed her jeep and drove home. She didn’t see the truck on the way back.
Lily arrived home. She locked the front door behind her. As she walked though the foyer on her way to the kitchen, she noticed the corner of an envelope sticking out from under a wooden chest. She picked it up. It was addressed to Charlie Duran; however, there was no mailing address. “Where did this come from?” Lily asked, puzzled.
The name, like the truck, seemed distantly familiar. Lily’s curiosity could only be satisfied by the thorough search of the matter, so she looked up Charlie Duran’s name on the internet. The information she discovered filled her with terror.
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Lily sat at her kitchen counter, debating whether she should open the mysterious letter. She had been doing this for most of the morning. The startling news about the identity of Charlie Duran prevented her from ripping the seal and reading its contents. She feared what the connection between Charlie and her could be.
Long after the sun had risen and the morning dew had evaporated, she decided to call her boyfriend Chris. He answered immediately. “Hello?”
“Hello, Chris,” Lily said. “It’s me.” She stared at the ominous letter.
“Hello, Lily,” Chris said. “Is there something wrong? You sound stressed.”
Lily hadn’t realized the anxiety straining her voice. “I think I may be in trouble. I’m not completely sure though.” She paced around the kitchen.
“What do you mean? You’re not hurt are you?” Chris instantly questioned. Lily heard the concern in his voice and smiled slightly. “Tell me what’s going on, Lily.”
“I had that nightmare again last night, and I couldn’t go to sleep again. I left to go to the twenty-four hour store near my house, and when I came back home, I found a letter under the wooden chest in my foyer. It was addressed to Charlie Duran,” she said quickly.
There was a pause. “Who’s Charlie Duran?” Chris asked hesitantly.
“Well. I didn’t know, but the name sounded familiar. I did some research,” she paused, thinking that saying the words aloud would make them true, “and I discovered that he is the Black Widow Killer.”
“Why are you so worried about it?” Chris pondered. “He’s still in jail,” he paused, “isn’t he?”
“He was for a long time. He was in the same jail as my father, but about six months ago, he escaped. He has completely left the radar. No one has seen him.” Lily stopped pacing and sat at the counter. “Apparently, he and my father are buddies. What if my father sent him to find me and kill me?”
Chris was silent for a moment. “Besides the letter, is there anything else unusual?”
“No. I don’t think so.” She thought for a moment, and then remembered the red truck from earlier that night. “Actually, there is one thing unusual. I think some guy in a red truck has been following me. I saw the truck at the end of my street when I left the house this morning, and it was in the parking lot when I came out of the store. I think I have seen it on other occasions. I’m so scared.”
“Why don’t you come over to my place? We could go up in the mountain and go hiking for a bit. Get some fresh air, you know,” Chris offered. “We’ll get away for a few hours, and you won’t have to worry about a thing.”
“It’s a date,” Lily said. “I’ll see you in a little bit then.”
“Hey, Lily,” Chris said hesitantly.
“What?” Lily replied.
“I love you.”
Lily smiled. “I love you, too.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Lily left her house an hour later. She carried a bag with a change of clothes, and she snatched up the unopened letter from the kitchen counter. She scanned the street; there was no red truck to be seen. Relief washed over her, but she remained slightly wary. With the door locked and her house’s alarm activated for the first time in forever, Lily hopped into her jeep and drove away.
The silence suffocated her, so she turned on the radio, flipping channels until she found a classic rock station. She absent-mindedly tapped her thumbs on the steering wheel. She never noticed the red truck following her from several blocks away. Lily arrived at Chris’s house, and he greeted her with a tight hug and a tender kiss.
“Thank you, Chris, for everything,” Lily said. “This really means a lot to me.” Chris didn’t reply, but he took her hand into his and smiled. They walked together into the house and sat on the living room couch, still holding hands.
“I think we should go hike Irvin’s Pass. The exercise could do you some good. It would relieve some stress,” Chris suggested.
“Sounds good to me. It’ll be great to get away for the day and clear my head. Maybe I’m just freaking myself out over nothing,” Lily decided, even thought her heart said differently.
Chris made turkey sandwiches with sweet pickles and mustard. He grabbed cold bottles of water, and then stuffed the food messily into a backpack. Lily and Chris drove up to Irvin’s Pass in Lily’s jeep.
While driving, Lily thought of her father. He had been in jail for twenty years. He probably would be vengeful after such a long incarceration. Concrete walls could change a man. “When I was very young, before he knew that I was not his child, he treated me lovingly. Now there is nothing but hatred between us. Why doesn’t he still love me?” Lily thought to herself. “I didn’t think his hatred was so intense; however, if I’m right about Charlie Duran and the truck, I don’t know what to think anymore.”
“What are you thinking about?” Chris asked.
“Nothing really,” Lily lied.
“You have something on your mind that is really bothering you. It’s showing all over your face,” Chris informed Lily, “and it has nothing to do with what’s going on now.”
Lily pulled over on the deserted road. “Do you really want to know what is bothering me?” Lily yelled hysterically. “What’s wrong is that when I was seven years old, my father murdered  my mother by beating her to death with a bat while I sat in the closet of the same room. Then, he tried to kill me. He didn’t get me twenty years ago, but maybe he’s trying again now. That’s what is bothering me!” she screamed at Chris. Lily began to pound the steering wheel with her fists, and then she broke down in heavy sobs. “I tried so hard to understand why my dad did the things he did. I didn’t understand how he could do that to her,” she added, looking defeated.
Chris leaned over in his seat and lifted her chin. Tears welled in his eyes and a look of deep despair washed over him. “I wish I could take it back for you,” he said sorrowfully. “I wish I could have protected you.”
“You couldn’t have stopped it. It was destiny. There is a reason for it all. I just don’t know what it is,” Lily replied, gaining her composure. “Someday I will probably find out the meaning of it all.” Lily put the jeep in drive and pulled back onto the road. They were silent for the rest of the drive.
They pulled into the gravel parking lot that allowed access to Irvin’s Pass. The lot was mostly vacant. A couple sat at one of three picnic tables, eating lunch. “Let’s eat now. I don’t want to carry the pack on the trail,” Chris said, heading over to an empty table. He retrieved the sandwiches and water and set them on the table. Lily walked over and sat next to Chris.
“I’m sorry I yelled. I lost control of myself,” Lily said as she fidgeted with a thread on her jeans. “This whole thing has me wound up. I don’t know what to do. The last time I visited my father, he told me to leave and never come back. He told me he hated me, and I saw his hatred in his eyes.”
Chris pulled her close. There was nothing he could do for Lily. Her problems were beyond him. “He may hate you, but there are many more people who love you,” Chris quietly said. He paused. “I love you, more than anyone I have ever loved,” he said at last. He tilted her chin up with his fingers. Her face was full of beautiful sadness. Her mouth pulled up in a small, uncertain smile.
Chris ate his sandwich, and Lily slowly picked at hers. They threw the plastic bags in the trash. By the time they had finished, the other couple had started the hike through the forest which led to Irvin’s Pass. “Who do you suppose Irvin was?” Lily pondered as they walked onto the forested trail. Back in the parking lot, a red truck pulled into the parking area as they disappeared in the trees.
“I personally don’t know, but there is a myth about him.” Chris answered. “He was supposedly a hermit that lived in the mountain, and he would come down Irvin’s pass to hunt deer and other animals. People would come across him every once in a while, and they knew he had a small hut in the forest. When people didn’t see him for several months, they went to check on him. They found the hut but not the hermit,” Chris explained.
“That sounds interesting,” Lily replied. “His disappearance probably scared people.”
“Oh, of course. The situation sparked up lots of rumors of a mysterious creature in the woods, demons, even aliens. I think he probably was in the forest and fell in a ravine or something like that. Maybe he just decided to move to a different location, but the truth is no one knows what happened.”
Lily continued walking along the path, enjoying the cool shade of the trees and the sounds of the birds playing among the foliage. The day was warm, and she began to relax. The walk allowed her to organize her mind and rationalize with herself. “The situation I think I’m in is improbable. It’s probably coincidence. The man in the truck can’t possibly be following me.” Lily’s mind argued silently. “What about the letter? How did it get in my house? It couldn’t have walked in there on its own. Someone was in my house; they had to be,” she added.
Lily could see the forest begin to thin, until she came out in a clear, grassy area, overlooking a stony ravine. There were trees on the other side of the clearing. The edge was blocked by a rotting, wooden barricade. She and Chris carefully peered over the edge. The drop was about a hundred feet onto jagged rocks. They stepped back from the edge and saw a large boulder to rest on. They sat silently, catching their breaths after the short yet somewhat strenuous hike.
The owner of the red truck exited his vehicle. He leaned back into the truck to retrieve a handgun out of the glove box. He tucked the weapon into the small of his back, under his jean jacket. Then, he entered the forest along the path, setting a quick pace to make up for lost time.
Lily put her arm around Chris’s waist. “I’m glad I know you. I think you’re the best thing to happen to me in a long time,” she said gratefully.
“I think you’re the best thing to happen to me, too,” Chris replied, smiling at her.
They sat on the rock quietly for a long time. Lily felt happier than she had for most of the day, but something didn’t seem right. She had a bad feeling.
A twig snapped on the trail, and Lily could hear the quick progression of a human on the thin covering of gravel. “Let’s get going,” Lily said calmly, not wanting to alarm Chris. They stood and began to walk across the clearing toward the forested trail on the other side.
The man jogged along the trail and stayed focused on his task. Sweat appeared on his brow. His jacket became uncomfortable, but he ignored it. He could see a small clearing drawing closer. He reached it and saw Lily and Chris walking into the forest on the other side. He stopped, reached for his gun, and aimed.
Lily heard the gun go off, and before she realized what was happening, Chris was lying on the ground. “Go!” she heard him say frantically. “Run!”
Lily turned and sprinted down the path through the forest. A bullet narrowly missed her head; she felt the swiftness of the air as it zoomed past her ear. Without thinking, Lily turned off the path, sprinting frantically into the thick forest. Branches reached hungrily at her face and clothes, ripping her skin and t-shirt. Lily’s eyes watered as a branch created a deep gash in her arm.
She slowed to a stop and glanced back toward the trail. She could see the shooter through the trees hurrying along the trail. “I’m over here you piece of scum!” The man stopped and peered into the forest. “Come get me!” Lily screamed as she knelt down to the forest floor, out of the sight of the man. She could still see small glimpses of him through the plants; he was coming closer. “Why did I do that?” Lily asked herself, realizing her stupidity.
As the man advanced though the trees, Lily remembered what Chris had said about the Hermit, and an idea came to her. She remembered the ravine from the clearing. It didn’t end at the edge of the clearing; it continued on. She turned away from the trail and hurried as quickly as she could in her hunched position. Soon, she discovered the edge of the ravine, almost falling herself.
Lily peered back again. The man was making his way through the shrubby underbrush. She recognized him from his mug shot; he was Charlie Duran. He was close. “Over here! You don’t scare me!” Lily yelled again. The man advanced quicker.
Lily lay on her stomach and began to crawl sideways, parallel to the edge of the ravine. She could now hear the Charlie’s footsteps as he came closer. She made her way behind a big tree, making sure to remain out of sight. She stood and pressed close against the rough bark. Her breath stopped in her throat. The man didn’t see her as he walked past the tree and stopped at the edge, looking out over the ravine. His gun was in his hand, and he was poised to shoot at any given moment. “Where are you my dear?” the man asked sickly. Lily stepped out quietly from the behind the tree and prepared to move quickly if she accidentally stepped on a twig or leaf. “Your father told me exactly what to do to you. We’re going to have some fun. Come out, come out where ever you are,” the man said smoothly. Lily stood right behind him.
“Hey, Charlie. I hope you have some fun with the devil while he’s torturing you,” Lily said before she pushed him over the edge. Charlie Duran screamed as he plummeted to the bottom one-hundred feet below. He hit the rocks, ending his screams. Lily sank to her knees and sobbed heavily.
After a minute, it occurred to her that Chris was still back on the trail. Lily stood and sprinted through the forest to the trail; she didn’t feel the new cuts on her arms and face. All she could think of was Chris and his lovely blue eyes. She slipped and fell hard on the loose gravel, but she got up and ran harder until she reached him.
The couple who had been eating lunch at the picnic table leaned over Chris, lying unconscious on the ground. The front of his shirt was soaked with blood.
The couple turned toward Lily as she stopped at the edge of the forest. She was disheveled and bleeding from many abrasions on her arms and face. “Is he,” Lily paused, not wanting to think of the idea, “dead?” Lily stopped breathing as she waited for the woman’s reply.
“No. He has a pulse, but it’s faint. We called the ambulance. They’re on their way.” Lily released her breath and slowly walked toward the man she loved. She knelt on her knees and stroked his cheek gingerly.
He moaned deep in his throat. “Shhh, baby. It’s all over now. He won’t be bothering us anymore.” Lily whispered.
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Forty minutes later, Lily stood by her jeep as the ambulance drove away with its lights flashing. Chris would need surgery on his shattered shoulder, but he would survive. The police gathered evidence, including the unopened letter and Charlie Duran’s body. She smiled at herself. Somehow, she knew that everything was going to be okay. Her father would never hurt anyone again.

Description
A small girl wearing a white nightgown and pink bunny slippers slyly entered the room and tip-toed over to the bed on the opposite wall. She crawled under the cover, making sure not to disturb the woman sleeping on the left side of the bed. As quietly as she could, the girl rose up over the woman and stared into her face.
The woman’s eyes slowly opened, and she smiled. “Hello, Lily. Good morning.”
“Good morning, mommy,” said Lily. She giggled and began bouncing on the bed. “Can I see the pretty singing box again? It’s so beautiful, and the song is happy. Show it to me, please,” Lily begged. “I just want to hear the song once, and then we can go eat some cereal.”
The mother laughed at her daughter’s excitement and innocence. “Alright, you can see it. First, you have to stop jumping on the bed.”  The girl immediately fell on the bed and sat anxiously.
The mother released her legs from under the cover and retrieved a small wooden box from the mahogany dresser to the left of the bed. By the time she had gotten back to the bed, Lily was squirming with excitement. “Be careful with it. It’s not a toy,” the mother told Lily before placing the box in the girl’s outstretched hands. Lily ran her tiny fingers over the surface of the wood and then lifted the lid. At once, a cheery tune emanated from within. A huge grin spread across the girl’s luminous face.
“It’s so pretty. Where did you get it?” Lily asked as she sat enthralled by the music.
“Your father gave it to me while we were dating,” She replied. Her eyes sparkled at the old memory, but the twinkling in her eye only lasted for a moment. A hint of fear entered her gaze. “That was a long time ago, however,” she added quietly and sighed.
All was quiet for a moment, and then there was a loud bang at the front of the house as the front door violently opened. Lily’s smile faltered, and her mother stood staring through the open bedroom door. The box’s sweet tune was the only noise, and it pierced the silence, breaking the mother’s trance.
“Lily, shut the lid,” she said frantically. Panic filled her voice. “Mommy wants you to go into the closet with the box and stay there until I say you can come out. You must stay quiet, Lily.” The woman opened the door to the closet, and sat the girl down among the various shoes on the floor. She then shut the door, leaving Lily in the dark.
“Maxine!” yelled a voice from the front of the house. “Where are you?” the man screamed, obviously drunk. The woman heard him tromp through the house until he appeared at the end of the hall through the bedroom door. There was a bat in his hand, and he banged it against the wall, creating an impression in the floral print. “I know what you’ve been up to, Maxine. You wiped out our account, and you were gonna run off with our Lily, weren’t you,” he mumbled through slurred words as he pointed the bat accusingly.
“You’re drunk, Frank,” Maxine said sternly. “Put down that bat,” she added as fear creeped into her voice.
“Why should I? What’re you gonna do?” he scoffed bitterly. “You’re not gonna call for Sean now are you?” he asked in contempt. Maxine’s eyes widened. “Oh yes. I’ve known about you and him from the start. You thought you were so clever, but you were obvious from the beginning of it all, and now, you are gonna pay,” he raised the bat.
“Lily isn’t yours,” Maxine said as the bat swung through the air.
Lily sat quietly in the closet as her mother had instructed. She could hear her mother and father talking and could see her mother through a small crack between the two closet doors. Lily couldn’t understand what they were talking about. Then, her mother screamed.
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Lily gasped and sat up in her bed. A single tear rolled from her eye as it almost always did on the nights that the worst day of her life replayed in her head. She quickly rubbed it away and took a deep, cleansing breath. It was two in the morning.
She knew there was no chance of going back to sleep because the nightmare that so frequently haunted her sleep was surely going to start all over again. It always was the same; not even one detail was altered.
Lily got up from the disheveled bed. The mint chocolate ice cream in the freezer called her name. However, when she got there, there was no ice cream to speak of.
“Go figures,” Lily muttered to the frozen turkey occupying the freezer. She closed the door and snatched up the car keys lying on the counter. “Falling asleep in my clothes comes in handy sometimes.” She left her house and smelled the fresh mountain air.
Her jeep started reluctantly, and she backed out of her driveway. There were no other cars except for a red pick-up parked near the end of the street. It seemed vaguely familiar to Lily, but she could not quite remember where she had seen it before. She pushed the thought from her mind, thinking it could only be one of the hundreds of red trucks in the area.
The twenty-four hour store was down the mountain in a small town about ten minutes from Lily’s house. She arrived there and went inside, heading straight to the frozen food section to retrieve the mint chocolate ice cream. Lily checked out at the only open register which was attended by a teenage boy. He smelled like cheap cigarettes.
As Lily walked out of the store, she noticed the red truck parked at the end of the street was now idling at the end of the parking lot. It caused Lily to feel very uneasy. “Why does that truck seem to be following me?” Lily thought to herself. The truck pulled out of the lot and went down the street, out of sight. Lily stood there a moment, and then she climbed her jeep and drove home. She didn’t see the truck on the way back.
Lily arrived home. She locked the front door behind her. As she walked though the foyer on her way to the kitchen, she noticed the corner of an envelope sticking out from under a wooden chest. She picked it up. It was addressed to Charlie Duran; however, there was no mailing address. “Where did this come from?” Lily asked, puzzled.
The name, like the truck, seemed distantly familiar. Lily’s curiosity could only be satisfied by the thorough search of the matter, so she looked up Charlie Duran’s name on the internet. The information she discovered filled her with terror.
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Lily sat at her kitchen counter, debating whether she should open the mysterious letter. She had been doing this for most of the morning. The startling news about the identity of Charlie Duran prevented her from ripping the seal and reading its contents. She feared what the connection between Charlie and her could be.
Long after the sun had risen and the morning dew had evaporated, she decided to call her boyfriend Chris. He answered immediately. “Hello?”
“Hello, Chris,” Lily said. “It’s me.” She stared at the ominous letter.
“Hello, Lily,” Chris said. “Is there something wrong? You sound stressed.”
Lily hadn’t realized the anxiety straining her voice. “I think I may be in trouble. I’m not completely sure though.” She paced around the kitchen.
“What do you mean? You’re not hurt are you?” Chris instantly questioned. Lily heard the concern in his voice and smiled slightly. “Tell me what’s going on, Lily.”
“I had that nightmare again last night, and I couldn’t go to sleep again. I left to go to the twenty-four hour store near my house, and when I came back home, I found a letter under the wooden chest in my foyer. It was addressed to Charlie Duran,” she said quickly.
There was a pause. “Who’s Charlie Duran?” Chris asked hesitantly.
“Well. I didn’t know, but the name sounded familiar. I did some research,” she paused, thinking that saying the words aloud would make them true, “and I discovered that he is the Black Widow Killer.”
“Why are you so worried about it?” Chris pondered. “He’s still in jail,” he paused, “isn’t he?”
“He was for a long time. He was in the same jail as my father, but about six months ago, he escaped. He has completely left the radar. No one has seen him.” Lily stopped pacing and sat at the counter. “Apparently, he and my father are buddies. What if my father sent him to find me and kill me?”
Chris was silent for a moment. “Besides the letter, is there anything else unusual?”
“No. I don’t think so.” She thought for a moment, and then remembered the red truck from earlier that night. “Actually, there is one thing unusual. I think some guy in a red truck has been following me. I saw the truck at the end of my street when I left the house this morning, and it was in the parking lot when I came out of the store. I think I have seen it on other occasions. I’m so scared.”
“Why don’t you come over to my place? We could go up in the mountain and go hiking for a bit. Get some fresh air, you know,” Chris offered. “We’ll get away for a few hours, and you won’t have to worry about a thing.”
“It’s a date,” Lily said. “I’ll see you in a little bit then.”
“Hey, Lily,” Chris said hesitantly.
“What?” Lily replied.
“I love you.”
Lily smiled. “I love you, too.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Lily left her house an hour later. She carried a bag with a change of clothes, and she snatched up the unopened letter from the kitchen counter. She scanned the street; there was no red truck to be seen. Relief washed over her, but she remained slightly wary. With the door locked and her house’s alarm activated for the first time in forever, Lily hopped into her jeep and drove away.
The silence suffocated her, so she turned on the radio, flipping channels until she found a classic rock station. She absent-mindedly tapped her thumbs on the steering wheel. She never noticed the red truck following her from several blocks away. Lily arrived at Chris’s house, and he greeted her with a tight hug and a tender kiss.
“Thank you, Chris, for everything,” Lily said. “This really means a lot to me.” Chris didn’t reply, but he took her hand into his and smiled. They walked together into the house and sat on the living room couch, still holding hands.
“I think we should go hike Irvin’s Pass. The exercise could do you some good. It would relieve some stress,” Chris suggested.
“Sounds good to me. It’ll be great to get away for the day and clear my head. Maybe I’m just freaking myself out over nothing,” Lily decided, even thought her heart said differently.
Chris made turkey sandwiches with sweet pickles and mustard. He grabbed cold bottles of water, and then stuffed the food messily into a backpack. Lily and Chris drove up to Irvin’s Pass in Lily’s jeep.
While driving, Lily thought of her father. He had been in jail for twenty years. He probably would be vengeful after such a long incarceration. Concrete walls could change a man. “When I was very young, before he knew that I was not his child, he treated me lovingly. Now there is nothing but hatred between us. Why doesn’t he still love me?” Lily thought to herself. “I didn’t think his hatred was so intense; however, if I’m right about Charlie Duran and the truck, I don’t know what to think anymore.”
“What are you thinking about?” Chris asked.
“Nothing really,” Lily lied.
“You have something on your mind that is really bothering you. It’s showing all over your face,” Chris informed Lily, “and it has nothing to do with what’s going on now.”
Lily pulled over on the deserted road. “Do you really want to know what is bothering me?” Lily yelled hysterically. “What’s wrong is that when I was seven years old, my father murdered  my mother by beating her to death with a bat while I sat in the closet of the same room. Then, he tried to kill me. He didn’t get me twenty years ago, but maybe he’s trying again now. That’s what is bothering me!” she screamed at Chris. Lily began to pound the steering wheel with her fists, and then she broke down in heavy sobs. “I tried so hard to understand why my dad did the things he did. I didn’t understand how he could do that to her,” she added, looking defeated.
Chris leaned over in his seat and lifted her chin. Tears welled in his eyes and a look of deep despair washed over him. “I wish I could take it back for you,” he said sorrowfully. “I wish I could have protected you.”
“You couldn’t have stopped it. It was destiny. There is a reason for it all. I just don’t know what it is,” Lily replied, gaining her composure. “Someday I will probably find out the meaning of it all.” Lily put the jeep in drive and pulled back onto the road. They were silent for the rest of the drive.
They pulled into the gravel parking lot that allowed access to Irvin’s Pass. The lot was mostly vacant. A couple sat at one of three picnic tables, eating lunch. “Let’s eat now. I don’t want to carry the pack on the trail,” Chris said, heading over to an empty table. He retrieved the sandwiches and water and set them on the table. Lily walked over and sat next to Chris.
“I’m sorry I yelled. I lost control of myself,” Lily said as she fidgeted with a thread on her jeans. “This whole thing has me wound up. I don’t know what to do. The last time I visited my father, he told me to leave and never come back. He told me he hated me, and I saw his hatred in his eyes.”
Chris pulled her close. There was nothing he could do for Lily. Her problems were beyond him. “He may hate you, but there are many more people who love you,” Chris quietly said. He paused. “I love you, more than anyone I have ever loved,” he said at last. He tilted her chin up with his fingers. Her face was full of beautiful sadness. Her mouth pulled up in a small, uncertain smile.
Chris ate his sandwich, and Lily slowly picked at hers. They threw the plastic bags in the trash. By the time they had finished, the other couple had started the hike through the forest which led to Irvin’s Pass. “Who do you suppose Irvin was?” Lily pondered as they walked onto the forested trail. Back in the parking lot, a red truck pulled into the parking area as they disappeared in the trees.
“I personally don’t know, but there is a myth about him.” Chris answered. “He was supposedly a hermit that lived in the mountain, and he would come down Irvin’s pass to hunt deer and other animals. People would come across him every once in a while, and they knew he had a small hut in the forest. When people didn’t see him for several months, they went to check on him. They found the hut but not the hermit,” Chris explained.
“That sounds interesting,” Lily replied. “His disappearance probably scared people.”
“Oh, of course. The situation sparked up lots of rumors of a mysterious creature in the woods, demons, even aliens. I think he probably was in the forest and fell in a ravine or something like that. Maybe he just decided to move to a different location, but the truth is no one knows what happened.”
Lily continued walking along the path, enjoying the cool shade of the trees and the sounds of the birds playing among the foliage. The day was warm, and she began to relax. The walk allowed her to organize her mind and rationalize with herself. “The situation I think I’m in is improbable. It’s probably coincidence. The man in the truck can’t possibly be following me.” Lily’s mind argued silently. “What about the letter? How did it get in my house? It couldn’t have walked in there on its own. Someone was in my house; they had to be,” she added.
Lily could see the forest begin to thin, until she came out in a clear, grassy area, overlooking a stony ravine. There were trees on the other side of the clearing. The edge was blocked by a rotting, wooden barricade. She and Chris carefully peered over the edge. The drop was about a hundred feet onto jagged rocks. They stepped back from the edge and saw a large boulder to rest on. They sat silently, catching their breaths after the short yet somewhat strenuous hike.
The owner of the red truck exited his vehicle. He leaned back into the truck to retrieve a handgun out of the glove box. He tucked the weapon into the small of his back, under his jean jacket. Then, he entered the forest along the path, setting a quick pace to make up for lost time.
Lily put her arm around Chris’s waist. “I’m glad I know you. I think you’re the best thing to happen to me in a long time,” she said gratefully.
“I think you’re the best thing to happen to me, too,” Chris replied, smiling at her.
They sat on the rock quietly for a long time. Lily felt happier than she had for most of the day, but something didn’t seem right. She had a bad feeling.
A twig snapped on the trail, and Lily could hear the quick progression of a human on the thin covering of gravel. “Let’s get going,” Lily said calmly, not wanting to alarm Chris. They stood and began to walk across the clearing toward the forested trail on the other side.
The man jogged along the trail and stayed focused on his task. Sweat appeared on his brow. His jacket became uncomfortable, but he ignored it. He could see a small clearing drawing closer. He reached it and saw Lily and Chris walking into the forest on the other side. He stopped, reached for his gun, and aimed.
Lily heard the gun go off, and before she realized what was happening, Chris was lying on the ground. “Go!” she heard him say frantically. “Run!”
Lily turned and sprinted down the path through the forest. A bullet narrowly missed her head; she felt the swiftness of the air as it zoomed past her ear. Without thinking, Lily turned off the path, sprinting frantically into the thick forest. Branches reached hungrily at her face and clothes, ripping her skin and t-shirt. Lily’s eyes watered as a branch created a deep gash in her arm.
She slowed to a stop and glanced back toward the trail. She could see the shooter through the trees hurrying along the trail. “I’m over here you piece of scum!” The man stopped and peered into the forest. “Come get me!” Lily screamed as she knelt down to the forest floor, out of the sight of the man. She could still see small glimpses of him through the plants; he was coming closer. “Why did I do that?” Lily asked herself, realizing her stupidity.
As the man advanced though the trees, Lily remembered what Chris had said about the Hermit, and an idea came to her. She remembered the ravine from the clearing. It didn’t end at the edge of the clearing; it continued on. She turned away from the trail and hurried as quickly as she could in her hunched position. Soon, she discovered the edge of the ravine, almost falling herself.
Lily peered back again. The man was making his way through the shrubby underbrush. She recognized him from his mug shot; he was Charlie Duran. He was close. “Over here! You don’t scare me!” Lily yelled again. The man advanced quicker.
Lily lay on her stomach and began to crawl sideways, parallel to the edge of the ravine. She could now hear the Charlie’s footsteps as he came closer. She made her way behind a big tree, making sure to remain out of sight. She stood and pressed close against the rough bark. Her breath stopped in her throat. The man didn’t see her as he walked past the tree and stopped at the edge, looking out over the ravine. His gun was in his hand, and he was poised to shoot at any given moment. “Where are you my dear?” the man asked sickly. Lily stepped out quietly from the behind the tree and prepared to move quickly if she accidentally stepped on a twig or leaf. “Your father told me exactly what to do to you. We’re going to have some fun. Come out, come out where ever you are,” the man said smoothly. Lily stood right behind him.
“Hey, Charlie. I hope you have some fun with the devil while he’s torturing you,” Lily said before she pushed him over the edge. Charlie Duran screamed as he plummeted to the bottom one-hundred feet below. He hit the rocks, ending his screams. Lily sank to her knees and sobbed heavily.
After a minute, it occurred to her that Chris was still back on the trail. Lily stood and sprinted through the forest to the trail; she didn’t feel the new cuts on her arms and face. All she could think of was Chris and his lovely blue eyes. She slipped and fell hard on the loose gravel, but she got up and ran harder until she reached him.
The couple who had been eating lunch at the picnic table leaned over Chris, lying unconscious on the ground. The front of his shirt was soaked with blood.
The couple turned toward Lily as she stopped at the edge of the forest. She was disheveled and bleeding from many abrasions on her arms and face. “Is he,” Lily paused, not wanting to think of the idea, “dead?” Lily stopped breathing as she waited for the woman’s reply.
“No. He has a pulse, but it’s faint. We called the ambulance. They’re on their way.” Lily released her breath and slowly walked toward the man she loved. She knelt on her knees and stroked his cheek gingerly.
He moaned deep in his throat. “Shhh, baby. It’s all over now. He won’t be bothering us anymore.” Lily whispered.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Forty minutes later, Lily stood by her jeep as the ambulance drove away with its lights flashing. Chris would need surgery on his shattered shoulder, but he would survive. The police gathered evidence, including the unopened letter and Charlie Duran’s body. She smiled at herself. Somehow, she knew that everything was going to be okay. Her father would never hurt anyone again.