It haunted me.
He haunted me.
As the trees thickened and the trail faded, my mind turned traitorous. Whispers flitted through the wind, giggles and cackles curling like smoke. Faces warped in the shadows. Trees bent at impossible angles. The path beneath me rippled like water.
I told myself it was exhaustion. Starvation. Madness.
And then the fear took root.
The stories I’d heard resurfaced—Native warriors, ruthless and wild. Strangers shot on sight.
I laughed it off, convinced my beauty would protect me. Seduction had always been my armor. Surely no one would harm a woman like me.
But fear… it began to whisper—turn back.
Seek forgiveness.
Go home.
Instead, I pressed forward.
Then, they appeared.
A group of fierce warriors encircled me, silent as ghosts. Their eyes burned with suspicion, their bodies adorned in vibrant, ceremonial fabrics, and their spears gripped tightly in their hands. Their expressions were hard and unreadable.
I didn’t understand their language. I had no weapons. No escape.
Desperation surged. I stepped toward the tallest one, forced a sultry smile, and trailed my fingers along his jawline.
“I’ll give you what you want,” I whispered, voice dipped in honey.
His grin was cruel.
He licked his lips and looked me over like I was already his. Then he barked something to the others.
They all laughed.
And I knew I’d made a mistake.
I was dragged through the forest, kicking and screaming, my heart pounding like a war drum in my chest. Branches whipped against my face, roots snagged my feet, and they pulled me onward—until we crested a hill and reached a small, weather-worn cabin nestled in the trees.
There, another man waited.
Not like them.
Caucasian.
He spoke the same foreign language as the warriors—fluid and confident—but his eyes were different. They were warm and understanding. He glanced at me, then turned to the warriors, speaking firmly but without hostility. In exchange for a bushel of corn and some bundled animal hides, the warriors nodded and backed away.
Just like that, they were gone.
And I was spared.
Relief flooded me.
But only for a moment.
Because now I stood in the presence of this man—this stranger who had just bought my safety. What price wouldhedemand?
