RE: The forest was beautiful, and I had never once stopped to admire it.

My mind had already snapped, that was evident to every creature around me, and I myself.

But it didn't matter.

No one could hurt me here.

No one could touch me.

I was finally safe.

I had decided to start a new life here, and that's when everything started turning out well. I was able to learn in this environment, and adapt; it often required gruesome adjustments, but I supported myself and no one but myself. The wilderness supported me, and I supported it. It was a take and give relationship.

I never killed for an unjust reason. I had no clue that I had the capacity to kill. I suppose when your mind snaps, so does your logic. You no longer see the point to living by a democratic society's standards - there's no reason to be liberal in thought process, or even consider what you've become after the change has occured. 

But I had to do it to survive. Strangely enough, there were plenty of deer and other wild animals for me to feed from. I used their pelts to build my shelter. It wasn't as if I had suddenly obtained this knowledge, either. In the fourth grade, after vying continuously upon my superiors, and although I wasn't a boy, I had been able to sneak into the Boy Scouts. I learned how to start fires, extinguish them, skin hides, and other practical skills such as shelter building as well as knife safety.

It wasn't as if I had had all of these tools on me, either. Building a shelter had been one of the hardest things without common utensils, especially with the never-ending rain. I had found several fallen trees, and ripped long strips of bark together. Alligning the strips in a parallel manner, I dug holes with my bare hands into the moist, brown dirt in which I placed the strips. Having this basic framework, I began to collect other branches, swigs - miscellaneous pieces of debris that would help me fill in the holes to the shelter, and I insulated it with pine needles. The basic idea was to keep the rain out. I may have been practically insane, but it wasn't as if I had reason to die.

The rain and I worked together, though. I often used the soft pitter-patter to disguise any noise I made, and it helped me think in my time alone. My mind strayed to times past, and soon enough, I lost track of time itself. My memories blurred into a goopy melting pot of miscellaneous occurances. I often thought back to my family: my father, my little sister. What had happened to them? Had I ever even considered them when I ran off with some stranger?

And that was my biggest mistake. I knew practically nothing about him. I could hardly remember his name. What was it? Jake? Jack?

It didn't matter to me. It wasn't as if he cared about me, anyways. But the other one. I couldn't remember his name. Just his face. His eyes. The way he looked at me, and how I felt when he touched me. It was as if he were my saviour. As if he were the reason I were to suddenly disappear from my regular life to this one.

I heard myself sigh, and suddenly, I was in the present day.

I was in my shack, the smell of pine and oak engulfing me. There was a light drizzle of rain, but nothing I couldn't handle. I was burried beneath the fur of all kinds of animals, animals I couldn't even recognize - and there was a dim fire lit in the corner, its flames casting strange, distorted shadows all around my haven. I smiled to myself. Had I finally found peace?

I heard myself sigh again.

Peace? What was peace? There was no way I, or any other human could experience it. Turmoil and corruption plague our lives, and there is nothing to stop it. And suddenly, I wondered why I was doing this. Why had I left in the first place? It was that woman who had taken it away from me. Taken it all. And it was only her name I could remember.

Mandy.

My vision flickered.

Mandy.

It flickered again, and I began to grow dizzy. A foreign rage grew inside me. It was animalistic; an urge I had never before experienced. Was I the kind of girl to be topped by some second-rate vixen?

A cruel, guttural noise escaped my throat. It could have been a laugh, but it sounded more demented than that. It had been a long time since I had spoken or been self-aware. It had all been about survival before, but now, now it was about revenge. Now it was for standing and taking what was mine. Now it was for ridding my life of those who plagued me.

I felt myself stand.

There was a creek nearby, a beautiful creek which I had stumbled past before. It was often deserted, and the winds whispered through the trees as if there were nymphs, whispering secrets into each other's ears. It was sheltered from the rain - a perfect little cove that I would have placed my shelter near, had I not been so preoccupied with grief and pain. I found myself stumbling for it once again, reaching out for something to hold, someone to give.

In an instant, I was before the same creek again. I peered down into the deep pools once again, a sliver of silvery moonlight piercing through the branches of pine which sheltered the area. The rain had stopped, and the water was still. No sound could be heard, excluding the soft music of the cool breeze through the grass. It was early summer, and the fragrance of some exotic flower or other wafted into my nostrils.

As my attention returned to the still waters, and I let out a small gasp. I retracted myself for a moment, but quickly looked again. She was still there.

There, beneath the surface, a beautiful woman was staring back at me. Her eyes were blue - a silvery, violet blue, that could never be described with mere adjectives. It was something that had to be seen to understand. They were big, too. Round and stormy, teeming with life that looked like no other.

Her face was small and round as well, nearly no blemishes in sight. The pale moonlight made her skin glow, as if it were embodied by a lantern. Her lips were red and plump, curved so, very well. They were meant to smile, but for some reason, she wouldn't smile at me. 

"Why won't you smile for me?" I asked, and her lips moved with mine. 

I reached out a hand slowly, tapping the surface of the water gently. Suddenly, she disappeared beneath the ripples. I put my hand in further, splashing against the waters in desperation to find her.

"Please! Come back!" I shouted, waiting for the water to still again. This time, when she returned, her eyes were worried, and her eyebrows were knit together with concern. The instant she saw me, the concern faded, and she smiled. I smiled, too.

But I wanted to touch the water again. I wanted to feel the coolness against my burning skin, the skin that itched with hatred. I gave her one last smile, and she returned it. Stripping from my torn, dirty clothes, I set out to bathe, which was obvious I hadn't done in a great deal of time. Delicately dipping my toe into the water, I shivered for a moment, and then dared myself to inch in further. Slipping into the pond, I finally washed away the grime and dirt which had plastered me for months. 

I enjoyed my nakedness. What I had once found embarrassing, I treasured. I had found that the rich soil which had coated me, had exfoliated and done well to the scars and rough skin I had had before. I became smooth, and noticed new curves and bonuses to my body. I supposed that a diet of successful foraging and hunting might do well. It was all organic, after all.

In the middle of my reverie, I heard the snapping of twigs, and a faint gasp. There was whispering. It must have been the lady.

"Hello?" I called out. "Is that you? I mean no harm, surely you know that!" 

There was nothing but silence, and I sighed. I wonder who she could have been. I wonder if she could have taught me how to be so beautiful. If only she had smiled more. There was rustling again, and I heard the sound of cloth, but, whoever it was, they had disappeared.

When I had finished my bathing, I danced out. My clothes were practically unusable, so I left them as I dried out my hair. Over the time I had been in the wilderness, it had grown longer and more susceptible to body. It was also a few shades darker, but in a way that made it shine as if it were golden thread. 

As I finished wringing my hair out, I turned to the nearest rock, blinking in surprise.

A gown, a beautiful gown lay where nothing had been before. It was black and white-threaded, lace ties in the back. It looked as if someone had opened a time portal from the 18th century, and stolen a gown from France. Minus a corset.

It fit my body like a glove - whoever had made it knew their measurements well. The sleeves were long and poofy where my shoulders were, as if it had been designed for winter, but they allowed me to breathe, and didn't cause me to overheat. If it lacked anything, it definitely wasn't frills, but I wasn't sure I was upset with that. They cohabitated the dress with a floral pattern that I truly admired. The bottom of the dress was silky and flowed as if it had been born from the wind itself. As I slipped into the mastwork, I found a black rose waiting nearby. Carefully picked it up, I placed it in my hair, just because it felt... pretty.

I looked around cautiously.

I loved receiving gifts from strangers, but they usually expected something in return.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" I called out. 

A shadow stepped from behind the nearest ash tree. It was male.

"I take it you've finished dressing?" The familiar voice called out, and I felt my knees go weak.

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So? How'd you guys like it? :3 I think I'm going to update some of the pictures again, and revamp the story up a little bit. Sorry about slow updates. Love you guys. <3

The video describes really what Stephanie is feeling at the current time. :)