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Moritz Ludwig von Schwind, Apparition in The Forest (from Sleeping Beauty), before 1858
What would you do?64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvrSLVZT2Lr
What would you do if I follow you?64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMtLwt996t0
What would you do? I follow64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRy9h6VhfSm
- "Sour Girl" by Stone Temple Pilots
Trigger Warning (TW): Explicit content on CA (Child Abuse) and violence.
Jacob wasn't imagining it. He glances at various windows of cars to make sure she's following him. After leaving the school, he sees her. His teacher made him stay late for ten minutes, giving a useless lecture on the principle of being social and having friends or a crush. All of it meant nothing to him.
"Crush?" His signature detached stare pierces through her. She keeps looking away and it annoys him.
"Yes! Having crushes can be very good... It helps us from being lonely and- "
"What is that?"
"What is what? Lonely? It's-"
Sharply, Jacob replies," A crush. What's that?"
She sent him off without explaining what it all meant, just wore an expression of disbelief because she believed he was old enough to have a crush. Now, he was late and had to cut back on his alone time. His parents assumed his commute to school and back took 30 minutes when it only took 20. He uses the remaining ten minutes to go to the forest doing whatever he wants. It's his only safe space.
His hearing heightens when a delicate giggle enters his ears. Jacob never stops walking, but he slyly glances in nearby windows to identify who his stalker is.
A tiny Black girl follows him and he can see her tripping over her own feet once a while. She wears a pastel blue chiffon dress with satin material lining the ends of the short sleeves. He notes how it compliments her complexion, the tone of rich syrup. Her hair seems to be in twist decorated in white and blue bows at the ends. Jacob admits she piques his interest, wondering why someone like her would follow someone like him. But then he remembers how his father warned him about them: Children that would act and look like normal children...but they were far from it. Children like Jacob.
As he crosses the street, he slows down his pace when he passes an elderly lady. He watches the little girl hesitate next to her as she struggles to cross without support. However, the little girl looks from Jacob to the lady, indecisive whether to help or not but chooses to continue stalking him instead.
Jacob continues to watch her in nearby windows, just in time to catch a glimpse at what will make him turn around. As she draws closer, he sees the object in her hand glimmer pink and narrows his amber eyes.
...a pink shimmer that yells for his attention...
He slows his steps, but not too much until he can be sure she's close enough to grab.
"Ex-excuse me- "
He spins her around with her back against his chest and lays against the door of a truck he's seen from a mile. His arm imprisons her neck while her legs kick in a frenzy. Jacob feels her tiny pulse thumping against his skin.
Before his opponent could tense up...he places his hand on the back of her skull with his other on the chin.
Suddenly, he catches a whiff of something sweet. In a daze, his hold softens and, faintly, he lets his arm slide down to her shoulder then her abdomen to pull her in closer. He realizes how delicate she is, with her skin soft carrying a fragrance of baked goods and roses. And she's so warm...he doesn't want to let go. The world doesn't exist to him anymore. His father, his mother, school, the screaming, the pain- all of it unrecognizable to him with him only existing in this moment. When he crosses his arms over her chest, he can feel her soft heart beat and leans into her further. Yet, he stops when the object he's been eyeing glints at him.
Quickly, his voice demands her, "Who sent you? What's that- "
In his loose grip, she runs out of his possession before he can finish and he can hear her sobbing. He picks up what he's been curious about from the sidewalk: an elastic, beaded, and pink bracelet with white letters spelling out something. Be Mine. Tilting his head, he twists it over and pinches a shard of rose quartz that beams at him. His hold on the bracelet tightens and he caresses the shard.
Oddly, it makes him forget last night and rids the ticks in his head that have been haunting him since. The ache in his chest is gone, and what fills it's absence is rivers, lakes, and oceans cleansing impurities from his core. He smiles in a daze with eyes growing soft. He puts his hand through the bracelet and feels slight joy when it grips his wrist perfectly. Afterwards, he shoves the bracelet into his pocket and continues hurrying home.
---
It's been three weeks since he's seen her. Jacob's been waiting in the shadows of abandoned buildings and using the ten minutes he can spare for himself after school in hopes of meeting her again. Or at least seeing her. He doesn't know why, but he desperately wants to see her. Whenever to escape his reality, he replays their meeting and keeps the bracelet with him 24/7. He's grown attached to the point he can't sleep at night without it. He doesn't know why he cares but he doesn't mind caring. He doesn't know who she is but he wants to know.
The nostalgic scent of cake and roses follows him in his sleep, and the little girl shows up in his dreams in the most vivid ways. He dreams of her hair, her dark skin, and the way her pulse scampers like a rabbit- it all haunts him. She's always wearing the beautiful blue dress and is the angel he prays to in his sleep. However, she always faceless. He prays that they meet again, every night, so he can see her face, hear her voice, and know her name.
When he finally sees her again, she looks less.... radiant. He could see her tremors from across the street where he hides. Her hair is pulled into a tight, slick bun with small hairs waning her broad forehead, and a tight bow tucked into her hair.
The street they're on is absent of people and cars, so he takes this opportunity to watch her from afar. When he's close enough to see her clearly, he studies her face with great concentration. Her eyes were just like he remembered: resembling a bouquet of white tulips with a brown dahlia flower in the middle as long lashes fan over them gracefully. Her skin matches her lips: delicate, supple, and melanated with pink pigmenting the center . He tries to look away and expects after fantasizing, dreaming about this moment for so long the curiosity would go away. Yet, curiosity morphs into infatuation, leaving his insides fluttering like wings. He swears he can smell her from across the street.
Look at me. He inhales deeply and follows while never taking his eyes off of her.
Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me-
Abruptly, she stops walking and looks around as if she can sense him. When their eyes meet, He lets out the tiniest gasp and fist his hands, nails puncturing his palms. Normally, when people look at him, they never look and are too fearful to keep his gaze... as if they knew something sinister hid behind his stare. He frowns deeply when he sees the same fear in her eyes but then she looks down at his wrist and begins to wear the most gentle, enchanting expression that makes him dig his nails deeper into his skin. He wants to stop them from sweating and shaking but he can't. Jacob smiles at her and, despite it feels strange, he can't stop the grin forming. She smiles softly and it's radiance consumes him. He can't stop the jitters, the anticipation, and wanting but it's a feeling that drowns him in a wave of bliss. He finally gets to meet her.
In a cycle, the waves go higher, lapping over each other again. They arrive at the shore with intensity, then return to its home in the ocean. The cycle continues in magnitude, over... and over... and over over over over over over over-
Just as he takes a step forward, four boys surround her. He knows something is wrong. Jacob can see glimpses of her face, terror plaguing as she tries to back away. She glances at him and he hides behind a car before one of the boys can turn around to spot him. He can't hear them, but the window of a store in front of him reveals all he needs to know. He watches them pull her into a dark corner then assault her starting with her hair, her clothes, and hurting her delicate skin in various ways. They treat her like a rag doll as he can hear her painful screams.
"Help! Mommy! Help! Mommy, please help me!"
As Jacob steps away from his shadow, ready to go over there and save her, his father's voice appears in his mind.
"To act with directionless rage will not only make you lose but will kill you. You have to be ten steps ahead. You have to predict the attack and your revenge before it happens. You must prepare for everything without knowing anything. If someone has wronged you, do not stoop to their level at that moment. Fury is best served when you are patient and strategic. Never do anything without strategy. Never.
He sinks to the ground as the boys leave the dark corner and he can still hear her crying. So badly he wants to go to her, comfort her, and take her home so he can take care of her pain. But he can't. He knows his parents wouldn't approve and his free 10 minutes is up. He watches her walk home in tattered clothes and silent tears. With his own tears of frustration falling, Jacob begins to plot his revenge.
---
"I'll see you later, Seth."
Seth waves goodbye to his friends and laughs. He puts on his headphones and continues walking home alone in the forest. Usually, kids never went in there especially alone. He heard stories of people getting kidnapped, murdered, or lost. He scoffs despite his mother's words dancing in his head.
"Do not go into that forest, Seth! If you go there, you will die!"
"But mom...I would have to take the longer way home!"
His mother didn't care, though. She valued her son's life more and he understood it was what a parent would say. Unfortunately, he was running late than usual because of detention.
All because of that bitch, Veronica.
Seth seethes red. Shockingly, someone reported him and his friends to the principal about his situation with Veronica a few weeks ago. Now, he's suffering in detention for a month. He hasn't seen her in school since him and his friends cornered her, but he assumes she's the one that told on him. Who else would it be?
If he ever sees Veronica again, he vows to do something worse to her than what he did last time. Plotting and fantasizing, Seth walks through the forest fearless of his surroundings. The music he's playing is so loud he can't hear anything around. He can't hear the animals scurrying through the trees, the way his feet crunch loudly against the leaves as he walks, and the footsteps that follow close behind him. All he can depend on is his vision that trails the narrow path leading to the other side of the forest.
"She turned away, what was she looking at? She was a sour girl the day that she met me," He sings loudly just as he approaches the end of the path. He can see the street where cars dash past each other and a few people walking past the exit.
One jogger walks past but stops when he hears a soft shriek coming from inside the forest. He takes out his earphones, looks within, and eyes the narrow path suspiciously. When he sees nothing, he continues jogging thinking the noise came from his earphones.
Jacob drags Seth roughly by his red hair after fracturing his leg with the steel bat he carries. Seth screams from fear and immense pain growing in his left leg. He claws at Jacob's hands who ignores him then switches his position so his arms are wrapped around Seth's throat.
In the middle of the forest, he throws Seth down on the ground. He tries to run away, but he can barely move. His eyes are saturated with tears of panic. Standing over him with his bat over his shoulder, Jacob stares down at him with dead eyes. He cocks his head to the side and his gaze makes Seth cry harder. There's something else there, behind that deadpan expression that has him seeing his life flash before his brown eyes.
"What do you want?" Seth shrieks with a hiccup.
Jacob's quiet for awhile and bores his eyes into his. Next, he walks over to him, grabs a fistful of his hair causing Seth to scream again, and mutters lowly," You like hitting girls?"
He's confused for several moment until Veronica's sobbing face pops into his head. All the color in his face suddenly disappears.
"We were playing, I swear! I swear-"
Jacob slams his bat against Seth's uninjured leg and the redhead howls through the forest.
"I hate liars."
The red-head's tears flows down his face in quick streams, his screams becoming louder so someone would hear him. His mothers' warning echoes in his head while cradling both legs and he knows they're damaged beyond repair.
"Mommy...mommy...please help me, plea-"
"I won't kill you." Jacob rolls his eyes, his annoyance growing due to Seth's cries," If I wanted to, I'd snap your neck right now."
He tries to calm down, but fear and pain take over his body with his only focus on the bat.
"But..." Jacobs's eyes darken to a menacing honey," If you touch her again, I will."
"Why do you care? Veronica is a nobody!"
At her name, his eyes light up and he tilts his head to the side once more.
"Veronica...." He speaks so softly Seth can't hear him at first.
"You don't even know her name? Why are you doing this?" He roars at Jacob who stares right through him in a daze.
Her skin matches her lips: delicate, supple, and melanated with pink pigmenting the center
Veronica...
She smiles softly and it's radiance consumes him.
Veronica.
The cycle continues in magnitude, over... and over... and over over over over over over over-
Veronica.VeronicaVeronicaVeronicaVeronicaVeronicaVeronicaVeronica-
He watches Jacob smile and mutter under his breath rapidly. Seth wails with all his strength, hoping someone would get him out of the forest from this psycho.
"Mommy! Mommy! Please, someone plea-"
"I'll let you go," Jacob eyes the but of his bat," If you promise to never hurt Veronica again."
"I promise! I promise just please let me-"
Without hesitation, Jacob uses the butt to knock Seth out cold.
He doesn't get home till late at night and enters the garage soundlessly. Unfortunately, when he switches on the lights, his mother is standing in the doorway leading into his home smoking. Jacob flinches but they both say nothing to each other for several moments. She takes a long drag of her cigarette and stalks towards him.
"And where the hell have you been?" She drawls in English yet the accent of her native tongue drips heavy with venom. Jacob feels like prey as she leans against their car, daring him to speak with one look.
"Usually, I don't care what you do after school. You're free to act a like a rabid dog and roam in the forest all you want. But, may I remind you, you are the son of Alexander and Valeriya Semenov and..."
Her nails snatch his face and her nails gouge into his skin. Her cigarette, still burning, brands his cheek while Jacob holds back his tears. He has his father's eyes but he can see his essence in his mother's face.
"If you want to harm someone, then I'll fucking send you to Moscow so they can eat you alive. You can hurt and kill as you please like the beast you are. It's a bit early but I think you're ready now."
She lets him go with a flick of her wrist and walks away chuckling under her breath. Before she leaves him to process her words, she says"
"You leave in a year...and you can forget about that filthy girl."
ns 172.70.42.237da2
