Virginia sat on the floor in the bathroom for at least a good hour, not knowing what was happening outside.
Is Charles okay? …Is he even still there?
Boredom sunk in. She looked around the bathroom and studied the flower designs on the wallpaper. Soon, she began counting the rings in the wooden cabinet doors of the sink in front of her.
"Twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty—"
She plopped her head back against the wall behind her. Oh, what's taking so long?
She looked up at the sink again and saw the diary lying on the marble surface. With nothing else to do, she reached up and pulled it off the sink. She flipped through it, trying to remember the last page she was on. After turning multiple pages, she came across where she had left off and began to read:
But it was not the end for me. These things, these monsters that took me, have this ability to shape their form from a man to a beast. When in the form of man, they are a band of savage Indians. One night, while they were in their human form around a campfire, with me tied to a tree in the distance, another Indian leaped out of the shadows of the woods. His body was covered in the design of war paint. His face was painted half in red and half in white. He quickly cut my bonds, swept me into his arms, and carried me into the dark of the night. The tribal war cries of the men, followed by the sound of wolf howls, were heard directly behind us.
I honestly do not know how to describe most of my adventures to you, as they would be rarely seen in our world.
'Our world?' Virginia had a quizzical look on her face. Maybe she was just referring simply to her home. Yeah... She continued reading.
It would be too farfetched to be considered sane. The trees around us began to move. With mighty strikes, they brought their branches down upon the monsters that ran behind us and at our sides. With their roots, they reached up from the ground, grabbed the wild beasts by their throats, and dragged them beneath the surface of the earth below. However, more of those monsters came, and the Indian continued to run with me in his arms.
We came to a meadow with tall grass illuminated by the full moon. There was a cliff not more than one hundred yards ahead of us. The Indian that carried me did not change his pace. He began to sing while running, and his pace quickened. I almost screamed. If I had been running alongside him, I would have let go and taken my chances with the savage monsters pursuing us. I was too weak from malnourishment to stand on my own, so I remained in his arms. To be honest, I'm glad I did. We drew near to the cliff. He began to sing in another language, and his song grew louder and more angelic. Then, with a mighty jump, he dove off the cliff's edge with me clinging tighter to him for dear life. There was a moment of free fall that I remember. Life at that moment became fragile. My past flashed before my eyes. I wondered if all I had done was worth much—if anything! What value did I have? What was I worth?
A bright light flashed! Two wings—bright, large, and beautiful—sprouted from the Indian's back. We went from free-falling to flying.
I asked him if he was an angel. "No," he said. "I am not an angel." He told me that he was human, just like me. He said he was part of a unique, select tribe of warriors blessed with the spirit of the one he called Oralmuti.
It was so confusing at the moment, but later, it all made more sense. My answers were soon found in the place that he took me to, a place that changed my life forever.
"'Two wings—bright, large, and beautiful,'" Virginia quoted out loud. "Flying? 'He took me to a place that changed my life forever'?" Wow! Rose Cohen was sure poetic! However, I've never seen a person be so detailed like this before. Is she transitioning from actual events to poetic language to describe her escape? It makes no sense…
A knock sounded on the bathroom door, startling Virginia. Charles's voice came through to her.
"Virginia, it's me! Are you okay?"