Chapter 13.2

She didn’t pay attention last night since she didn’t have time, but when she looked closer today, she noticed little scrapes across her body, pricked by thorns and branches. The mysterious red scars all over her body were unsettling. It could have been caused by slamming into something or rolling, but there are other possibilities.

She gulped as she looked down at her body.  There could have been some evidence of sharing love with the man, based on the testimony of her friends who had deep relationships with men.

She sighed again.

‘It’s simply frustrating. For the first time in my life, I spent the night with a man, but I have no memory of it. But I’ve heard it hurts at first,’ she commented.

Emma’s friends all agreed that their first sexual encounter with a man was accompanied by a throbbing pain. Becca said she was shocked by the blood and Sally stated she didn’t bleed, but it ached like her bottom was torn. Michelle stated that she was unable to walk properly for a period of time due to soreness in her thighs.

‘However, why am I feeling normal?’ She blinked a couple of times and tilted in wonder.

She lowered her gaze and looked at her physical condition. There was no serious pain at the moment, except for her headaches. The rigid pull of her entire body and joint pain seems to be the result of rolling down the hill, although her main body area remained the same as before. Her round chest and the insides of her slick thighs were both fine.

She examined her thighs attentively, but they appeared to be the same as before. To be honest, she didn’t really know herself that well. She’d never gazed at her own body before.

‘I guess it’s a good thing that I don’t remember. Did I get through my first experience without hurting myself? Then, is this fortunate or unlucky?’ Emma scratched her head, her face flushed with anguish.

‘It’s probably a relief because I don’t want to be in pain,’ she added. Her friends, who hid their exaggerations when recounting their stories, all claimed that they were in excruciating pain.

She returned to the living room wearing a shirt after she finished washing. She instinctively closed her eyes when the man’s broad back came into view, his confident figure and his bare skin flooding her with embarrassment.

‘I’m shy, but who cares. We’ve already seen everything there is to see about each other.’ She tried hard to console herself.

One apparent reality prickled at her like a pointed thorn. The man had evidently simply removed his upper body clothing since earlier. Emma, herself, was the only one naked.

‘Ahhh! I don’t know!’ She took a long breath and opened her eyes again, trying to settle down her agitated mood.

All she could see was his back. The man with the untidy silver hair leaned back on the sofa, tilting the bottle.

‘How can he begin his day with alcohol? I guess he is pretty much an alcoholic.’ She was surprised that she couldn’t sense the strong smell of alcohol in the house.

‘By the way, is it morning?’ She asked herself. She saw a blue sky through the elongated window as she looked up at the ceiling to disperse her mind centered on the man. It was said that the sky will clear up after rain, and it certainly did. Without a cloud in the sky, it is clear and bright.

‘I’m not sure if it’s morning or not, but the sun is shining brightly. I’m still safe, at the very least, I was able to save my life.’ She added.

The suffocating black night of rain and wind has ended. She had to think of new things with a new attitude, now that a clear and new day had begun. She opted to postpone her thoughts because her head hurt simply thinking about what was going to happen tomorrow. She shifted her mindset to a positive thought, she was rescued by the man, and her personal threat had vanished for the time being.

She spent her first night with the man who saved her life while she counted the circumstances and realized how weird they were.

‘Can I just say that I took advantage of my good fortune?’  Emma lowered her gaze once more.

Although she was unable to remember, she knew the man would not be able to kick her off instantly. She knew that she couldn’t tell the man to take responsibility because she had taken off her clothing on her own, but she figured she could use it as an excuse to ask him to take her to the village or to beg for protection until she was safe.

‘Is it arrogant and overly controlling?’ She felt like she was being unveiled in the process of analyzing the situation and finding some benefits, as one’s instincts emerge in times of crisis.

She was humiliated because she thought she had exposed her nasty emotions, but there was nothing more valuable than life. Being alive was, without a doubt, the most important thing. She shook off her dark cloud-like worries with that simple defense. She washed and dried her dirty clothes, and if she could only keep her life together, she’d be able to travel to Polarville, where her uncle resided.

‘I’m going to shake off the grief, misfortune, and everything else that has been raging like a storm and begin a new life in a new place.’ She boldly thought.

She looked around and discovered a long chair in the corner. The rough but strong design appeared to be ideal for drying clothes. It’s preferable to hang the laundry to dry near the warm fireplace. She struggled to lift the chair and relied on her strength, but it was heavier than she anticipated. Then, out of nowhere, a large hand reached in and lifted the chair to transfer it.

It was a simple movement, like picking up a child’s toy.