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Under the Oak Tree Near the River

Part 1

By Montana VennePublished 7 years ago 3 min read
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Late October in my little town in the countryside of Montana, the water ripples as a chilly breeze flows through the beautifully coloured Autumn leaves. I lay on the grass under the pine tree near the river with my arms folded behind my head, why do I feel an uneasiness in my chest; a loneliness I can’t seem to shake off.

I don’t understand what it is I yearn for, having a simple life without any complications and a stable income is all a lazy guy like me can ask for. My parents always told me, “Your laziness will be the death of you.”

But I seem to be managing my carefree life comfortably in my small inexpensive house drawing illustrations to get by. I like to think I have the ideal life for someone so antisocial, my lazy behaviour and lack of motivation to interact with people is the reason my family don’t really associate with me. That’s not to say they don’t care or worry for me, they call me occasionally to see how I’m doing. I don’t have a lot of friends, I just don’t see the need to waste energy on people who may not always be in my life. Although, I do sometimes crave company when I boil a delicious pot of tea.

I tend to fall asleep under the pine tree near the river, it is my favourite place to be. But seeing as the seasons change it wouldn’t be wise to fall victim to laziness, I guess I’ll be on my way home.

As I walk passed the local park on the way home I find myself mesmerized by the vividly coloured bright leaves falling to the ground and the distant laughs of children playing. I take notice of someone frantically searching for something on the ground and begin to question myself, “I wonder what it is she’s looking for? If she can’t find it she should just give up.”

I turn my head away and begin walking. As I get a little further I hear sniffling followed by a heavy, shaky sigh. "I can't just walk away I should help her" I thought to myself so I turn back to the park approaching the girl and awkwardly ask, “Uh, hey... Is there something wrong?”

She looks up at me with big blue eyes glistening and rosy cheeks, she wipes the tears from her eyes and begins to speak, “I lost a pendant... It was given to me by my grandma and it’s really important...”

She turns her face as she continues to weep, I panic as I try to think of a way to calm her down. Without knowing what to say I kneel down and begin to help her search for her pendant, she looks at me surprised and says, “You don’t have to trouble yourself for my sake, I appreciate the gesture though.”

Not knowing what to say or do I continue to search quietly with my face flushed and my heart racing, I would never have pictured myself in this scenario. The girl didn’t say anything more she just smiled and continued searching.

Minutes passed as we searched but no luck finding the pendant, I noticed a security guard approaching us after talking to some other people. He asked us, “Excuse me, did either of you lose a necklace?” He then pulled out a silver necklace with an oval shaped pendant.

The girl stood up, her face brightened with joy she said, “Yes that is my pendant, thank you so much!” The guard smiles politely slightly bows his head and continues his rounds.

“I’m sorry you got caught up in all this trouble, sir,” the girl gently says.

I reply nervously, “No trouble at all, glad you found what you were looking for.” I begin walking away trying to avoid any more contact.

“Wait! Can I repay you for your kindness?!” The girl shouts to me. This is what I didn’t want to happen.

“It’s fine I didn’t really do anything anyway,” I reply to the girl hoping she won’t say anything more. “Please allow me to offer you a cup tea! There’s a nice cafe just around the block, please accompany me.”

She says, then wraps her arm around mine and begins to walk. This was not going the way I’d hoped.

As we walked to the cafe I had a strange feeling being next to her, of course, I was attracted to her but there was another feeling entirely. Being next to her with linked arms was a bit overwhelming but that wasn’t what was bothering me, she had an odd presence I’ve never felt from any other person. I don’t know why but I felt... Fear.

Part 2 coming soon.

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About the Creator

Montana Venne

Just another antisocial person who spends way too much time on the internet. Passionate about writing and hope to intrigue authors such as myself. Always enjoy engaging with others so feel free to befriend me.

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