The Newlyweds part 2

As there was no trail to be found, David thought he heard water trickling to their left. ‘It might be a stream, the perfect place for a picnic!’ he squeezed Sharon’s hand in excitement. It was a squeeze that made Sharon smile widely, so they followed their guts and began on the voyage to this illusive ‘stream’.

Once they entered the forest, the rain started to pour down, hitting every leaf on every tree making the canopy like something out of a music producers' studio. There were no two trees the same, each giving off a different beat to the beautiful song of nature. The couple’s clothes were soaked through. They didn’t mind, however, as it was ‘all an experience!’

Sharon, who’s beauty shone despite the droplets of rain running down her face, found a spot where the canopy was open and stood there, her arms out, her head tilted back and embraced the rain. David had never found her sexier than he did at that moment! He ran towards her and picked her up by the waist, almost imitating when Baby ran into Patrick Swayze’s arms at the end of Dirty Dancing. He spun her around before bringing her back down to earth and kissed her. Sharon, who was laughing, placed her hands on his face, which was also wet, and they gazed into one another’s eyes as newlyweds should.

As the rain dried up, they could hear the stream more prominently. Its water moving faster and more powerfully than they had heard it entering the forest.

Making their way to the trickling of water hitting off what they presumed to be the jagged earth, they made their way there stepping over exposed tree roots as they went. It was as though there was no room left underground, the roots had no option but to grow upwards instead of downwards, something neither of them had witnessed before to this magnitude. Some of the roots were so thick and prominent that they had to physically climb over them.

Sharon gasped as she saw the most beautiful tree she had ever come across. ‘Please let me climb it!’ she pleaded. David just let her at it with bated breath. He gave her a boost up to the first branch of many that were protruding out of the trunk of the tree like steps of stairs. Every branch Sharon climbed, David became more and more anxious, his heart in his mouth. When she reached the topmost, sturdy branch, Sharon sat on it and took in the view. ‘You don’t know what you’re missing up here!’ she shouted down to David who was on edge at the thought of heights. ‘I bet it is baby!’ he winced, unable to comprehend how someone so perfect for him was also so different.

When she was ready, Sharon carefully made her way down the branches, David holding his breath as she moved from branch to branch. Once she reached the bottom most branch, David helped her down and he could breathe again. He threw his arms around her, almost to make sure she was still in one piece! Sharon reciprocated the hug.

They kept on course towards the stream, and, once they reached it, found it majestic. When they got there, David finally took the provisions off his back and Sharon debated whether they should lay out the rug on the already wet ground. In the end, they found two rocks that were side by side and sat up on them instead. Sharon was the one who had packed the provisions, so she gave David his roll first. David almost ripped the tinfoil off his as he was panging with hunger. He, being ever the gentleman, waited for his bride to take the first bite before digging into his ham and mayonnaise roll. He was finished well before she was and she threw him another, which he was eternally grateful for as the one didn’t fill him. ‘You know me so well!’ he said as he caught it and moved over to her rock, where they snuggled as they finished their lunch together. Then Sharon produced two bottles of Fanta, which they clinked together as though they were two glasses of champagne, before David guzzled the bottle as he was so thirsty.

After they finished their picnic, the pair took off their shoes and socks, rolled up their pant legs, and entered the stream. They kicked the cold water at each other, laughing and smiling as they did so, David seeming to get the wettest. Of course, he was holding back a bit and when they were finished with the splashing, they each went in search of the perfect stone, one they would use as a keepsake from their adventure.

Sharon, obviously, found a prettier stone than David did. It was one that looked like marble with a beautiful line going around its circumference. David picked a relatively plain one, one that was flat and had no jagged edges. When he saw Sharon’s, he lifted her up again and began to kiss her passionately, a kiss that led to them laying on the damp ground where they made love, the rug acting like a blanket.

They lay there for hours, admiring each other, before getting dressed to head back towards the campsite for a barbeque. Mary, David’s sister, had all the meat in the fridge and David began to salivate, his appetite great after such a marvelous day.

Once dressed, they tried to figure out what direction the campsite was in, and headed towards one they both agreed on. Of course, it was the wrong direction, something they figured out as they walked aimlessly in the forest for miles. They couldn’t find that ‘perfect tree’ Sharon had climbed, or the hole in the canopy where they acted out the scene from one of their favourite movies. They were lost!

David, although he didn’t want to put his bride in danger, suggested she climb yet another tree, to see if she could shed light on their whereabouts and hopefully see the campsite. Sharon was delighted at the idea! She found one that reminded her of the sycamore tree in her grandparents' back garden and David gave her a boost onto the bottom branch. She climbed and climbed, David unable to watch, before reporting back that she couldn’t find the campsite anywhere. When she was back on dry land, David having what was left of the provisions on his back, sighed and wondered if it had been a good idea after all to enter a forest with no visible path. He began to blame himself for getting lost and apologised to Sharon.

‘It's not your fault!’ Sharon reassured him, but he still felt responsible. They must have been walking around in a circle as they were met with the stream once again! ‘Shit!’ David shouted a little louder than he meant. He went down on his honkers and Sharon placed a warm, comforting hand on his back.

It was beginning to get dark, but they stayed at the stream for about an hour, debating which way to go. David heard a bang come from the distance on the other side of the fast-moving water. He looked at Sharon to see if she had heard it too, but she was doubled over. He approached her tentatively, and when he saw that there was a red, syrupy substance, coming from a big hole in her stomach, he began to panic. All Sharon could do was moan in pain. He laid her down to investigate what had happened, and to his horror, it looked as though she had been shot!

As she lay on the streams edge, one leg bent at the knee, the other one straight, blood pouring out of the gaping hole he had to come to terms with as being a gunshot, he pressed his hands firmly on the wound trying to slow the bleeding. Sharon was pale, and beginning to lose consciousness. David knew that with this much blood loss, there wasn’t really anything he could do for her, so he sat on the ground beside her, and cradled her like a baby. He realised after moving her, that the bullet had gone straight through her! There was nothing he could do, so he tried with all his mite to talk to her and tell her how much he loved her. He caressed her cheek with his bloody hand and kissed her forehead just as the light went out of her eyes. ‘NNOOOOOOO!!!’ David screamed and shook his wife’s body vigorously, trying to bring her back, but no one would have survived the catastrophic wound she had received!

David cried over Sharon’s body for as long as he saw fit. He was secretly hoping that whoever had shot her, would shoot him too, as the love of his life, his angel, was gone and he wanted to join her. He even contemplated taking out the serrated, switchblade from his pocket and killing himself, but instead, he kept it safe where it was. He had a plan. He was going to find, and kill, whoever pulled that trigger and torture them with it instead.

When he had come to terms with her death, somewhat, he had no choice but to leave her on the streams edge. He knew that there was no way he could find the trigger-happy bastard and take her with him at the same time. He found a nice protruding tree root and placed his new bride under it, laying the rug over her body and promised he would avenge her death!