By the time I was headed back to the lodge, the sun had started setting. On my way, I grabbed some fresh ingredients for supper. A sense of guilt came over me as I looked up what foods people tend to eat in Italy. I tried to pick one that wasn’t too on the nose and decided on Fra Diavolo. I had never heard of it before but as far as I was concerned it was now a favorite dish growing up.
To my surprise no one else was home aside from Rosey. But she already had her horrendous white noise machine playing and more than likely asleep. Though as I put the food away and headed to my room, I passed the door to her room. A strong stench of alcohol had leaked through and made me double take at her door. It was best to stay out of it. In my room I was able to relax and go about my nightly routine.
On a spare end table was a hand held mirror, a small box of facial gel sheets, and a travel sized humidifier.
I reached out and grabbed the mirror and gel sheets to start the routine. I peeled off a wax paper sheet from one side of the gel sheets. Then I started applying them to a few areas of my skin. The last one however always burned. I had to fold a sheet around my upper lip. Just like a snake, it had a split running straight up from the upper lip.
I clenched my fist at the feeling and toughed through it until it numbed itself. With the worst part over, I let it set a few minutes before taking everything off and throwing away the used sheets in a small trash bin almost filled with them already.
Lastly I checked the water level in the humidifier and cut it on for the night. I laid back in bed with a heavy sigh. The suit I was wearing wasn’t comfortable but I didn’t care. I was finally out of sight of any clients and no longer had to play professional.
Despite my efforts however, I couldn’t sleep. I brought my phone out in hopes of finding something online. Searching for a herold of hoaxes however only brought up a website for the Heart Hoax shop in town. Curious, I looked into it.
Sage’s site was cheap and unprofessional with a mess of designs and fonts. It screamed locally owned and listed off different products they provided by category. The only category that stood out to me as usual for her was digital products.
Checking that category listed off various downloadable videos. Each were lessons that seemed to only get more bizarre the further you would look. Some included palm reading, fortune telling, tarot card readings, levitation, telekinesis, time travel, and mind reading.
Another odd one caught my eye. She had a short story downloadable for free. It was only a page long and yet I felt like it was still somehow a scam. My curiosity however overcame it.
I read it quietly to myself, “It was the last day on our trip hiking in the Blair View mountains. We planned a long trip in the bus back that cut through the woods to take us home. The other travelers who were with me left before sun down. Me and two others who liked to play it riskier decided to climb up the mountain again to another bus station further up the trail. It was a challenge to get through the snow the darker it became. Sight was scarce. With only a small lantern each we made our way up the steep trails.
As my legs grew tired I assured them to continue without me as I took a break to rest. They trusted me and left me by a broken light post. To save the fuel of my lantern I had turned it off while I sat. It was as if my eyes were closed no matter how much I blinked. A suffocating darkness. Half an hour passes. When I felt strong enough to walk again I got up. Troubled by the feeling of eyes on me, I lit my lantern again.
They were both sitting with their legs hugged to their chest. Yet they still loomed over me. Shoved in between the trees like books on a shelf, they looked down at me. Their heads ducked just shy of the tree tops like that of a child hiding in tall grass. They had no fur, no claws, no scales, no feathers… only skin. Thin and pale skin that barely wrapped their lanky limbs that curled into stretched smiles. Their mouths agape as if welcoming any poor lost creatures to fly in to seek shelter and never be seen again. Just their elongated fingers alone each matched the width of a tree trunk.The more my eyes adjusted to the dark, the more of them I could see behind the others further back into the woods. Now making me feel like a mere insect they found enjoyment in watching.
But when I saw it I didn’t understand them. I didn’t know what they were, why they were here, or what was going to happen next. The thing is, I didn’t have to know. So I left. I was scared for sure but I knew the more distance I put between me and what I feared they could have been, the safer I was.
I met up with my friends at the bus stop. Neither of them saw anything like it and were only concerned that I had seen things. But it was real. One man on the bus told me I must have seen a bare tree with long limbs and freaked myself out. Another told me what I saw was Bigfoot waking up in the Winter from starvation seeking a light snack to tide himself over. Whatever it was I would never return for I knew what kept me safe and that was being smart enough to walk away without seeking answers. Answers that could get you killed.
But that's all the information I can tell you. Seeking more answers yourself? You can purchase an indepth fortune for just fifty dollars. Come by the Heart Hoax shop if you’re interested.”
Sage’s story ended with a link to more products and I sneered at it in rage, “Absolute rubbish.”
It was unrelated, but that night I slept with my curtains shut.