Capítulo 1: Chapter 1
No canvas can accurately depict the moving picture painted on an evening sky. The sun is first swallowed by the earth, but its presence is still acknowledged by the golden hue that is left behind. It takes a few minutes for the colour to shift to a shade of orange, then pink. The pink sky disappears, giving birth to a dull blue. One star, two stars twinkle. The earth darkens, enabling its inhabitants to see clearly the city that shines above it.
"I can't believe this is our last night here," Melania breathed, the smoke of her breath disappearing in the air.
"Yeah, I'll really miss camping. Especially seeing the stars." Joy responded, stepping out of her caravan, a coffee mug in hand.
"What are you talking about?" Tanya scoffed.
"You slept in your caravan the entire time."
"I came out a few times." She defended herself.
"Uhuh, for food and to number two. You can hardly call that camping." Melania rolled her eyes, snatching Joy's coffee mug from her.
"You don't deserve this," she mumbled into the cup.
"Well forgive me, but this camping thing doesn't come naturally to me as it does to you. I like being on a real bed with blankets and no bugs, and being under a roof. The woods are for animals, no offence." She snatched her cup back.
"Then why did you bring us out here?" Tanya's eyebrows furrowed. "This was your idea."
"Yeah," Melania turned to face joy directly.
"You didn't sit by the fire with us, or tell stories. You buried your face in your work while we sang songs by ourselves. What was the point of this escape if you weren't actually planning on camping."
"I just needed to get away girls," she sighed.
"That's all. Besides, dad said I should think of what I want for my birthday and this forest land could work. I'm thinking of using it for a mini mall instead of a house. Think about it, a mall with a woodsy theme. Like, an oasis in the woods. An oasis for shopaholics. I'll make it a camp site with a mall. Instead of Blue Moon forest, it'll be called Blue Moon oasis."
"That sounds pretty... ambitious," Tanya said.
"Well, I do have the blood of David Macheka running through my veins. It would be a crime not to be ambitious."
"You are your father's daughter Joy Macheka," Melissa laughed.
"Since it's our last night and you've been a downer the whole time, let's do something fun," Tanya suggested.
"Like what?" Joy yawned, placing her empty cup on the foot of the caravan steps.
Melania released an exaggerated gasp, her mouth opening wider than humanly possible. "The fireworks!" She screeched, jumping up and down. The other two girl's eyes widened, surprised at her childlike excitement.
"Calm down they are just fireworks." Joy huffed.
"Excuse me," Melania grunted, poking her head into the caravan and grabbing the fireworks from under the sink. "I don't tell you to calm down when you see the perfect furniture for your stupid companies." She jiggled her eyebrows and the fireworks in her hand.
"Yeah, because I don't react the way that you do."
"Be that as it may, let's light these babies up," she smirked.
Melania did the honours, lighting them. Causing them to emit a combination of blue, green, red and yellow sparks. Whistles and bangs filled the air, followed by shrieks of delight coming from the three women and distant howls.
Exhausted, they called it a night, and for the first time, Joy lay down directly under the stars. Cradled between her two best friends. In the silence of the forest, its nocturnal inhabitants began their nightly lives. The crickets chirping, the owls hooting, an occasional howl and growl.
Joy flinched at every sound, nudging Melania or pinching Tanya.
"Do you guys hear that?" She whispered at one point.
"Yes," Melania grumbled. "It's called an owl. it lives around here."
"No not that," she hissed, sitting up. A snarl escaped from the forest and she gasp. "Guys, I think we should go into the caravan."
"Don't worry," Melania groaned. "This is the safest part of the forest, no wild animals come here."
"Tell that to the blood thirsty night creatures lurking in the dark." She laid her head back down, a shiver creeping up her spine. "I think I just creeped myself out."
"Go to sleep Joy," Tanya yawned.
"Fine," she yanked at her blanket, "but if I die before having my heiress I'm haunting you both."
***
The women packed up their camp and made for the road at noon. Joy was driving, with Melania in the passenger seat and Tanya sitting at the back, the caravan in tow.
"I can't wait for my bubble bath," Joy giggled.
"Sipping some wine, listening to some music, under a real roof. I won't need to worry about wild animals, or bugs, or weird noises that freak me out."
"You're acting like this wasn't your idea and you were forced to come here," Tanya drawled.
"Well, for the first time in my life, I..." Her eyes widened a bit as she swung the car out of the road, avoiding an animal she couldn't identify.
"Dude be careful!" Melania's scream echoed from the back.
"Sorry," Joy gasped, stirring the wheel left and right. Her foot pushed the break, but the car wouldn't stop. "What?" She whispered, forcing her foot against the brake. She tried not to panic, though tears had begun to form in her eyes.
"Joy stop the damn car!" Tanya screamed.
The car was bouncing up and down against the dust and debris. The caravan following suit.
"I'm trying the breaks aren't working," she cried, pressing her foot against the brake.
"Joy do something!" Melania screeched, holding onto her seatbelt.
"I'm trying!"
The car sped further into the woods, crashing into small shrubs as Joy tried her best to avoid the trees.
"It's going down. Oh my gosh Joy we're going to crash!" Melania screamed.
Joy closed her eyes as the car sped down hill. The caravan separated itself from them, crashing into a tree. "We need to jump out," J oy said, pulling her seat belt off with one hand while the other tried to control the stirring wheel.
"What?!" Melania shrieked.
"We have to jump out, now!" Joy yelled. "Now!" She screamed as she opened the door and threw herself out. She felt herself roll down, her body slamming against the ground. Pain shooting up different parts of her. A ringing sounded in her ears as her vision blurred. "Mel?" She groaned, willing herself up. She pressed her eyes shut, trying to make the dizzy feeling go away. "Tanya?" She sniffed, looking around. She spotted the smoke from the car and headed in its direction. A limp accompanying her step.
"Joy?" Tanya groaned from behind the car.
"I'm over here."
"Are you okay? Where's Mel?" She helped her sit up.
"I think she's still in the car," Tanya croaked, tears forming in her eyes. Other than a few scratches she seemed fine.
"Try and call for help." Joy instructed as she limped towards the car. Melania was still in the passenger's seat, her head on an air bag. Her forehead and arm were bleeding, shards of glass stuck to them.
"Mel?" Joy sniffed, yanking open the door. "Mel," she gave her a gentle shake. "Mel?" She whimpered.
Melania's face contorted in pain as she tried to sit up.
"There's no signal Joy," Tanya materialised behind her.
"Look, she's waking up. Mel?" Joy helped her sit straight.
"What just happened?" Melania breathed. "We're still alive?"
"Yeah, let's get you out of the car."
Melania took her seatbelt off and leaned against Tanya for support. They sat under a tree, far from the car.
"What do we do now?" Tanya said, looking around the forest. She kept wiping her eyes of the tears that dripped from her eyes.
Joy exhaled, running a hand through her afro.
"Well, you and I are the only ones who can move around. So, we'll go look for help, and Mel can stay here just in case someone comes by."
"Who would come by in the middle of nowhere?" Melania hissed. "I don't want to stay here by myself."
"We're stuck here, aren't we?" Tanya breathed. "This is where we die isn't it. It's the end," she clutched her chest, taking in gulps of air at an unhealthy speed.
"Tanya, I need you to relax, we just need to go look for help okay," Joy placed a hand on her shoulder. "Nothing is over and no one is dying. We'll just go to the top for a few minutes and see if we can find help, or a signal," she said. "Waiting around here won't help. We'll be okay." Her voice cracked and she sniffed, stepping towards the car. She opened the backseat door and searched for her handbag. "Here's my whistle. If anything feels off just blow it and hopefully we'll hear you."
"Hopefully?" Her eyes widened.
"Let's go Joy," Tanya pulled at her arm and she limped forward. She couldn't help but give Melania a reassuring smile. "We'll be right back."
The two women supported each other up the ascent, balancing on shrubs and rocks. Tanya raised her phone in the air, looking for a signal while Joy moved further down the dust road where they had seen the animal. She crossed to the other side of the road.
"Where are you going?" Tanya called after her.
"I just want to see if there could be any campers keep looking for a signal." She limped through a few shrubs, and towards a dead end. A cliff overlooking a waterfall. It was breath-taking and for a moment she had forgotten what she was doing.
"How is this happening?" She sobbed, wiping a stray tear away. "I wanted to get away from that idiot and now I'm stuck here. In the middle of nowhere. With a sprained ankle and bruises. And I dragged Mel and Tanya into it." She released another sob this time mixed with a laugh. "I let a man do this to me? Me? I went deep into the woods and got into an accident and now I'm stuck, because of that idiot. Me! Theee Joy Macheka. The heiress of Woodland Trading and CEO of one of the biggest fashion houses in the country." She lifted her hand to cover her gaping mouth. "I let a man make me hide? What? I need to go back, I need to ruin him."
The snap of a twig caused her to whirl around on her bad leg and she hit the ground on her knees. Her eyes widened as they took in what stood before her. She used her hands to balance herself up, her chocolate eyes glued to a large, black and white wolf that stared back at her. It had the brightest blue eyes she had ever seen. It took a few steps towards her and she stepped back, closer to the edge of the cliff.
"H-Hey there doggie," she swallowed. "You don't want to eat me. You'll get indigestion."
It tilted its head and lowered its ears, letting out a whimper.
"That's right. I mean I know I look delicious but I won't sit well with you," she mumbled.
The wolf's ears shot up and took a few more steps towards her, sniffing the air. Its eyes seemed to glow the closer it got. It took one last look at her and growled before running towards the trees, disappearing behind them.
Joy breathed, feeling her heart beat again.
"Is there more forest that way?" She stared after the wolf, rubbing her arm up and down.
Another snap sounded and she shook, losing her step and the ground beneath her crumbled, causing her to fall where she stood. A scream erupted from her throat and she grabbed on to the edge of the cliff that remained. "Tanya! Tanya! Help me!"
Tanya's head peaked over the cliff, her hands grabbing Joy's. Joy glanced at the woman's wrist, a familiar bracelet decorating it.
"Don't let go. Please don't let go," she whimpered, trying to pull herself up.
Tanya's eyes shifted from worry to fear and Joy's eyebrows furrowed. "Pull me up, what are you waiting for?"
"This all just feels unreal. I'm so scared," Tanya breathed.
"No, Tanya calm down. You have to pull me up, please."
"I can't," her breathing turned shallow. "I'm sorry," she heaved, tears forming in her eyes. She let one hand go and clutched her chest.
Joy screamed, her nails digging into the ground, trying to find a rock to grip.
"Tanya please!" She cried. Both her hands grabbed the one hand that held her up, two of her fingers curling around the bracelet.
"Joy I can't breathe," she choked, coughing and heaving.
"Tanya, no please don't let go. Please don't let go of me." She felt her hands slip and she gasped. Their eyes met for a moment, and Joy felt her breath leave her lungs and not return. She felt her heart stop beating and her ears stopped hearing. Her eyelids closed, and her eyes stopped seeing.
30 DAYS EARLIER...
"What is this thing?" Joy asked the intern, glaring at the mannequin in front of her.
"It's the mannequin ma'am. I accidentally cut it when-"
"I'm talking about the dress material. I asked for turquoise. This is not turquoise. Am I talking to myself?"
"Here it is ma'am." Another of the interns handed her the material.
"Gold star for you Lisa," she rolled her eyes and shooed the other intern. "Smanga get off my stool you're an embarrassment."
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