A woman with long, straight brown hair in a messy bun, walks between the trees of the woodlands alone, wearing simple hiking clothing. She hums a happy tone as she plays with the sunrays that slip through the thick layer of the canopy with her hand that has a complexion similar to a lightened Charlie Brown rose. A single green leaf twirls around the fresh flowing breeze. She lets the leaf land in her hand. She plays with it while the birds sing their songs.

“This forest is so full of life. Life here doesn’t judge me. My ex always judges me. He then acts like the victim. I’ll never forget the times he made me feel worthless.” She crushes the leaf in her hand and throws it on the ground ahead. She sneers at it for a moment. She begins to walk, stepping on the leaf. “After all I did. Despite all my effort, he still doesn’t appreciate me. He dumped me. Then find someone else to love. Am I not good enough? He loved me before. He will love me again.” She pokes her head out of a bush that’s in front of a chink cabin with darken, pale, wood walls. “Especially now that she is gone.” She smirks.

In front of the cabin, a tall man with a similar complexion to the woman with short, straight black hair in an Ivy League cut, smokes a cigarette. Wearing casual clothing, he leans on his silver sedan that’s built five years ago. The man puffs out a stream of nicotine infused smoke. A twig cracks. He immediately surveys his surroundings with widened eyes. His eyelids close slightly. He puts his hands through the car window and puts out his cigarette in a glass ashtray in the cupholder of the center console. He lets out a sigh and pulls his arm out of the window. 

“Can I take a breather in peace. Sadie, I know you’re out here somewhere.” Birds chirp as he waits for a response. “You know me so well. You know I like to come out here when stressed. And boy do you have me stressed.” Sadie, who’s watching from the bush nearby smiles. “I know you did this. You did this to her.” The man then shouts with an open stance, “Why won’t you leave me alone?” He relaxes his body a bit. “Let me breathe.” Sadie emerges from the bush.

“Why do you like breathing so much? All you do is inhale toxic smoke, Grant. Why are you trying to get away from me?”, she said.

 “We’re not dating anymore. We broke up months ago. I moved on. I don’t love you anymore.” Sadie’s smile drops. She quickly walks closer to him with low, frontward facing palms, eyebrows drawn inward and raised, with an ajar mouth. He quickly walks backwards. “Stay away from me! I got a restraining order. If you come closer, you’ll be sent to jail.” She stops and smiles.

“A piece of paper can’t arrest me.” She slightly turns her head away. “Besides, I came here to think. Like thinking about all our memories, and what ifs about them. Don’t you think about that stuff?” She looks at him from the corner of her eyes. He glares at her.

“No, I don’t. I don’t want to think about how you are making my life miserable. And how you got my future fiancée hospitalized by making her drink too much alcohol. Lying about girls’ night out. Lying about being her friend. I knew something was wrong when she mentioned you.” She turns to him with a frown.

“Well, that’s what you get for breaking up with me. You weren’t supporting me anymore. You won’t help me financially. You won’t even talk to me and help me through tough times.”. Grant takes out his phone and points it at Sadie.

“This is proof that she’s harassing me and not respecting the restraining order. I’m the victim here, not her. She was controlling and took advantage of my money. I even caught her cheating on me several times.” Sadie looks at him with puppy-eyes.

“That’s not true. I’m the victim. You always judged me and made me feel insecure. I always take care of you like a loving wife, but you never cared.” Her face becomes twisted. “You would just shrug off all my efforts like it was nothing. You then break up with me and date that homewrecker!” Her body becomes rigid and her nose flares.

“What are you talking about? We were never married.” Grant said as he lowered his guard a bit.

“Because you never proposed. You should have loved me like you love her. I was with you first. You said you loved me before you did to her.” Grant stutters, walking backwards as he puts his phone away. She glares at him. “You will love me, even if I have to force you.” She then smiles. “Too bad no one will ever find that phone.” She pulls out a seven-inch stainless blade and runs after him.

Without delay, Grant runs into the forest. He slides and hides behind a large tree. He pulls out his phone.

“Ugh! Right, no internet.” Grant peeks from behind the pine tree.

“Look pine-hind you.” Sadie said with a giggle, a few feet from him with the knife. Grant instantly snaps around. Sadie charges at him. He manages to get the hold of her wrist that’s attached to the knife wielding hand. Grant holds her back with one arm and tries to grab the other. Sadie begins to kick him. He pushes his pelvis back. Sadie lets go of the knife and catches it with the other hand. Instantaneously, she swings the knife up into his wrist. Grant lets go just in time. Sadie charges at him. He kicks her knee. Grant watches as she falls down in a layer of moist dead leaves and green seedlings. She throws the knife at him as he attempts to run away. It tears through his pants and the skin right above his soleus.

“Ahh!” He stops and feels the blood slowly leaking through his wound with his hand. Sadie immediately crawls and picks up the knife. She lunges at him with it. He rolls away from her and grabs a large piece of bark. Sadie runs to him. Grant flings the bark at her. It shatters upon impact to her hand. She lets out a shriek, dropping the knife. She sneers, then smiles at him, shaking her scratched hand.

“Why are you hurting me? You’re not supposed to hit a female.”, she said. 

“Equal rights.”, Grant stated with a smirk.

“Why are we fighting like this? We used to be close and loving”. Grant looks side to side. Sadie slowly walks closer. “Do you regret those intimate moments with me?”. His face becomes twisted. She walks closer with her hands behind her back. “Don’t look at me like I’m disgusting. We used to be so close. Close and steamy. During those times you feel nothing?” He turns away from her, swallowing his thoughts behind his red face. “Is that’s why you’re doing this to me? All you had to do was ask Big-G. I could’ve tried a different position—” She thrust the knife forward and pierce his side.

“Ahhg!” He groans, holding his gushing wound. He instantly looks at her, sneering.

“Shi—” Grant punches her as hard as he can with a left hook. She stumbles back, holding her face. 

“Oh, oh, ohhh! You’re in for it now. You hit a woman!” Sadie laughs, then attempts to stab him. He continues to jump backward dodging the blade. “I will stop until we get back together!” She increases the pitch of her voice. “I won’t mention the bruises you caused.” She stands in front of him, looking down at him. “Just say you’ll get back with me.”, she said in a slightly softer tone. He looks at her, then looks around. After a long silence. She slowly comes closer. He walks backwards holding his wound. Grant trips on a surface root, landing on his butt.

“I’m waiting.” she said. Grant throws a handful of dirt into her eyes. She screams and vigorously rubs her eyes that’s polluted with coarse, bacteria infused bio matter. Grant limps away.

“Ahh! My eyes! It won’t come out! You better propose to me if you want my forgiveness.”

After a while of rubbing her eyes, Sadie looks for him with her blurry vision. She spots a blood trail through her red, grainy eyes. Stealthily, she follows it as her eyelids and face become more swollen. She finds Grant in a clearing on the phone with the police. Sadie sneaks up behind him. She snatches the phone and hangs up.

“Why do you refuse to be happy with me? I did everything for you. I even gave up my body for the first time, for you. Now you treat me like villainous trash. Why don’t you ever appreciate me?”, she said as tears flowed from her puffy, purple face, washing away the rest of the dirt in her eyes.  

“Woah. I did love you and appreciate you at one point. But the relationship was not good. We were both unhappy. We were toxic. It was not good for me … not for you either.”

“Yet you smoke, and loyal to the cigarette. Why not me?” He stutters for a moment.

“That’s different. I break up with you so we can find a better match. Not to mention you cheated on me. You were not happy, neither was I. So stop pretending like we were! Just move on already. Please! There are other guys who will love and appreciate you better than I ever will.” Sadie’s body becomes solidified, and her stare becomes vacant. “Please go away. Leave me alone! I just want peace.” Grant grasps his side, then leans on a tree.

The orange tinted forest suddenly displays red and blue lights. Sirens blurt over the birds chirping and cooing. In no time, the police leap out of their car and take her away. She enters the car silently with a blank stare and calm demeanor. Sadie looks at Grant as she’s been driven away. 

“Other guys will love me more?”, Sadie whispered to herself. As soon as he’s out of her sight, she watches the many leaves flutter by during the long drive. 

In her jail cell, she finally speaks after hours.

“Maybe I need a new scenery. Maybe I’ll find someone who will appreciate me more.” She looks off to the side with a long face. “What if one of my side flings will love me. They did show strong interest.” A smile slowly grows on her face until it becomes laughter. “I can’t wait until I get out of here.”.