Una's Timeless Journey

I woke to the light of day, and struggled to open my eyes. My head hurt, and I was incredibly thirsty. That's when I realized - there was no sound. There were no birds singing. No rustling of animals scurrying through the trees. Not even the sound of the breeze blowing through the leaves. I tried to sit up, but my head spun so fast that I had to lay back down again. What happened? Where am I? The last thing I remember, I was in my village in Brazil...

I closed my eyes again, trying hard to remember what happened before everything went dark. But my mind felt foggy, like it wasn't working properly. I slowly opened my eyes again, and a figure suddenly appeared at the edge of my vision. He was a handsome man, with beautiful brown eyes and dark hair that fell just above his shoulders. He wore a white t-shirt and blue jeans, with a pair of black boots on his feet. The man smiled at me as he approached the bed where I laid, then sat down beside me and took my hand in his. "Una," he said in a voice that sounded as sweet as honey. "You're awake."

"Who are you?" I asked him, feeling confused by his sudden appearance in my room. "Where am I?" He laughed lightly at those questions, tightening his grip on my hand as he answered me.

"My name is Raul," he replied softly, taking my other hand in his as well and bringing them both up to his chest for me to hold onto him with both hands. His skin felt warm against mine - almost too warm to be real. "You're safe now."

"Safe from what?" I wondered aloud, looking into his eyes with confusion written all over my face. "What happened to me?" Before long, Raul's smile faded away as sadness filled his face instead. My heart sank when I saw him like that - it made him look so much older than he really was! What could have possibly caused such a drastic change in his mood? "Raul?" He sighed heavily before raising himself up off the bed and standing up next to it, avoiding eye contact with me as he began speaking again instead.

"You don't remember anything from yesterday?" he asked - more like demanded - throwing the question out there without hesitation or thought behind it whatsoever. It sounded almost accusatory rather than concerned, which confused me even more than before! Had something happened between us together? Was that why he seemed so upset? Did he not want me here? Anger flashed across my face at that thought for some reason unbeknownst to me! Why would he be angry if we had something going on between us?! It didn't make any sense! My thoughts were interrupted when Raul lifted his head up to look at me again after several moments of silence passed between us while he waited for me to answer him; only this time, they were not full of sadness or anger like before... they were completely void of any emotion at all! They looked dead; like two pieces of glass that had lost their luster and shine over time... Just like mine did every morning when I looked into the mirror at myself! The realization hit me hard: had something happened to me while we were together last night? Did this man do something horrible to me?! Was that why he didn't want me here anymore?! An intense panic set in within me all over again - except this time, it wasn't because of how disoriented I was still feeling from waking up and realizing where I was... this time, it was because of how worried I suddenly felt about myself! Did Raul abuse me somehow? Did he rape me? Did he murder someone who used to love me?! My eyes began filling up with tears as those thoughts raced through my mind, leaving an intense pain deep within my chest in their wake... But then... Raul spoke again...

"Not yet," was all he said before turning around and walking towards the door leading out into the hallway outside of my room! But wait... what did he mean by 'not yet'?! Did that mean there would be a time where I could remember everything that happened yesterday? Or did it mean there would be nothing left for me to see when it came to tomorrow or beyond?! Something told me it meant neither one... It meant something much worse than that! Something so terrible that I couldn't even imagine what it might be! Tears started pouring down my face uncontrollably as fear gripped tightly around my heart once again - but this time, they weren't tears from worry about myself; they were tears from worry about Raul! What could have possibly happened yesterday that made him say something like 'not yet'? Why did we go somewhere where no one else could hear us talking? And why did we leave this place called Spain together after only meeting each other for the first time today? Those questions kept racing through my head as Raul finally disappeared out into the hallway beyond... but never stopped asking them until long after Raul was gone from sight entirely...