~The Wilderness holds answers to more questions than we have yet learned to ask.~
-Nancy Wynne Newhall-

Dry leaves crunched under the thick soles of my boots as I followed her trail deeper into the forest. Sunlight filtered in through the trees and lit a dimly shaded path ahead. I mused over this interplay between the light and the leaves that sparkled her silver hair now and then as she cheerfully hummed the tone of a dreamy song I couldn't remember precisely. It left me dipped in a longing so beautiful that I felt nostalgic.

Far away in the distance, I heard a cuckoo bird raise a hollow-sounding, plaintive call into the wilderness of the woods. She turned her head towards the sound in excitement and cupped her hands around her mouth before letting out a very melodious 'coo-coo' in answer to the call of the bird that had reached us from behind the screen of dense trees surrounding us. Once again, the plaintive call was raised into the air in response to her voice and she clapped her hands like a little kid as if awarded by a jar of candies. I chuckled at this display of childish innocence in front of me.

A light breeze ruffled the leaves and few of them left the branches and swayed lightly into the air before falling to the ground. She paced quickly ahead of me towards an apple tree and very adroitly, got hold of the stem before climbing up like a leopardess. My jaw dropped open in amazement as she plucked a ripe juicy apple from a nearby branch and ate it happily while sitting on a strong branch above my head. Her blue eyes sparkled occasionally as sunlight met the gems in them. Dangling her bare legs down into the air, she rocked them lightly, ignorant of me..ignorant of the world.

Patiently, I waited at the bottom of the tree and pondered over the events that had taken place yesterday. Rob had visited our new lounge after the library had been closed last night. He had been so impressed and happy at the sight of it that he had immediately told us that Cara could rest for the whole week before joining him in the library. It was a delight for me as I was supposed to accompany her on her ventures and that meant that I had an off for a week too.

Later on, after we had returned from the dinner at the Barley's, we had shifted the T.V from Rob's cabin to the lounge and watched The Last Song which was based on a Nicholas Sparks novel. It was a very heart-touching piece and we had been absorbed in it for whole 108 minutes of the movie during which Cara had looked towards the screen with her blue eyes open widely in amazement and awe. This movie session had left us so tired that we were off to sleep in no time after the historical 'The End'.

Early in the morning, she had insisted to buy groceries and some other utensils for cooking and I had accompanied her to the mall for it. On returning back, she had cooked a delicious breakfast for us and I had felt the taste of home after something that felt like forever. As Rob had retreated to open the library, she had told me about her plans to explore the forest. I had agreed instantly and we had set off for this little adventure of ours as soon as possible.

My eyes took in her loose green top over jeans shorts and canvas shoes as she climbed down and treaded softly on the ground in front of me, looking here and there curiously for things I couldn't even imagine. All along the way, we had shared a mutual companion with us; silence. I had understood that she wanted to devour in the richness of peaceful quietness during this exploration so my mouth had been shut all the way. Now as I followed her deeper into the woods, it felt as if the silence was being shattered by a beautiful melody and I knew the source of it, it was the sound of water rushing down the waterfall.

I hurried behind her as she ran ahead in excitement to sweep away the lush green curtain of vines hanging in front of us with her delicate hand. I stood behind her as the vines separated to reveal a shaded edge of a creek hidden under the ground as a curtain of water showered down a hole above us on the stem of an only tree sprouting out into the fresh air. Her shoulders were heaving up and down from all the exhaustion as her deep blue eyes sparkled impossibly in this hidden world under the whole universe. Her silver hair glimmered in the partial darkness enveloping us from every corner.

"I've never known that Nature was this beautiful from inside. I bet this waterfall is a sight when observed from outside but its purity is clearly reflected from within. Within is definitely where the true beauty resides." For the first time in our exploration, her whisper echoed in the hollowness as she walked in a trance and sat on the edge of the creek. I felt as if she was talking to herself after all the silence. Hugging her bent legs with the circle of her fair arms, she looked above at the curtain of rushing water that was creating a wonderful symphony in the wilderness of woods as it hit the surface of the creek.

I recalled the numerous times I had been here as my sight took in the completely drenched stem of the lone survivor under the ground before taking a seat next to her on the edge and taking off my boots. Slowly, I folded my jeans to my knees and dipped my legs into the cool water. I felt as if it had sucked all my exhaustion in the blink of an eye and all the burden and weight on my soul had been lifted up.

"You like it?" I heard the echo of my voice in the hollowness as my gaze met the sparkling depth of her eyes and she acknowledged my existence for the first time since we had set our foot in the woods.

"Why do you keep asking that all the time?" She set her cheek softly on her knees and looked towards me gently.

"It matters for me, Cara Evelyn." I spoke quietly as my eyes settled over the soft silver mess surrounding her face.

"Well, then..I like to play 'Would You Rather', Aaron Troy." A small goofy grin spread slowly on her face as the right corner of her rosy lips turned upwards. I could see her childhood dancing somewhere in the depth of her midnight blue eyes once again.

"Let's play it then." I nodded and smiled back as I rocked my legs slowly into the coolness of the water. "I have a new rule for it, though. It's this that we have to give reasons for our answers. Alright?" I plucked a dandelion growing close by near a rock and blew onto it. It shed off and flew away into the water, floating on the surface. I returned my gaze to her. She nodded lightly while looking at the remnants of the flower dancing in the water waves.

"Would you rather be rich and ugly or poor and good looking?" She turned her bright gaze towards me and set her cheek once again on her bent knee. The rush of the waterfall filled the air around us.

"Rich and ugly because I can compromise on my looks but I don't want to end up with a dying child in my arms just because I don't have enough money to feed him or provide for him when he's sick." I replied back instantly without another thought. Her eyes widened slightly in appreciation of my answer. I smiled lightly before asking my question.

"Would you rather be naked in front of everyone for a whole day or choose a life full of troubles?" I bent down and waved my hand into the cool water, creating ripples on the surface.

"A life full of troubles because I've got faith. Being naked is putting yourself in a helpless position while having troubles is somewhere you get the control to handle things yourself. My faith will get me through." She spoke thoughtfully before blinking quickly and adding up to her words. "Besides I'm not into obscenity." Her silver hair glowed brightly in the shades of water curtain falling loudly in front of us. The fair skin of her face reflected the shimmering blue shades of water and I felt mesmerized by the fragility of the masterpiece sitting in front of me who believed in God.

"Would you rather be dominant or submissive in a relationship?" Her soft voice brought me out of my reverie. I shook my head.

"Submissive because it's rare when an individual gets to do whatever he wants around someone. I want my partner to have this treat around at least one person before dying. I want to be that one person." I nodded lightly as if backing my words.

"You're pretty submissive in general, Aaron." She chuckled and shook her head. Her silver hair ruffled wonderfully over her head.

"Maybe I feel easy that way." I laughed. "Anyways, would you rather be blind or have no taste buds for your whole life?" Raising an eyebrow, I looked at her curiously.

"Have no taste buds because look around, Aaron." I looked around to capture the heavenly beauty of Nature around me before returning my gaze to her. "You wouldn't want to miss that." She winked. "Besides, I eat to live and not the other way round." She ran a hand through the sparkling mess on her head and smiled gently at me.

"That's not very Taurean like. They are known to be gluttonous." I crinkled my nose to annoy her.

"Gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins. Besides I hate stereotypes, Aaron Troy." She rolled her eyes before tossing the next question at me.

"Would you rather be buried alive or stranded at sea?" She raised both of her eyebrows and looked curiously at me.

"Stranded at sea because that leaves me with hope. Being buried alive means end of story." I sighed before voicing my question. "Would you rather catch your true love cheating on you or get caught doing something illegal by the police?"

A faded shade of worry crossed her eyes before she overcame it and laughed shakily. "Get caught doing something illegal by the police because that would get punished. People would know I'm bad. It's better than cheating. Everything's better than cheating because trust is fragile. Laws are not." She took a deep breath. "I wouldn't want my true love to cheat me. Even if I do, I'd think I was not enough. I'd never think bad of him." She looked away and sighed once again.

"You're too good, Cara Evelyn." I whispered.

"It's actually the opposite." She whispered back. I opened my mouth to protest but she raised her hand and said, "Would you rather speak everything on your mind or never speak a word again?"

"Never speak a word again because silence is better than trouble." I laughed. She joined my laughter.

"You are a jerk, Aaron!" She slapped my wrist lightly before shaking her head as her laughter slowed down to a cute chuckle. Her eyes twinkled with sheer delight as she smiled at my words. I was caught up in her trance when she leaned closer and whispered, "Don't loose yourself often like that. You might miss a lot of adventures in the process."

I smiled as I recalled the night when she had said those words to me amid the book cases. "I'd never learn to use this advice because you are someone so irresistible." I shook my head to clear the haze in my mind.

"See? I just told you that you are a JERK!" She started laughing uncontrollably as her melodious laughter ringed into the hollowness of the creek and crashed with the symphony of the waterfall to create magic.

"Okay. Next." She straightened up but I noticed that the corners of her eyes were still crinkled in delight.

"Would you rather discover a cure for cancer or find out which religion is true?" I questioned her thoughtfully. My answer would have been cure for cancer because I had always been compassionate. She took a few minutes to answer this question.

"I'd say religion. You know why? Because death's inevitable. People gonna die. If not from cancer than from a snake bite or a neck break. Everything's going to come to an end. It's destined. But what's after the end? It's heaven or hell and what's gonna save you from hell? Belief. In what? God. God of which religion? There. You have no answer. So I would very much like to know which religion is right rather than finding a cure for cancer." Her voice lulled me to sleep but her words hit hard and jerked me from my drunken state. Her answer had done a strange thing to me, it had changed my answer.

"Wow. You're deep." I was left stunned by the amount of reasoning she could do in mere moments.

"Deep is my second name, Aaron Troy." The right corner of her mouth lifted up once again as a mysterious light lit up her impossibly bright eyes.

"You're wrong." I shook my head. "Chaos is your second name. You shake the breath out of me." I let out an unsteady breath.

"Thanks for the compliment." She blushed and tugged her silver hair behind her ear shyly. "Well..would you rather be able to fly or be invisible?" She looked up at me childishly.

"Invisible because I already have someone who is teaching me to fly. That's you, Cara Evelyn." I reached out and pressed her delicate hand softly. She gasped lightly. A light breeze caressed our bare skin and ruffled our hair.

"Did you really get what I meant that night?" Her eyelids fluttered in excitement and her delicate fingers pressed my hand feebly.

"Yeah. You wanted me to explore freedom." I held on to her hand as if I'd run out of air and she was my last breath of oxygen.

"Nothing's more valuable than losing yourself and finding your soul amid your wandering. Nothing but one thing." She closed her eyes and her small head bobbed forwards and backwards as if she was meditating. She started whispering now.

***(Read the Author's Note before reading ahead if you haven't read 'Looking for Alaska'.)

"That book, Looking for Alaska, she wanted to find a way out of this labyrinth of suffering, Aaron. She figured out that it was 'straight and fast' while Pudge decided it was 'to forgive'. I do not agree with her but I guess Pudge is somewhat right. I'm finding my way out of this labyrinth by forgiving but there's a loop hole somewhere and it's essential. I cannot find my way out without filling it. This..the thing that's gonna fill my loophole is the one thing that's more valuable than exploring freedom and finding your soul. I'll figure it out soon and I'll tell you too so that you don't have to struggle as much as me. Till then cling on to the flying because it's the nearest thing to my loophole." She sighed inaudibly and opened her eyes.

Both of us were breathless by the intensity of her words, our hands clinging on to each other as if our life depended on it. I hadn't read this book but I understood every word she spoke and I knew I was going to read it the moment I'll walk back into the library. The moments passed by and mixed into the rush of the waterfall as day glided into the night and moonlight filtered in through the hole above our heads. Once again, moonlight mixed into her eyes and hair and I had a feeling that I was holding on to something ethereal.

After something what felt like eternity, she drew her hand from my grip and laid down her silver head in my lap. My legs were still dangling into the cool water. It had been hours and I figured out that I should take them out soon but I left them like that because I never wanted her to leave me stranded all alone into the center of our universe.

Slowly, I reached out and moved my fingers through the soft silver mess on her head for the first time. Loose silver strands of silky hair caressed my fingers gently as she closed her eyes, hiding the deep blue oceans behind her eyelids. I closed my eyes as I felt the soft texture brush against my hand and paint madness on it.

"Would you rather change your past or see your future?" My whisper echoed in the hollowness and mixed into the rush of the waterfall, breaking the silence between us. As much as I wanted her to choose the future, I knew her answer would be opposite. I dreaded her words so I shut my eyes tightly trying to keep my grip on her soft hair light.

Her posture hardened and she felt like a statue laid out next to me. I looked down at her and saw a trail of salty water leave the corner of her eye and absorb into the fabric of my jeans as her lips quivered slightly before whispering the answer to my question.

"Change my past because that's where I lost my everything."

Author's Note

***(All of my readers who haven't read 'Looking for Alaska', Alaska and Pudge are the protagonists of that book and labyrinth of suffering indirectly refers to troubles or maze of life. Go and read Cara's answer now and you'll understand it hopefully.)

The song for this chapter is 'Say Something' by A Great Big World. It hurts to listen to it..but I LOVE IT. ♥♡

Moreover, I dedicated this chapter to emmaofficialr51d5h because I played Would You Rather with her in Wattpad inbox and got the idea for writing this chapter. Also, I have kept all the questions same and some of my answers are exactly copied from that chat for Cara's answers. Thankyou dear for playing this wonderful game with me! ♥♡

What do you think of this chapter? Is it boring? Is the story making sense to you all? If you have any queries, leave them in the comments section. I'll make sure to answer them.

Want an update? :)♡

Also, go read my book "Imaginations May Go Wild ♥" if you're enjoying this book! :) I have decided to enter all of my books into Wattys. I really hope you guys would help me through it. :')

Much Love xX
Hazel *-*