Nimeway couldn't handle it. She just couldn't. Outside the door, the lawn was empty. Inside the house, Nime's only company was Anice and Baloo. Normally Nime loved solitude, but this had been going on for a few days. No one came, and Nime was left to wait for whenever Ross would come home. Nime could not handle it anymore. Loneliness sat in, and Nime could not bear it like she once did.
The sun had already passed its highest point in the sky when Nime slipped out of the door. Baloo was not pleased to allow Nime to go on her own, especially when her stomach had gotten so large. But of course, Nime made him stay behind as she made her way down the path and out of the homesteads. She walked to the intersection of the paths, deciding which way to go. Eventually she shrugged and walked forward, away from the paths.
Nime walked for a little while untill she realized that the ground beneath her was damp and the air was foggy. She looked around, trying to find away out of the fog, but nothing appeared to her. Her heart began to pound, her eyes widening as she broke out in a slow jog.
The fog seemed endless. Nime had to stop a few times to catch her breath, yet she felt as if there was no way out. Eventually the fog began to thin and the ground turned brown. She came out on the backside of a building that seemed to be falling apart.
'Where am I?' Nime asked herself, looking around. She made her way up the steps to the building. Inside, a lady who was sweeping the floor took pity on the terrified Nime, who was more lost than she could imagine.
The sweeping lady let Nime stay in a room in the basement. The basments were cold and dark, an eery sound breathed through the halls and into the room. Nime trembled, curling up into a ball on the bed as the sounds haunted her. Nime had no clue how much time passed, she merely knew she laid on the bed in fear of the odd surroundings.
Sleep must have captured her in the time she laid curled up on the bed. She awoke with Ross standing over her, Baloo licking her face. He was covered in wounds and was clearly hurt. Ross took Nime home, telling her to not wander off as she healed his fresh wounds.
But did Nime listen to him? Oh no, she is Nime. She snuck out the next day while Ross was not home. The loneliness of the house was too much for Nime. She learned not to go towards the marshes, but yet she still managed to get stuck.
In the soft grass, Nime's footsteps were silent. Her gaze was on the sky when a sudden pain shot into Nime's leg. She heard a crunch and fell, feeling the flesh around her leg tear. She let out a cry of pain, reaching down to her own leg to see it caught in a hunter's trap.
Every second Nime was in that trap, the more she longed for freedom. She was distracted, working to take the trap off with struggles from her swollen stomach. Then she felt a dog lick her face and heard Ross's voice. A sigh escaped Nime, she had been caught again. Though this time Ross was angry, very angry.
“Nobody likes being alone that much. I don't go out of my way to make friends, that's all. It just leads to disappointment. ” ― Haruki Murakami
