Meeting again (7)

Ava aimlessly walked by the roadside to wherever her legs led to. Sometimes she would lightly bump into other pedestrians as the headache clouded her vigilant. It became worse when these few little voices inside her head bit by bit took over Ava's conscientious. On top of that, the indescribable suffocating oppression within her intensified until it grew uncontrollable. Ava started to show physical reaction. The beads of sweat on her foreheads visibly trickled down her face and she quivered in each step she took.

'You're worthless'

'No one wants you'

'Your aunt hates you'

'You're a monster'

'A psycho'

'Die'

'Die'

'Monster'

'Love didn't exist for you'

'Your parents chose to die rather than to take care of you'

'Even your aunt has abandoned you'

Ava painstakingly took few deep breaths in midst of those evil voices as she tried to regain her mental control but these spiraling thoughts refused to go away. She seemed dehydrated as her lips were dry and she became paler. Fortunately the fluffy clouds hanging on the sky shielded her from getting heatstroke at this hour.

Ava gritted her teeth and balled up her fist till her palms were bleeding as nails pierced into her skin. Bloods tickled down her fingers and made a faint trail along the pavement. She kept telling herself to not lose her control or else the passerby would think she was crazy. Well, she indeed was sick mentally.

No! No! Ava shook her head violently as she desperately fought those inner voices. But the more she tried, the more deep rooted the thoughts became. They didn't budge at all. They kept belittling and sabotaging Ava's self control and confidence.

No! No!

Shut up!

Go away!

Ava's body was shaking terribly and she was getting angsty. The pent-up soffocation had reached its peak and boom! Ava straight-up punched the wall next to her as if she could release this pressure through her punch. It ended up causing a slight dent on the wall and attracted attention from the people who passed by her.

Oh shit! Ava immediately sensed the stares and only then she realised what she had done. She was becoming violent so she had to run away from the crowd to avoid hurting anyone. Hence she dashed to more secluded area.

Thanked God this time she unconsciously hit the wall, not people. She would be in deep troubles if one day she wrongly release her anger onto innocent people.

'Haha see you're monster.'

'Isn't nice to punch someone?'

They taunted her again.

Shut up! Ava roared at them but they just laughed and satisfied when Ava flared up. They annoyedly mimicked her shout and this really pissed her off.

She must do something to make them stop! Ava looked around and realized her surrounding began to change into a scenic landscape and there were even lesser people nearby her. The sounds of car honking and bustling city also faded as she walked further into this new place.

She was surrounded by beautiful and tall verdant pines and rolling hills. The place was private and perfect spot for her to unleash these irritations within her. So she screamed as loud as she could until she felt much better.

As if the nature resonated to Ava's fierce shouts, the grasses began to sway timidly in the gentle wind blowing towards her. The cool breeze loosened up the heat she previously had so Ava became less agitated. Even those evil voices inside her head were shut down into a screeching halt. It looked like this lovely little forest had bewitched her and diminished the monster side of her.

Once she became clear-headed, Ava admired the surrounding and noticed a large signboard in between those large trees which had a glamorous cursive writing on it. Seemingly, this breathtaking place went by the name of Little Dreamy Forest. As she read the signboard, it immediately clicked to her of the memo left by Sophie at the cafe this morning. That name was just engraved in her mind although she only saw it at a glance. It felt like a destined fate that Ava managed to heedlessly find this place after Sophie wrote it to her. She wondered how this place could appear to be very hypnotizing and it gave off a peaceful vibe to the visitors here including Ava.

A little bit further into the forest, there was a separate flowery garden encircled a gorgeous white pavilion in a medium sized with grey marble stoned table and squared benches. Attracted by it, Ava approached the pavilion. At first she didn't notice there was someone sitting against one of the pillars with his eyes closed but as she walked nearer to the pavilion, she saw a familiar face. She obviously was stun seeing this person here and at this moment. Could it be a coincidence?

"Gabs?" called Ava.

Gabriel, or his close friends usually called him Gabs, was the anti-coffee man who stopped her at Sophie's dinner date. After the failed plan incident, they somehow met each other again and started to get know to each other. But they soon lost contact when Gabs suddenly disappeared.

Ava's warm voice floated into Gabs' ears and it woke him up. He sluggishly opened his eyes and yawned. Seeing Ava in front of her, Gabs blinked a few times and blurted out, "Sorry...do I know you?"

His reply made Ava startled. Did she got the wrong person?

Ava then explained herself, "Uh uh you don't remember me? Ava...Sophie's friend who's friend to Ryan.."

"Ryan's? Ahhh I know Ryan but I don't recognize you."

Ava became more confused. Did he forget her? They became quite close before Gabs went missing. Ava racked her brain to sort out the confusion but abruptly Gabs asked her, "What do you think of life?"

"Huh?" Never once did Gabs fail to make Ava bewildered with his sudden and weird questions.

"I personally think that life is all about having a purpose. Even psychopaths have one and...this place too..." He shamelessly continued just like when they first met.

"But does not having a purpose in life mean you're worse than those psychopaths?" asked Gabs with his head tilted slightly to one side as he frowned at Ava. He looked impatient and kind of forcing an answer from Ava.

Ava returned back his gaze for several unflinching minutes and this time, it was Gabs too who broke the eye contact. As if bizarre thoughts popped into his mind, he hastily took out his notebook and scribbling something in a dramatic manner in case he might forget it any second later.

After he was done writting, suddenly he invaded Ava's personal space as he leaned towards Ava's face very close before he said, "You...your eyes...they're lifeless and eyes don't lie."