Chapter 3 - Episode 7

The next day they prepared for their trip back, it had been a wonderful time in the mountains and they all felt reluctant to go home, all but Benjamin, who couldn’t wait until he told his kindergarten teacher about his adventures. A week later life was back to normal, almost normal as Kate avoided her neighbor. Mathew asked him if something happened that he should know about between him and Kate, as she acted strange whenever his name came up. He told Mathew that he wasn’t aware of anything and was curious himself, as it was obvious that Kate was avoiding him. Both men agreed that Kate was acting strange and neither one of them would press her to explain her behavior.

Kate was standing in the bathroom, door closed and locked staring at the little piece of paper she had in her hands. It had been more than a month since the mountain trip and she hadn’t had her period. Worried she had bought a home-pregnancy test and after carefully reading the directions she was now looking at the result. According to the test she was pregnant. Benjamin would get his sister or brother, but she wasn’t sure if his dad was the father of her baby. She decided not to tell anybody about her pregnancy before she had been to the doctor for which she had an appointment a week later.

He was standing in his kitchen looking outside at Benjamin playing with his ball. He saw Kate appearing in the front door and Benjamin stopped playing, the little boy ran inside and he guessed diner was ready at the neighbors. It had been more than a month since he’d spoken with Mathew about Kate and ever since, she had said a single word to him. He went over a couple of times, when he knew Mathew was not home, but Kate wouldn’t open the door. He had called her on their phone, but as soon as she knew it was him, she would hang up. He missed her and felt hurt being rejected like this. Benjamin seemed to share his mother’s feelings towards him, as the kid never came over to play or to ask for hotdogs. He realized how much his happiness had come to depend on his acceptance by Kate and Benjamin and he felt miserable lately. That night he went for a walk and while he was walking in the empty street, his existence only noticed by the streetlights he remembered Clara, how much he had loved her.

Chapter 3 - Episode 6

Benjamin and Mathew were on the lake, fishing rods ready to catch some ‘big ones’ as they referred to any fish longer than 5 inches. Benjamin had been silent the whole morning and Mathew had tried to find out why, but Benjamin kept his mouth shut. They were now sitting close to the waterfall, and Benjamin had forgotten all about his oath of silence and asked his dad why he and mom had a fight. Mathew told him, that sometimes grown-ups don’t listen very careful to each other and because of that they misinterpret things they hear and see, and that was just what happened. But now mom and daddy were just fine. And to ensure Benjamin that there was nothing to worry about he asked the little boy if he wanted another brother of sister. But Benjamin didn’t care, he just didn’t want mom and dad to fight, because the mom and dad of his friend Jonas were also fighting all the time before his daddy left and Jonas now only sees his dad sometimes in the weekend. Mathew was shocked that his three-year-old son had thoughts like this and assured Benjamin that nothing like that would happen, because mom and dad love each other.

He told her that he did think that she was attractive, but he also thought that she was married to Mathew. She replied that she was glad that he thought that she was attractive and smiled. Then she stepped towards him and kissed him again, this time more insistently and he kissed back, their tongues were battling about which mouth to conquer first and he moved his hands over her back, caressing her and when he reached the lower part of her back she got a chill and pressed forward and felt that he had an erection. He broke of her kiss and asked her if she wanted to undress him, and in anticipation of seeing him naked she started to unbutton his shirt and after taking it of, she slowly slid down his pants. He was now standing in front of her, clothed in nothing more than his boxer shorts. She stepped back and watched him carefully.

Benjamin was the first to catch a fish, and cheered. The fight between his parents had left his mind and was now nothing but a vague memory. His dad had told him that mom and dad were still in love and he believed dad. While unhooking the fish, which was a ‘big one’, Mathew looked at his son and smiled. That night he and Kate would start getting Benjamin a little sister or brother. The anticipation of sweet lovemaking made him smile even more and Benjamin asked him what was so funny, he told him nothing, just a grown-up joke.

She stepped towards him again and hesitated a moment before sliding his shorts to the ground as well. She licked her lips and kissed him, pressing her body tightly against his. She told him that he was the only man besides her husband she’d ever seen naked and kissed. He pushed her back and told her that he now wanted her to get undressed. She obliged and took of her blouse and jeans. Standing in front of him wearing nothing but her bra and panties, she started to feel embarrassed. He looked at her and told her that she was a very beautiful woman. He got closer and kissed her passionately while unclasping her bra. He then kissed her breasts and gently nibbled on them, like a baby. She gasped for air and felt a sense of disappointment when he removed himself from her and asked her to turn around. Which she did. When she faced him again, she saw his erection pulsate and felt how she got aroused as well. She hadn’t thought that it would come this far, but she wanted to. Moving her hands to her side, she wanted to get out of her panties, but he told her not to, he told her to turn around again, slower this time, as he wanted to enjoy the view. She did as he told and while she was half way around, he asked her to stop. A shiver went through her as she felt how he was starring at her back, whispering how much he liked what he was seeing, telling her to bent over because he wanted to see the fabric of her panties stretch over her buttocks. Slowly she bent over and felt how her panties were tightening around her buttocks. Because he told her what would happen she was more aware of the arousing feeling of the cotton gently caressing her skin and she felt how her panties were moistening. Spreading her legs a bit she was able to bend over even further and from between her legs she watched him watching her. His erection glistening as if liquefied pearls were seeping from it, and she smelled how much she, herself, wanted him. And while he was watching her, she slowly removed her panties, exposing her privates. He walked over to her, and when she felt his touch on her thighs she shivered. He guided her to an upward position again and turned her around. The now naked bodies met and while passionately kissing they let themselves to the ground, never breaking the kiss and made love.

It was getting dark and Mathew saw Kate and his neighbor preparing dinner. Benjamin was shouting that he had caught the biggest fish in the lake and asked his dad to back him up on this. Kate looked at her son and his dad and hugged them both. She gave Mathew a kiss on his check and he returned the favor letting his hand slide over her back. She moved her mouth to his and kissed him. But when he looked in her eyes Mathew saw that something was wrong and asked Kate about it. But she told him that she had enjoyed the sun a bit too much that afternoon and was now suffering the consequences in the form of a headache. Their friendly and thoughtful neighbor had taken care of the berries that afternoon because every step she took was hurting like hell as she put it. But it was not as bad as an hour ago. Mathew wanted to get her some aspirin but she told him she already had two. Mathew realized that Benjamin’s little sister had to wait another night, but that didn’t matter, his wife’s well being was more important.

While everybody was asleep, Kate went to her lover’s bed, only to find it empty. Wondering were he had gone she walked to the window and saw how he was swimming in the lake, naked, his clothes in a little pile on porch. As she was standing at the window she didn’t hear Benjamin coming into the room and was startled when he asked her when he would get a little sister, telling her that he would rather have a little brother, if she could take care of that. She turned around and took her son in her arms kissing him and she realized that she had made a mistake that day. She had a family, a husband and a son that she loved more than anything in the world. She asked if Benjamin wanted to sleep in his parent’s bed and took him with her.

He enjoyed the cold water and felt how it made his skin tighten around his muscles. He felt how his mind got clearer the longer he stayed in the water. He felt how his inner being was turned inside out and back again and when he turned around he felt like a new person, but he still remembered the love he had felt that morning, and he felt how much he wanted more of that same feeling. And although the water had cleaned his body and his soul, it hadn’t washed away the feelings he developed for Kate. He stared into the night and saw a movement at the cabin, concentrating he saw that Kate was watching him, Benjamin in her arms. He loved the kid. Then she turned around, back to her husband.

Chapter 3 - Episode 5

Just before noon he came out of the bushes and approached the deer standing at the edge of the canyon. Unaware of what was behind it, it continued to graze and once it felt the cold hand at its neck it was to late. His right hand went deep into the deer’s neck while his left hand went straight to the animal’s liver. Once he got hold of the liver he took it out, blood spraying all over him. He knew that it was a wise idea to approach the animal completely naked. The deer fell to the ground, almost crushing him, but he just in time stepped away. The deer tried to kick his assailant, but didn’t have the strength left and succumbed to the pain caused by the hands buried deep inside of it. It took him fifteen minutes to gut the animal, and another ninety to burry it. He than got up, walked to the lake and washed the blood of his body. He then put on his clothes again and walked back to the cabin. The smell of fresh coffee made him realize that he was thirsty. Benjamin asked him were he had been so early, and he told the boy that he wanted to greet the deer but never saw a living trace of it. Disappointed that he wasn’t asked to come along, the kid proceeded with his sandwich. After breakfast Kate cleaned up the cabin while Mathew and Benjamin prepared for a fishing trip. They were going to the waterfall and didn’t expect to be back before late in the afternoon, probably after dark. Ten minutes later they were on their way.

He walked into the kitchen and asked Kate if she and Mathew were okay. And she told him they were, she thanked him again for taking Benjamin away from their fight and asked him if there was a way to show him her gratitude, but he told her that knowing that she and her husband were happily married again was enough. She turned around, facing the sink and he heard her cry. He put a hand on her shoulder, telling her that it was all right, that he was there for her if she wanted to talk. She turned around and kissed him. He didn’t kiss her back, instead he pushed her away, looking at her, asking about Benjamin’s new sister or brother. She told him that she didn’t care. She told him that she wanted to experience his love, his touch and knowing that her husband wouldn’t be home before long, she wanted him for herself that day. He let go of her, stepped back and walked away, into the forest to the open spot. There he sat down on the grass staring at the other side of the canyon, hoping to see the hunter that had fired the shot a few days ago.

A little while later he heard Kate calling is name, knowing that she knew where he would be, he called her name, and a moment later she appeared in front of him. Asking him if he though that she was attractive, just like she had asked a few days before.

Chapter 3 - Episode 4

One day he and Benjamin went for swimming, as he heard screams coming from the house. He took the kid out of the water and ordered it to stay next to the car while he was taking care of some business. He walked to the house and heard Mathew accusing his wife of cheating on him. He stopped and listened to Kate denying the accusations, screaming that she knew that her husband was screwing some bimbo from the office, that she even had prove of it. He turned around, knowing that this wasn’t any of his business and it would be best for Benjamin not to become part of it. He didn’t want the little boy to be screwed up because of his parents and decided to take the boy to the ‘ Small Canyon ’ hoping they would see the deer again. And only as they arrived at the open spot he realized that he perfectly knew the way that they weren’t lost. They waited for 2 hours and he already wanted to return to the cabin, figuring that the fight must have stopped by know as Benjamin pulled on his arm, pointing at the deer on the other side of the canyon. And just like a few days ago, the majestic animal looked at him as if it knew that as long as it stayed out of the reach of his hands, it would be safe. Ten minutes later Benjamin had seen enough of the deer and wanted to go back as he was hungry.

They walked back to the house, were Kate and Mathew were standing by the car. It was obvious that they had been in a fight as Kate’s hair was all messed up and Mathew’s shirt was torn out of his jeans. All the signs were there and he was glad Benjamin hadn’t heard them fight, but then he noticed the smiles of contempt on their faces. They asked him were he’d been and apologized for taking the boy without leaving a message as to where he’d been going, but they ensured him that they hadn’t been worried for a moment as they completely trusted him. He told them that he’d heard them fight, that he overheard the reason for their dispute and didn’t want their son to be confronted with it. Mathew took Benjamin in his arms and hugged the kid, while Kate looked at him and gave him a kiss on the cheek, thanking him of being so thoughtful. That evening at the fireplace Kate and Mathew explained that it had all been a misunderstanding. Mathew knew about Kate’s affections for their neighbor, but she’d reassured him that she just liked the neighbor as a very good friend. Kate on the other hand thought she had proof of Mathew having an affair with a girl from his office. She’d found receipts of his credit card showing that he’d bought earrings and a bracelet she never got. But as Mathew had given her the earrings and bracelet, telling her that it was a present for her because he got promoted. They then noticed that both he and their son were gone and decided to make up. Kate told him that she and Mathew wanted Benjamin to have a little sister or brother, and since Benjamin was the result of them staying in the cabin four years ago. He could guess the rest. They wanted to know where he’d taken Ben that afternoon and he told them about the deer. He saw the look in Kate’s eyes but couldn’t quiet figure out what it meant. That night he stayed awake and early in the morning he went to ‘ Small Canyon ’ and climbed to the other side.

To be continued...

Chapter 3 - Episode 3

Two weeks later the four of them were on their way to the cabin, Benjamin was excited from the point he got to sit next to his neighbor and asked him if he had taken hotdogs along.

When they arrived at their destination they unpacked and Benjamin and Mathew took the little boat and went fishing, to catch the first meal of their trip. Half an hour later they returned with their catch, three big trouts. While Kate was preparing dinner the men would start a fire. After dinner Benjamin fell asleep in his lap and he put the little boy to bed. Kate came in the little bedroom while he was tucking in the boy and looked at him. He turned around and she told him it was a shame that he didn't have children of his own, as he was so good with Ben. She couldn't understand why didn't have a woman in his life, as he was a handsome man with a decent amount of money in the bank.

They discussed this further while returning to the living room where Mathew was shuffling the cards. Kate continued to explain to him how attractive the other mothers at Benjamin's kindergarten thought he was. Mathew asked her if she was among these mothers which made her turn red and she went off to get them some more coffee. Mathew was dealing the cards when she came back and they played some poker, he mainly lost that night, but did think that loosing money amongst friends was a bad way of spending your time.

The next few days Mathew took his son on to the lake fishing and they'd set some rabbit traps as well as they liked to eat something else but fish as well. Kate went hiking everyday and he would come along with her. Everyday they would take a different route through the woods and everyday he thought they were lost, but Kate always seemed to find her way back. One day they came to an open spot in the woods, close to a small canyon. Kate instantly named it 'Small Canyon' and they enjoyed the view. They were standing side by side as they saw a deer on the other side of the canyon, staring at them, knowing that they weren't any harm to it. Then they heard a shot and the animal ran away, searching for the safety of the forest. He hoped that the deer would find shelter to whatever wanted to harm it. He felt a warm hand taking his and looked at Kate. She asked him if it was okay that she would hold his hand, as the gunshot had scared her a bit. He didn't mind.


She sat down and asked him to join her. As soon as he was with her on the ground, she asked him if he would be honest when she would ask a personal question. He replied that he always tried to be honest, and would only not tell the truth when he thought it would hurt somebody. She then asked him why he was still single. He told her he was to occupied with his business and that the right woman hadn't crossed his path. He told that in high school there had been a girl, Carla, that he liked a lot, they even went out a couple of times. He hadn't had a serious relationship after that, mainly because he had always found a good reason to break up with a girl. Kate started laughing, explaining that men always found a perfectly good reason to break up. But he explained that he actually did have perfectly good reasons and told her that if she knew them, she would agree. She dared him to give an example and he told her that once he had a Jewish girl he dated for 4 months, but once they started talking about moving her in with him, she insisted that he would convert to become Jewish as well. Another girl turned out to be homophobic, and refused to go anywhere she thought there would be gay men or women. He told Kate that all together, he had dated 7 girls that were marriage material but turned out to be just the opposite. And ever since he started his own business he didn't look at women anymore. After his confessions, Kate agreed that these sounded like very legitimate reasons to break up. She then asked him if she could ask another personal question, and he agreed but demanded that he was allowed to ask her a personal question as well, and she had to be completely honest, just like he had been. She told him it was a deal and asked him if he thought she was attractive. The question startled him and he told her that he didn't want to answer her, because of his friendship with her husband. She replied by calling their deal off, and got on her feet. While she was brushing the sand of her jeans, he told her that he thought that she was very attractive and that were she still single he would probably make a pass at her. She turned around, visibly flattered and told him that she was among the mothers at Benjamin's kindergarten that thought he was very attractive. She turned around and walked back to where they came from. He stayed for a while, but realizing that he would get lost without her, he went after her. That night they played poker again, and he won most of his lost money back.

The next few days all four of them stayed around the cabin, he was spending most of his time playing with Benjamin, babysitting the boy while Kate and Mathew were preparing dinner, although he found that they were making strange noises while cooking. He guessed that the stove wasn't the only thing that heated up while they were in the kitchen. Every now and then he caught Kate staring at him and every now and then he caught himself staring at Kate.

To be continued...

Chapter 3 - Episode 2

He was 25 at the time, and had his own small grocery shop, selling microwave food. A business that had worked out very well and 5 months he had started it, he could afford to buy his own house. The house that had made him the neighbor of Kate, Mathew and their 3-year-old son Benjamin. They were nice people, as he moved in it was the day before Benjamin’s third birthday and they were busy with the preparations of it as Mathew saw him struggle with his king-size bed. Without hesitation he’d come outside and helped him carrying the bed inside. Both Mathew and his wife had helped him the rest of the day moving and offered him dinner, as they had put it, going to the cafeteria around the corner was no way to start a life in a new home. That night he heard them continue the preparations of the birthday of their son.

Benjamin was a chubby little boy, probably a bit overweight, but always laughing. And in the months that passed he was babysitting the little boy every now and then, when none of the grandparents were able to do the honours. Benjamin liked it when the neighbor was babysitting as it would mean that he could eat all the hotdogs he wanted, watch Disney movies on video and they would play hide and seek. But that fall something changed.

Kate and Mathew noticed that their friendly neighbor was in trouble of some sort as they didn’t see him that often anymore, and he didn’t offer to baby-sit their son. One day they saw him sit on the front porch, hands covering his face and they heard him sob. Mathew went over to their neighbor and asked him if he would like to have dinner with them. But he knew what was going on and thanked him, but he had to take a rain check. But Mathew insisted and told him he and Kate wanted to discuss something with him. He agreed to come over later that night, but dinner was out of the question as he had to take care of some business. Later that night he went over and was greeted by Kate, who offered him a piece of cranberry pie, casually asking him what was wrong as she had seen him crying that afternoon. She was genuinely worried. Mathew came in just when he was starting to explain his grief. He told them about the dog he had when he was a kid, about that a car had killed his pet and that he just a few days back had seen a dog just like it getting hit by a car, his young master crying over the dead animal. He told him how his suppressed memories surfaced and he didn’t know how to deal with it. Today he had cried for the first time since he could remember and later that afternoon he went to his doctor. He now had Prozac, but he was reluctant to take them. Both Kate and Mathew were touched by his story, and offered him to join them on their holiday into the mountains. Mathew was going to teach Benjamin fishing and hunting and Kate would go hiking in the forest, taking home mushrooms and berries which would make a great meal together with the caught fish. He at first refused to take their offered as he explained that neither fishing nor hunting were his thing, but Mathew insisted that he would come along, he could stay in the cabin or accompany Kate hiking. He agreed after Kate had described to him how lovely the cabin and scenery were.

To be continued...

Chapter 3 - Episode 1

An uncomfortable feeling in his stomach pulled him back into the present. He looked up and saw that the sky had darkened it was soon getting night. He realized that he must have fallen asleep while remembering the events with Carla. He’d never seen his parents after the events and never felt the desire to see them. He was sure that they’d given up searching for him fairly soon after he was reported missing. He looked around him, but the scene was just the way it had been the past 4 days, no food and just a bottle of water, which he probably shouldn’t drink from. He was hungry that was the reason he his stomach was twitching. He stroke his abdomen and felt that his shirt was sticky. He looked at his hands. They were covered in blood. He look down and saw red stains in his shirt, fresh blood seeping through them, as he lifted his shirt he saw 6 holes just below his ribs. Holes the size of his fingers, gaping wide open. A small puddle of blood had formed besides him on the dirty floor of his shelter. As he realized that it hadn’t been hunger but these injuries that had woken him up he panicked for a second, than he removed his shirt. As he removed his shirt he felt that it stuck to his back as well, which meant that he also had wounds in his back, wounds that were healing, but wounds that had spilled blood nevertheless. He ripped his shirt and stuffed his wounds with it. This would stop the bleeding. He was sure about that, because he remembered how it had stopped the bleeding of Benjamin’s wounds.

To be continued...

Chapter 2 - Episode 3

He started to delve his hands deeper into her body, targeting her heart, as she was still alive. He owed her death as she had given him life the way it should always have been. Carla had shown him how to accept love and how to give love. She’d shown him with her long slender legs what it means to enjoy being with somebody, to give and to receive. He found her heart and removed it with the precision of a surgeon and placed it besides her had on the ground. Than he buried the girl that made him happy and left her heart for the animals. While digging he found the remains of the dog and put her with them in the same grave. He got up to his feet and walked away.

He didn’t come home that night and the police told his parents that missing people, even teenagers had to be missing for at least 36 hours before the police would start a search party.

To be continued...