Haunting Memory II

Elaine

***

Tears welled in her eyes. She knew her two comrades had not recognized her sudden shift of emotions. They were hiking ahead of her, silently - only the chirping birds of various varieties sang unrhythmic hymns that emerged among several corners beneath the thick leaves.

She sobbed under her breath. She knew the pain that was rooted from but tried hard to relinquish the detailed memory pushing itself to break through in her thoughts. Undoubtedly, pain carried with it.

‘Think of something else, Elaine.’ She forced the thought.

But the more she shut the painful memories down, the more it plays in her mind. She wanted to talk of something to his two comrades to avoid sulking in tears but the memory was strong enough that the need to reminisce was insatiable.

Until she succumbed to it.

***

“Wolves,” her father said.

The coldness of the air and the coldness of her father’s voice gave her chills. She was a teenager and had not experienced such an encounter, only the inform