There! Another sound! That does sound nothing like a bear! It sounds like...someone giggling?
......

"Hey, I know you're over there, come out where I can see you." I try to sound intimidating. Nothing. No sound. Maybe my mind is playing tricks on me. It is not unheard of that people once they are away from all the hustle and bustle of our modern world and all alone in nature imagine all sorts of things because their mind is always busy and not used to simply relax and quieten down.

Yeah, that's what it probably is. The water is boiling and I get up to make the tea in my flask when I hear another sound quite close. My head snaps in the direction and I get a glimpse of a head full of brown hair before it ducks away into the bushes again.

Well whatever it is, it doesn't seem to be aggressive or out to kill me, it rather feels like it is shy but curious. So I go with my instincts and sit down at the fire and start to talk to no one in particular well aware that somebody is probably watching me.

"Well I think I'm gonna make myself a treat after this long day of hiking, let's look into my bag, what have we got here? Oh what a coincidence: graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows! If that doesn't scream for making s'mores then I don't know!"

I pull out the ingredients and lay them out beside me and get up to find a stick to roast the marshmallows on. When I sit down again I make sure to have the bush were I assume my visitor is hiding in good view. I take my time sharpening the stick with my knife when I can see the head reappear from the shrubs.

What I see surprises me, to say the least. I don't know what I had expected but I see the face of a beautiful boy staring at me. He has golden brown hair that sweeps across his forehead and sticks out in all the right places, he wears a crown of leaves on his head that let's him almost merge into the dense undergrowth of the forest.

His skin is light and his pink lips have an imprinted smile in their curves. But the most captivating feature are his almond shaped eyes, that shine nearly golden in the reflection of the fire. From what I can see he seems to be shirtless. He could be around eighteen but honestly it is hard to guess, he might be younger, he looks so- mhm-innocent, that's the best I can describe it.

I have to swallow before I can pull myself together and address him. "Hey, you! You can come out here, I'm not gonna hurt you, want some s'mores too? What's your name boy?"

When I start to talk the boy dodges back into the leaves in shock but comes out again after a second to stare at me with a confused look on his face. "You- you can see me ?" He asks very quietly.

Now it is my turn to look confused. "Ermm, yeah? Why not?" I look at him as he inches himself out of his hiding place towards the fire.
My assumptions were correct, he is only dressed in shorts which gives me the opportunity to have a look at his body, he is skinny but slightly toned and quite tall. A bag hangs across his chest on a small string and he carries a sharpened stick with him.

Is he living in these woods? He doesn't look like a hiker to me but on the other hand he doesn't look like a person that lives in the wilderness of these mountains. He is clean, his hair isn't matted or knotted, he seems well fed and healthy, actually too healthy, he is practically glowing I notice now that he has reached the fire and sat down beside me, still staring at me as if he has never seen another human being before.

Maybe he was raised by wolves or something. Aren't there stories about people like that? It is said that if kids grow up in isolation they turn out to be retarded. He doesn't look anything like that. His eyes are witty and he seems to be thinking hard at the moment to comprehend the situation. Other than me, because I have no idea what is happening here and can't even think of a possible explanation.

He slowly stretches out his hand and touches my cheek slightly still deep in thought, then he looks into my eyes and asks. "You are not a boy! What are you? Your skin is so soft and so is your face."

Okay, seems he is retarded after all. I try to hold back a laugh, not quite successfully and answer with a snort. "Well you are right, I am not a boy, I am a girl. My name is Melody but you can call me Mel. What's your name?"

His eyes light up in understanding, so he has at least heard of girls before. "My name is Alexander but you can call me Alex." He smiles and I can see that his front teeth are a bit longer than the rest, which makes him look even cuter. No! Stop! What am I saying here? I don't find him cute! He is a retarded BigFoot I have to be nice to him because he is a poor lonely creature and not pursue romantic thoughts here.

"Well Alex, nice to meet you." I smile back at him and see his eyes go wide with delight and he actually giggles.

I remember our initial contact and ask him. "Why were you so surprised that I can see you?"

He hesitates a moment, looking into his lap, internally debating with himself, a frown settling on his sweet face but then sighs and looks back up to me.

"Nobody of the travellers can see me, the King says they are not in our frequency. I don't really know what that means but I have tried this so many times, nobody could see me."

The mentioning of a King let's me disregard the rest of what he speaks. So there must be more like him living here if they have some sort of leader structure then maybe they are a tribe or something but how can they survive if they don't have women? That all doesn't make sense. We're in the middle of America, nobody has ever heard of a hidden tribe living in the Appalachians.

I prepare one s'mores and hand it to him. "Careful it's hot inside." He takes it and sniffs it cautiously before he takes a bite, I watch him grinning, waiting for his reaction while I eat mine.

When he tastes it he groans involuntarily and looks at me almost shocked. "What is that? It tastes.. It tastes.. Like .. Wow just wow." He gulps down the second half and a smile spreads across his face.
When I hand him a second one he hesitates and looks at me to make sure it's okay. "Come on take it, I have plenty." I shove the treat towards his face and he gladly accepts.

I can't stop smiling, watching him enjoying this simple treat so much, he is just too cute. Urgh, no! Don't think like that.

I try to do what's reasonable and think about my situation and turn to him again. "Hey Alex, look I lost my way and maybe you could take me to your King and he could help me get out of here and back on track?"

He looks taken aback "No, no, NO, that's not a good idea." He stutters and backs away from me as if he fears me attacking him. "He must not know.." There is a whistle in the distance and Alex practically jumps to his feet alarmed.

"Okay, I have to go...sorry but I can't take you....I wasn't even supposed to talk... so... Bye." With that he starts to run in the direction the sound came from.

I get up as well and try to follow him while I call out. "Alex, stop, wait!" It is no use, after a couple of seconds every trace of him is lost inside the pitch black wilderness. I stop and turn around in fear of loosing my way even more and not being able to find back to my camp.

I kick a stone into the fire frustrated, there goes my chance of getting out of here. Well done Mel! Fuck!

Grumbling to myself like an old hermit I tug myself into my sleeping bag and decide to call it a day, maybe tomorrow will see me with better luck.

Notes

Sooo, two updates in one day! Just to get this story going. Hope you like it so far. Please comment and tell me what you think? Have a lovely day.