As we made our way back to the cottage, silence fell between us. There was the delicacy of desire in that kiss, the concentrated essence of a thousand adoring emotions. But I had an odd feeling. Having her be my first kiss felt both natural and wrong at the same time. I had no intention of making this vacation a romantic one. Sam needed to get away from everything and use the time to heal, not to make out with me.

"Wolf!"

"What's wrong?" I quickly replied in response to her anxious voice.

"No, look!" she said in a shaky voice as she pointed to the side of her. "A wolf," she whispered.

The wolf had endured worse times. His thin coat adhered to his body like a jacket in a storm. I could detect his ribcage even from a distance of many yards. His head was lowered to the ground, and his motions were shaky as if each stride were painful for him. Those golden eyes, which ought to be looking out for threats or possibilities to eat, disappeared. Then, in a blink of an eye, he collapsed onto the ground like he wanted to lay down but was unable to control his legs. He then shut his eyes while resting his enormous black head on his paws. This lovely creature, which had no notion of death, was prepared for a protracted nap.

Before we could say something, another wolf appeared. She had dense, lustrous, white-silver fur. Her paws lightly touch the ground, but her eyes are filled with sadness. She neared the black wolf delicately and nuzzled his neck. She marked her place beside him and let out a screeching howl. Sam and I looked over to one another and nodded, taking our stride back to the cottage before we disturb her. Giving one look back, we met each other's gaze. For a moment, she stopped howling and tilted her head at me and then gently bowed her head before continuing her yelp.

As we got closer to the cottage, the drizzle quickly turned into a downpour. Sam looked out the window and appeared distraught as raindrops fell on the glass. She quickly collected herself and said, "That was crazy right?"

"The weather turning so quickly?" I asked casually as I pulled out two cans of beers from the fridge. "Yeah."

She turned to look at me and then sarcastically let out, "Yeah sure, let's talk about the weather and not the fucking wolf dying right in front of us!"

"Well, it's the circle of life. You saw how that wolf looked, he was bound to die," I explained as I handed her over one of the beers.

I thought to myself for a moment before she would snap back. Maybe she isn't as hard-shelled as me. "Did it make you feel sad?" I asked.

She let out a deep sigh and took a seat on the couch. "It did."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know," I replied gently as I took a seat next to her.

She cracked open her beer and took a big gulp before placing it down on the coffee table. "I don't like seeing animals dying," she mentioned. "It makes my heart ache."

"Well, you're not alone," I said with a small smile as I placed my beer on the coffee table. "I assume you really do like me," I smirked.

She let out a soft chuckle and then scooted closer to me. "Did I make it that obvious?" she sarcastically asked as she laid her head on my chest with her legs dangling over mine.

"I just don't understand why," I abruptly said with a frown on my face. "There's not a lot of people who like me, except for you and I think Bryan," I explained.

"Well, there's not a lot of people who believe in spirit animals. Knowing and seeing the connection a person has with their spirit animal, helps a relationship grow and forms trust and safety within yourself and the other person," she went on. "That's one of the many reasons why I like you," she added softly as she looked up at me.

I never thought about it that way...

"We still have many battles to fight, though," she said in a more serious tone of voice.

What battles?

The clouded sky soon turned darker and darker as the night approached. Sam and I started to entertain ourselves by playing some silly drinking games and making dents in our cigarette pack. Music played from Sam's phone this time and quickly noticed that The Neighbourhood was her favourite band. I started enjoying the music she was playing. The band seemed knowledgeable about certain topics and executed them well through lyrics.

A sudden thump snapped us out of our playful chatter. It came from the front door and seemed odd for someone, like the owner of the cottage, to bother us this time. "Stay here, I'll see who it is," I sternly said as I pushed myself up from the couch.

I pulled the door ajar and poked my head out to observe any visitors, but was taken back when I saw no one. The gurgling croak of a raven caught my attention before closing the door. I took a step outside and felt something strange on the sole of my foot.

A book?

I took a step back and picked up the book, but upon closer inspection, I realised it was a journal of some sort. It had a soft brown leather feel and the pages were filled with words. "Hey, Sam," I called as I closed the door behind me. "This isn't your mom's journal, right?" I said with a bit of hesitation and confusion over the coincidence.

Sam had the same look of confusion on her face as I and swiftly started paging through the journal. "Uhm, it is," she whispered. "Did you find this outside?" she asked.

"Yeah, I think that was the sound we heard," I mentioned.

She continued paging through the journal and stopped on the last written page. She took a big gulp as she let go of the journal making it fall to the ground. "Sam are you okay?" I asked frantically as I picked up the journal.

I opened up the journal to the last page and saw what she read. In perfectly blue ink was written: "I see you."

Shivers went down my spine. "It's your stalker! It's the same blue ink I saw on that one letter," I whispered in panic.

"We need to get out of here!" she cried as she buried her head in my chest and wrapped her arms around my waist tightly.

"Start packing," I said as I cupped her face in my hands. "I need to bring the car closer," I added.

"No! Don't leave me alone," she begged as her eyes formed tears.

I took her hand and walked outside with her as we made our way to my car. With no trouble, we managed to drive the car closer to the front door. While checking my surroundings, I opened her door and we rapidly started packing our luggage. As she continued packing the toiletries I started making my way to the car to pack in everything. There was no time to please the perfectionist side of my brain, I simply had to throw our luggage in.

As I turned around to make my way back into the cottage I was startled by who I could only imagine being, Sam's Stalker.

Being a tall person myself, I felt intimidated by this person. He was a little bit too tall for his physique. It appeared as though he fully matured before being stretched out a further half-foot on one of those medieval racks. His crimson, raggedy beard, which mostly covered his face, stuck to it like the branches of Devil Ivy. His malevolent eyes were frightening, but that wasn't what made me pause. I was startled to realize that I was looking directly into Sam's eyes.