My dying campfire glowed a deep carmine, basking me in a gentle glow of light and warmth. Twinkling through the canopies from above, stars shone down light from hundreds of years ago that had travelled across the immense gulf of space to reach me here, made when the giant trees around here were mere saplings.
My belly was full for another night and her survival assured. The coming months would require preparation, planning, and patience; three things any survivalist required in abundance.
This night’s quarry had been a deer I’d caught supping from the river not too far from camp. Dragging the carcass back to her holdup was hungry, thirsty work but the payoff was incredible. Hide for clothing, bones and antlers for tools, meat to be eaten now and cured for when food was scarce; I would let no scrap go to waste. Tracking the animal and hunting it had taken me all day and with night enveloping around me there was no more time to dress it. I’d taken what I could and done the best I could to preserve the rest to be addressed the next day. With closed eyes and slow breaths I sank into a deep sleep against the trunk of a tree, losing all grip of time and space as my mind processed the day’s activities in the best way it could.
I found myself high above a cliff atop a tree, pushing aside branches to view an endless sea of green; a deep, mysterious ocean above ground that light struggled to penetrate. I squinted away the blistering hot sun to see hundreds of thousands of living, breathing trees each in turn giving way to more life. Through it I could trace patchy channels running through the jungle in which no tree grew – a river. This place felt familiar to me, as if I’d been here before. I didn’t know my surroundings, but I didn’t need to; this dreamscape was as much a part of me as I was of it.
I had no idea how I got there, but I didn’t need to know. Every part of me told me that I was hunting. My mind wouldn’t let me in on the secret of what, but I knew how to find it. Following that line through the trees, sticking to the river would reward me what I searched for.
I jumped. The cliff behind me approached as it inclined outwards and I instinctively landed my feet and rode it down, sliding left and right to avoid trees that clung dearly to the rock face and stretched out towards the sun as if trying to reach it. As the canopy of the jungle below me approached I jumped, already knowing where I was going to land. I broke my way through smaller branches to land securely on one capable of supporting my weight and immediately began to survey the area. Behind me, off to the right, was the source of the river far up above. The water cascaded far down below, wind huffing off a hazy mist that boasted rainbow rings as the sun beamed through it.
I could see the river between the trees from my perch. For a second there was nothing but leaping white water, but then a flash of light blue and light wood bobbing along it quickly. I didn’t know what it was, but I knew that was what I was looking for.
Immediately I jumped from branch to branch, leaping over distances that outside of my dream would have been impossible. Each leap and step was natural, required no thought, only knowledge of the direction in which I wanted to move. I made my way to the trees that bordered the river and jumped between them while keeping my eyes on my target. It was still too far to get a clear view but I knew the direction in which it would move. The river turned and wound beyond my view, behind the darkness of the trees. By the time I made it to the bend my prey was gone. I could’ve sworn I heard a playful laugh echoing through the jungle – a human sound. Something that was now barely familiar to me outside of this dream world.
I slid out of the trees and immediately began to run along the river with more desperation than before. When I thought I had lost my chance and it was time to give up I was offered a lifeline, the wooden raft that I’d spied earlier. It seemed my target had departed.
Left and right, up and down, I looked for any small clue as to where they might have gone. No wet footprints to follow, and they didn’t come from the same direction as me. They may have followed the river, or taken to the trees. Trampled ferns showed me the way I needed to move and soon I found myself following broken branches before coming across discarded clothes. A sandal hanging from a tree, then another one on a rock. I was getting closer.
Then I saw it – him. A long haired man, tall, athletic, but wearing clothing incompatible with this environment. His hair was long and wild, and he simply walked away with his hands in his pockets. I couldn’t see his face but it felt like I knew him. Like I’d always known him.
I gave chase, leaping through trees and sprinting until my lungs burned. I saw him look back to me with a smirk until a tree blocked my view and he vanished as though he was never even there. All I knew was that I had to give chase. I didn’t know what direction he went but I didn’t need to. I just ran.
I found him again in a clearing not too much further up ahead. He mouthed something to me but it came through as a feeling instead of words. The feeling of finding something you’ve lost for years, an all-encompassing relief and satisfaction that was robbed from me as he vanished again. I had to press on.
Through more trees and brush my heart was pounding, aching to find him. My legs burned and my breaths grew weak as I began to slow down. I slackened to a walk to catch my breath and saw a pond beyond a patch of wildflowers with a rocky island in its middle. He was there, laying back on the rock. His head turned to me and mouthed again, expressing to me the feeling that he had been waiting for me. I wanted to ask why he ran, but was met with no reply.
I couldn’t take my eyes off him for fear he’d vanish again, and so with unblinking eyes I tracked him as I approached. I made my way over to the island in the pond, over to him. At sight of this he sat himself up, smiling with more warmth this time. When I finally reached the man I collapsed into his arms, soaking him through. It didn’t take long to catch my breath and in an wordless exchange we caught up for a lifetime of separation in moments.
Softly, gently, he laid me down upon the cool stone on my back. His hair draped into curtains around my face as he rolled over me and everything on the other side of the water dropped out of existence. All that was left was me and him.
He leaned down into my face and kissed me deeply. Feelings of completion suddenly overwhelmed me, feelings of safety and assurance. The man’s tongue began to probe the inside of my mouth and our tongues danced to the rhythm of our bodies. I could feel his skin, his muscles beneath, I could smell his sweet sandalwood musk and taste him on my lips. It was so vivid, so real.
An exploratory hand ran up my side and over my waist sending shivers through my body with his electric touch. Teasingly, he moved it past my breast and cupped my face in his hand before kissing me again. I had hunted him down, but every part of me screamed out that I was his prey, that I was his for the taking.
He shuffled his way between my legs and ran his fingers down again, tracing the outline of every curve on my body. It was too much to take. I leaned my head back at the sensation and he took advantage of my exposed neck, biting down deep like a predator. His hands reached the inside of my thighs now, feeling the aching heat I was now radiating.
His body responded in kind and subtle thrusts evolved into his hard dick grinding against me. I needed it more than anything. We didn’t remove our clothes, we didn’t have to. My subconscious wanted this more than I did. His mouth moved lower, sucking a nipple as his deep eyes dripped lust at me. It wasn’t long before he moved down further still and licked my sides, my thighs, and finally took the prize he’d been waiting for. With long, deep licks he let me feel every turn and flick of his tongue. He was still just warming me up.
He began to lick faster with more of a rhythm, bringing me closer and closer to the edge. He wouldn’t let me go over it though, not just yet. Just as I was teetering, he pulled back and nibbled up my body, flicking my nipples with his tongue once more as he positioned himself. He ground against my wet mound on the outside but I could take no more and wrapped my legs around him, pulling him in with one smooth motion. The feeling was incredible and he was so deep inside me that it felt like we were one and the same. Two minds, two bodies, connected and symbiotic. Neither one a parasite upon the other, but two halves of the same whole.
Then he began to move for himself. Slowly at first, feeling every ridge and bump inside me. It wasn’t enough, I still needed more. I tried to tell him to go faster, my body was screaming it at me, but he just smirked again. He seemed proud of himself that he could reduce me to this, confident that he could do this to me any time he wanted. I would never tell him that he was right.
He moved faster, and faster still until he began to moan emotion, primal, powerful feelings of animalistic lust. With this I got the satisfaction I needed and wanted it to last forever. His hands melted into mine as he held me down and there was no longer a me or a him, only an us. I could feel my insides quake and my legs tremble under him as my walls clenched and pulsated as I finally flew off that edge into sheer bliss, closing my eyes to focus on the lightning jolting around my body. I sensed what I was feeling radiate out from my body, travelling through the world with the same speed granted light and wished for others to feel it too.
At last, I opened my eyes to find darkness. Nothing more than the final twinkling of dying embers coupled with the ancient light from stars that may already be long since dead. I tried to remember everything from that dream before my waking mind erased it from my consciousness. I tried to remember him.