I: The End Of The Same
The sun blared light through the small bedroom window. Jane had been woken up this way for the past seven days, ever since she decided to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life for a break, a little time alone to reflect on herself and where she was heading. As the light poured in through the window, Jane rubbed the sleep from her eyes, and roused herself awake. She looked at the small clock on the bedside table and saw small red numbers looking back at her.
"10:28?" she thought to herself as she sat up, still in her nightie. Jane thought of herself as a particularly savvy, modern, organised woman. She had been working for a large computer firm since she left education, back in 2002, and in five rapid years she had climbed the ranks from a postgraduate office girl on a fairly pitiful wage, to manager of a small collection of geeks and nerds, gaining respect from her superiors and those she worked with. Most people who observed her for the first time always thought of Jane as a professional, cold woman with little sense of fun and too much sense of work. Jane was the one always flicking through the ovetime book, increasing the efficiency of her team, impressing her bosses and wearing clean cut, classy suits.
Because of this, Jane had little time for anyone else in her life. Independent, and single since she graduated, Jane had gained the life she had for herself. This often proved difficult when potential relationship situations came by, stayed a short while and left due to Jane missing dinners, anniversaries, family occasions, and many other countless events where the only thing that could fill the void for Jane was work and self-enhancement. On the very rare office party that Jane would go to, her colleagues would often remark on how beautiful she really was; when she made the effort. Standing at 5'5 and about 120 pounds, many of her male colleagues would concur, behind her back of course, that she was "one fine piece of ass" along with other such lewd comments. If Jane happened to interrupt such discussions, often a look from her pretty blue eyes would silence them. These men wanted to fuck her, but they knew of her standing within the company, and most certainly didn't want to get fucked.
All of this was far away in the back of Jane's mind now though, since the company had decided she deserved a vacation for her dedication. As she got out of bed, her white nightie hanging down to her shins, she looked around. The small room she was renting contained little but a small bed, a bedside table and a modest wardrobe with broken handles for her to hang her clothes in. As she looked in the mirror on the door, her dark brown hair resting in waves across her shoulders, she realised she should have done this a long time ago.
"No suits, no pervs, no rain, no work. Just me, the sun and the trees," she mumbled to herself as she took off her nightie, throwing it to the bed. Her nipples were still stiff from her slumber and she brushed her hands across them gently, the gentle yet pleasurable wave of feeling gone as soon as it came, snapping her hands away.
"No time, I must get ready," she said to herself. Jane had a habit of talking to herself. She said it helped her focus on her goals, but in truth it may have had underlying reasons with the fact that not many people talked with her. Most people found her too aloof, and so simply communicated if and when necessary. Yet really she just thought of herself as simply misunderstood.
"I know how to have fun when I want to, what do they know?" she justified to herself. "Just because I don't dress up like a slut and get fucked every weekend by a different guy." She put a dark yellow t-shirt over her toned body. There was one other thing Jane enjoyed doing, besides work. She spent a lot of time at the gym. She believed firmly in keeping herself in shape, being healthy, keeping herself strong. And it showed, even underneath her plain unwomanly suits. Under a thin t-shirt, it glowed. Jane put on some panties, threw on some walking trousers, and black socks. None of these were anything special, but it wasn't her attire she was thinking about. Today, she was going to begin her hike. Jane had spent the past seven days travelling around, meeting some new people, generally being lazy and enjoying her time. The island, which was a far cry from the busy city filled with cars, lights and office complexes she came from, had a warm climate which reminded her of a holiday to Australia she went on as a child. But she had decided, after no gym and no work, that she needed some focus and decided to go to a small village in the middle of nowhere, near woodland with miles of forest and countryside.
"Plenty of places and plenty of time to walk them in," she said to herself as she left her room and went outside, feeling the warm air breeze through her hair. She always liked to sit on the steps outside before she went about her day, to soak up her surroundings. Today she could only see a few random people dotted about. Talking, doing what needed to be done. This village was very quaint, and small compared even with the places she had previously visited. Jane thought to herself that in a few years, this place would probably be a tourist hotspot, with many opportunities for people to walk out, go hiking, camp, even enjoy the peace. Jane was glad that hadn't happened yet. She liked the peace as it was, she had just done her research thoroughly before choosing.
"Definitely a lucky find," she said as she walked back to her room, grabbing her rucksack. She had already packed it for today the previous evening with plenty of water, a spare t-shirt, and a light salad. The day was hot and would be long, she deduced that if all went to plan, she could return by 20:30, just as dusk would begin to set in, and continue her exploration the following day. She put the rucksack straps over her shoulders, and walked out again. As she walked through the village, a tall, well built black man approached her.
"Hey Jane!" the man exclaimed. He came closer to her and smiled warmly.
