The following is a true story, well mostly true at least, as much of it is a little foggy in my mind for reasons that will become apparent as you read onwards.
I'm a nature lover, which has always been one of my main interests ever since childhood and indeed I studied biology at university. Every year I go on a nature focused holiday, either flying abroad from the UK, or sometimes making an adventure of it by driving my Jeep across the continent of Europe.
That particular year, I had booked a flight to the wilds of Romania and the rugged Carpathian Mountains. I was due to stay in a remote mountain chalet, joining a small group of fellow nature lovers to explore the area for just over a week. The Romanian wilderness is a sparsely populated place of small peasant villages, ancient castles, but mostly snow-capped peaks, rocky escarpments and dark forests. These mountains hide wolves, brown bears and lynxes along with their prey, such as chamois and ibex - not the usual type of critter you find here in Scotland.
One evening, our Romanian wildlife guide invited our group to a local tavern where they served local dishes, played folk music and drank copious quantities of ridiculously strong spirit. We all had a great time eating, drinking, chatting and dancing. As we had an early start the following morning, as is the case with nature trips, all of the group left for their beds at about 10pm, just leaving myself and the guide, who regaled me with scary stories of vampires and mysterious happenings in the forest whilst we both downed shots of fiery local liquor. As we were chatting, I couldn't help but notice a sultry, olive-skinned, raven-haired woman sitting with what looked to be her brothers in the corner of the room. She kept glancing in my direction, which put butterflies in my stomach as she looked amazing, womanly curves in a traditional, burgundy-coloured, gypsy dress with a pattern of white roses sewn beneath her ample cleavage. Once I caught her eye, she smiled and wow, what a sweet smile and her wonderful eyes, dark brown and deep.
My heart dropped later as I watched her leave the tavern with her brothers, but noted her glance and smile at me as she passed our table in a flirtatious indication of her attraction to me. In turn, I could smell her light perfume and my groin swelled a little as is natural for a guy close to such feminine charms.
As midnight came, I said farewell to the very drunk guide and headed-out into the night for the short walk to the chalet. It was pitch black, with a light mist making it tricky for me to find my way. After some time, I found that I was lost in the gloom and was wandering along a rough track between trees; I could have been anywhere. My heart began quaking a little with growing trepidation, for in the distance, I could hear the unmistakable howl of a pack of wolves. I walked on a little and could hear the howls coming closer and closer, when the sudden crackling of branches nearby had me startled into running full pelt along the path into the darkness and swirling fog with something fast at my heels. Ahead I could see faint light, so I dashed in that direction to find a lantern above the door of a tiny, stone cottage with a grass-thatched roof. The door was open ajar and a woman's hand came-out, pulling me roughly into the warmth and safety of a cosy little room lit by a flickering fire.
It took me a moment to adjust to my surroundings and catch my breath, while my pounding heart rate began to calm. In the corner of the room was a bed covered in animal furs, there was a small table and a rustic bench around a fireplace. Standing gazing at me from beside the fire was the beautiful girl from the tavern: "I knew you would come" she said in an exotic accent: "you were destined to come."
"I'm sorry" I said: "I was lost and I ran, I don't know where I am, but found this place."