Almost

A warm hand landed on her trembling shoulder - and his shadow danced with her senses as he bent down to her right ear. "Habits can be dangerous," he whispered softly.

His gentle voice caressed her brain in a way that made her moan in distress, in a forbidden need for something untold, something unraveled in their relationship, as a response. The hand on her shoulder disappeared and was turned into an extended invitation to follow him. Mia turned slowly towards him; a warm smile on a seemingly pleasant face greeted her and soothed her nerves considerably. With an almost surreal feeling - as in a trance, she reluctantly grasped his hand, ignoring defences as they screamed.

In his eyes she found a unique calm and she gave up, surrendering to the stranger. Her hand disappeared into his fist, and Mia was gently led from the sun, the light and the water's edge into the unknown within the shadow of the forest. Using sweet words and gentle gestures, he lulled Mia into a false sense of security. Mia's inner chaos subsided as she thought one last thought before the man, the monster, led her into the woods. She felt as thought she was just like Little Red Riding Hood in the old fairy tale; innocent, naïve even, in the face of the wolf.

Richard.

Richard had never intended to let her go; he was not surprised when he saw the sale of her home so quickly after the incident. She was smart and had felt the fear that makes humans aware that they are not immortal. Mia had booked a moving firm to help with her abrupt relocation, but he didn't need to spend a long time figuring out where she was headed. A small blind- passenger accompanied the move; he put a tracker on her car and he very quickly had her new address, so finding her was playfully easy. By the time she changed her surname, he already knew where she was. He followed her, engrossed in her use of resources to create distance. He felt almost flattered by Mia's attempts to protect herself from him. Self-defense courses and weapons wouldn't help her, however; Richard had a good knowledge of human psychology, and in his brief study of Mia he found that she depended on profound habits to make her everyday life work.

Richard waited until Mia showed signs of calming down, letting down her guard and returning to her old habits, before he made his move. He had a new tracker firmly attached to her car, and hacked her satellite navigation system. Meanwhile, the cell phone he stole from her was passed on to a new owner - but not before he had extracted any useful information. Her new mobile, tablet and PC were similarly violated, Richard having hired a hacker to perform such tasks, having given the backstory that he was an ex-boyfriend and he wanted her kept under surveillance. All the hacker cared about was the pile of money that Richard happily paid to be near Mia, who had become his obsession.

He had raped and kidnapped many other women, but Mia was special in his eyes; he spent many hours each day fantasizing about her, finding orgasmic pleasure in the memory of her sweet qualities, and he eagerly awaited- an opportunity to reunite with her. When Mia's compulsive relationship with habits allowed her to lower her defenses as she walked up the cliff, he was only an hour away from her. He quickly drove an anonymous van to the spot where her car was parked and began to climb the mountain. He was well accustomed to hard training and was even better in shape then before his meeting with Mia, so he quickly caught up with her.

When he saw her sitting alone by the water, deep in thought, he was almost touched. He walked slowly and quietly towards her, and once he was close; he called her name out, letting her know that he was behind her. He saw the confusion in her movements, so he called again, more softly this time. Her reaction was perfect; with trembling shoulders, her eyes turned and she let out a whine as she surrendered to him. She accepted his outstretched hand with total submission, and Richard felt the weight of responsibility he had decided to take. Mia would be his last victim -- forever his, until they were separated by death.

In the gap between the sun's burning light and the beginning of the forest's shadow, a man brought his future bride into eternity. A yang meets his yin; Tao or in - The Way of Nature.