The Woodlands

We’d come out on the other side of the valley. I could see our little cabin in the distance, planted sloppily in the landscape. I couldn’t see the chopper. They must have moved it. The baby snored and snuffled in my arms. He was peaceful, unaware.

With quick steps I made my way to the place I wanted to go, enjoying how light my body felt. If I wanted, I could run. I jumped lithely across the stream and quickly made it to the cabin. It looked tiny and sad now.

After four weeks, you’d never know I’d been pregnant. My smooth skin had bounced back perfectly. The only reminder to me was my belly button, once a perfect round dimple; it now looked like a frown, a downward facing indent in my dark brown skin.

The air clung to me like tiny icicles as I started climbing hill. I picked my way up the incline carefully, holding the baby in one arm and steadying myself with the other. It was slow and cumbersome. The sun followed me up over the hill. Fresh smells of grass and pine filled my nose.

I reached the top and sat down. Bringing my knees up, I laid the baby down on my legs so he was facing me. I wondered what Apella thought I was going to do. I suppressed a wicked giggle at the thought of her worrying about me throwing the baby in the stream, or tossing him off the hillside. Matthew had only known me a short time but he knew me well enough to realize I was not murderous. I was struggling but I didn’t want to hurt him. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with him.

I examined the baby carefully. He was still sleeping, his little eyes rolling under his eyelids. I wondered what babies dreamed about. What memories did they have of their life within the womb?

“You’ve been with me this whole time,” I said. “Your dreams are probably filled with wolves howling and chopper blades grinding into the ground. Your father talking and laughing.”

Tears came easily.

“You heard Aunt Clara screaming when she brought your cousin Hessa into the world.” I frowned, wondering if that was the right word, cousin. “You heard me crying when she slipped away. You probably even felt my heart beating so fast every time your father kissed me or even touched my hand.”

I stroked his tiny, blonde head. He looked nothing like me. What part of him was me?

“What should I do?” I asked the sky. The sun was setting, a muted, streaky sunset, mostly yellows and oranges. I imagined Joseph was here, but he was standing back from me, waiting. This decision was mine to make.

I unwrapped the baby, inspecting him closely. A tiny, scooped nose, a heart-shaped mouth, I shrugged. These were features I’d seen on every other baby. He was defenseless, small, but strong. He kicked his leg inadvertently.

“You’re a fighter like me, aren’t you?” I cooed, tapping his bare belly lightly, something stirring in me I couldn’t identify.

He opened one eye lazily. So there it was—his eyes were blue. I was disappointed, I was hoping for that beautiful green of his father’s eyes.

“How about this? I’ll make a deal with you,” I said as I let him grab my finger, curling and uncurling. “I’ll try. I’ll try harder.”

He opened the other eye, yawning and showing me his gummy mouth and milk-stained tongue.

I gasped, my heart beating strangely. Steady but fast. Warmth creeping in. Not a surge of it, not an instant flood, more like a slow drip, edging its way in softly and certainly.

One blue eye and one brown .

Firstly I’d like to thank my husband Michael for being ever patient and supportive of probably the craziest thing I’ve ever attempted. Even though the only feedback you ever gave me was, ‘it’s good’, it kept me going when I doubted myself, because you never did. My children Le

Thanks to my sister Kristen for being the guinea pig who had to read to first version of this book. And for answering all my a

Chloe Lim you are a legend. Thank you for editing The Woodlands so thoroughly, removing all my u

To the members of Clean Teen Publishing: I never thought publishing a book could be this fun! Thank you Rebecca Gober, Courtney Nuckels, Marya Heiman, Dyan Brown and Cynthia Shepp for believing in The Woodlands and taking on this first time Aussie author who decided to write about a post apocalyptic Russia.

Finally, I am eternally grateful to my Beta readers. Your amazing support, generous feedback and honesty gave me the confidence to pursue publishing The Woodlands and now, here we are!

Daughter of a Malaysian nuclear physicist father and an Australian doctor mother, Lauren Nicolle Taylor was expected to follow the science career path. And she did, for a while, completing a Health Science degree with Honors in obstetrics and gynecology. But there was always a niggling need to create which led to many artistic adventures.

 When Lauren hit her thirties, she started throwing herself into artistic endeavors, but was not entirely satisfied.  The solution: Complete a massive renovation and sell their house so they could buy their dream block of land and build. After selling the house, buying the block and getting the plans ready, the couple discovered they had been misled and the block was undevelopable. This left her family of five homeless.

 Taken in by Lauren’s parents, with no home to renovate and faced with a stressful problem with no solution, Lauren found herself drawn to the computer. She sat down and poured all of her emotions and pent up creative energy into writing The Woodlands.

Family, a multicultural background and a dab of medical intrigue are all strong themes in her writing. Lauren took the advice of ‘write what you know’ and twisted it into a romantic, dystopian adventure! Visit Lauren at her website: www.LaurenNicolleTaylor.com.

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