Part 2 — “I Was Just Getting Fresh Air”
(Part 1) ➡️ https://storiesworld.us/archives/9181
For a moment the husband assumed he was dreaming.
Still half asleep, he reached toward the empty sleeping bag beside him.
Nothing.
His wife wasn’t there.
Immediately he sat upright.
The tent was dark.
The forest outside was silent.
According to the story, panic surged through him faster than he expected.
His wife would never wander into the woods alone in the middle of the night.
Especially not in unfamiliar territory.
He quickly unzipped the tent and stepped outside.
The campsite appeared empty.
The campfire had burned down to glowing embers.
The surrounding forest stood motionless beneath the moonlight.
Then he spotted her.
She was standing near the edge of the clearing.
Facing the trees.
Perfectly still.
Relief flooded through him.
“Hey!”
he called.
“What are you doing?”
She turned slowly.
According to the story, something about the movement felt strange.
Not dramatic.
Not obvious.
Just unusual enough to make him uncomfortable.
When she walked back toward the tent, he immediately asked where she had gone.
Her answer came without hesitation.
“I was just outside getting some fresh air.”
The explanation sounded completely reasonable.
Yet somehow it didn’t make him feel any better.
He asked if everything was okay.
She smiled.
Said she was fine.
Said she couldn’t sleep.
That should have been the end of it.
But according to the story, the husband couldn’t shake the feeling that something had changed.
As they settled back into the tent, he noticed small things.
The way she answered questions.
The way she stared into the darkness before lying down.
The unusual flatness in her voice.
Nothing significant.
Nothing he could point to.
Just tiny details that felt wrong.
Eventually he convinced himself he was imagining things.
The strange atmosphere.
The isolation.
The lack of sleep.
All of it was affecting his judgment.
So, he closed his eyes.
And once again drifted off to sleep.
Hours later he woke for the second time.
This time the sleeping bag beside him was empty again.
His wife had disappeared.
And unlike before, she wasn’t standing outside the tent.
(Part 3) ➡️ https://storiesworld.us/archives/9185