Salem found herself sitting cross-legged on the ground. It was not too hard thanks to the morning dew and the patch of grass. The eggs were next to her resting on the cloth pillow she had made last night. It was a bit after dawn, judging by the sun’s position. In front of her were piles of a variety of berries and fish. She had not gotten these things. Salem woke up to find them in front of her makeshift home. She could also spot the beast-like paw prints that were clearly fresh that led from her current spot to the thick collection of bushes and trees. 

“I guess they see me as the dominant force of the forest...” Salem contemplated with curiosity. She remembered the pope figure once said her aura was intense and she had no way of knowing how to suppress it without the magical tools that were used to keep her bound.

Her head was tilted to the side as she observed the piles of fruits and fish in front of her. The berries seemed to be edible as they looked like berries she would find on earth. She could spy fruits she knew such as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, plums, and persimmons. There were 2 other berry bundles she did not recognize. The fish however she recognized.

It resembled a large bass, just… much larger than what she knew. The large bass she knew because she used to date a dude who always fished. She never joined him, but whenever he brought back what he caught, she sat with him as he shared the details. 

“I guess I should eat…” Salem caressed her stomach. She was used to not eating, but she needed to eat to regain her muscle and stamina to survive. She stood up to gather some sticks. She was going to have to cook this in a barbaric way as she had no tools, but she could spare no luxury in her current state. 

When Salem woke up this morning the first thing she noticed was that she no longer looked deathly malnourished. Her body seemed to have restored itself to a certain degree, almost magically. Her muscles were still non-existent, but when she touched her stomach, sides, and waist, she did not feel any bones jutting out to stab her. Her mind went back to before she fell asleep and remembered the warm sensation. 

Salem shook her head, “Whatever happened, I’m grateful. Let’s get settled.”

Salem got started on making a fire pit. She had created a circle of stones and placed branches inside the circle. She held her finger out and imagined a small flame. Nothing too large, almost about the same size as a flame from a match or zippo. She had her eyes closed as she silently concentrated the magic in her body. Like what they talk about in Yoga and what she had seen in so many cartoons. This time Salem truly closed her eyes and tried to find that energy source. 

Like a snap, Salem felt a warm presence at the tip of her right hand's index finger. 

“Ha!” Salem exclaimed in delight. Right before her eyes was a flame on the tip of her index finger. This was different from a wind blade created out of anger, and a dirt house out of desperation.

I can use magic… Salem mused. 

With this newfound confidence, Salem spent the whole day munching on berries and fish. The berries were a welcomed burst of flavor and the fish was a welcomed meaty protein. She nearly cried at the taste and flavors she was certain she would taste again, but bit back the urge and continued to eat. More than the flavors, she cried at the freedom she had found.

She put the eggs on an earth platform she created and wrapped them in the cloth. This was close to her home and fire to ward off predators. She decided today would be her rest and recuperation day. She would eat until her stomach was full and practice being at peace. This was a necessary meditation. Every time she closed her eyes she could vividly recall cries of anguish and the smell of blood. Her experiences in the prison and what she witnessed leaving the temple had ingrained themselves deep within her memories. So she would meditate to find peace. 

The second day, she was tired of the heavy feeling on her head. She went back to the river to get a clear view of what had happened to her hair and she was horrified, to say the least. Salem lifted a hand to try and run one finger through her hair as if to part it and was met with a stiff wall. Even without the river's reflection, she could tell her hair had grown high up and far longer. Long enough to touch the back of her knees. If she had a different texture, her hair might have resembled Rapunzel. 

The dirt is caked in… It’s far too matted for me to even try to salvage anything...

“I need a knife or something…” She mumbled as she looked around for a sharp enough rock. She had decided. She was going to shave it all off and start from the beginning. 

She was looking for this sharp thing when she suddenly thought of her spatial storage. She was certain that other precious items were mixed in with the gold and jewels. So, a knife or even some clothes had to be there. So Salem plopped down on the ground by the river. The stones were smooth due to erosion from the constant running water and the sand-like dirt felt comfortable underneath her body. Salem opened her arms wide with her back to the river and opened up the spatial storage oval she had created before.

What greeted her was a mess of items.

“In video games inventory is usually more organized and detailed…” Salem mumbled dejectedly.

The latter half of the day, Salem spent on the ground organizing her spatial storage. She pushed all the coins to one corner of the storage, jewels beside it. What was left were what she could only assume were ancient artifacts... 

“Fancy robes, a shiny sword, decorated staff, books I can’t read…” Like this Salem went through her storage and finally, she found something.

“Finally!  A dagger!” Salem clutched it to her chest before shimming a bit to turn around and face the river again.

While looking at the mirrored reflection on the water surface, Salem began cutting her hair. Chunks of dry matted kinky hair fell to the ground. Before long, a huge pile reached about half passed her legs and had decorated the ground before her. She then wet the dagger and used the small blade to cut a short style that left her practically bald with some peach fuzz. 

“Wow… I haven’t had short hair since I was in college…” She admired. Her face was haggard and thin, but she looked far livelier than before. 

With new vigor, Salem began her new life in the forest.