Lauren Taylor has everything one may need to live their dream life. She has the perfect job, the perfect house in a new town, and the perfect roommate. Living in Oregon was her goal for many years. Oregon is known for its beautiful and diverse landscapes. It has mountains, forests, farms as well as beaches. Being an admirer of the mountains and sceneries, Lauren ensured to get a house near the woods overlooking the mountains.
Running away from her past was not easy and after years, Lauren felt her happiest self ever since she moved to Oregon. But they say all good things come to an end. One evening when Lauren returned home from work, she felt a presence in her house. At first, she brushed the feeling aside. However, on investigating, Lauren came face to face with her worst nightmare.
Lauren was born and brought up in Chicago. She was kind and clever, and that is what drew people to her. There was a steadiness to her demeanor, something that had the capability of making a storm whisper like a breeze. She has always been fiercely independent, always aware of what she wants from life.
But things have altered immensely over the past couple of months. The once super confident girl was now trying to survive the weight of self-doubt and hatred. Getting out of a toxic relationship will do that to anyone and Lauren was no exception.
It was time to leave behind the weight of her past, it was time to move on. She has been thinking about getting a fresh start for a while now. But she needed a new job in a place miles and miles away from Chicago. She had applied for a couple of different jobs but so far, she has not heard back from anyone.
It was a crisp winter morning in Chicago. The sun was peeking from behind the clouds. Lauren was sitting curled up on her couch sipping on her favorite cranberry tea. The early morning hours have always been her favorite time of the day. She is up and about while the rest of the world sleeps. She spends her time reading a book and making herself a healthy breakfast.
Lauren's attention was caught by her ringing phone resting on the kitchen counter. Her eyes went wide when she saw the caller id, it was from Southern Oregon University, one of the places she had applied for a job. Her anxiety kicked in as her heart started racing in her chest. She picked up the phone with shaky nerves and hesitation.
"Thank you so much! See ya!", Lauren hung up the phone with a huge smile on her face. Her energy reached a whole new level when she realized it wasn't a rejection call. She got it! She actually got the job. This means she gets to leave Chicago along with the painful memories behind her. This is her shot at a fresh start.
Oregon, a new beginning, a new chapter for Lauren. Leaving behind Chicago was not a difficult choice for her. Even though it was a drastic change, to shift across the country. But she embraced this change with open arms. In all honesty, Lauren couldn't wait to get out of Chicago. It felt like a cleansing ritual, leaving behind the past and looking forward to a better future in a new place literally across the country.
Cardboard boxes, dozens of them were scattered across the floor. The bare walls were now devoid of the usual smiling framed faces. There were dirt and dust shapes on the floor where the furniture once stood. Lauren was busy packing up her life, one box full of memories at a time. There were also a few boxes going to donations, the memories she didn't want to keep.
Lauren could spot the mountains touching the horizon in a perfect lilac sky. The auburn trees surrounded the area, tracks snaked around the hills with a few spots wiped out by the rain. Ashland, Oregon. Lauren was in awe of this town already. She couldn't believe she gets to see this beautiful scenery every day now. Her house was in a perfect location overlooking the mountains.
The house seemed welcoming from the outside. It had a nice arched entrance, with white pillars on either side laced with green vines twirled around them. There was a fountain in the massive backyard and the rooms had staircase built around real tree branches. The balconies were decorated with huge plants as well. Safe to say, Lauren was in love with this house.
Lauren was really excited to meet her roommate, having lived alone for years. But she was also nervous about the fact that they might not get along. To her relief, her roommate turned out to be a sweetheart. She was nice enough to clean her room in advance and told her to feel at home. And surprisingly, she did, she felt at home instantly.
Walking around the university campus felt like a breath of fresh air. There was something satisfying about seeing new faces everywhere around her. Starting over at a new place, you get to step out of your house and not meet the same toxic people who know your life story and judge you for it. It was a refreshing change of pace.
Lauren was working as a research scholar for Southern Oregon University. This was honestly not her long term plan but she was desperate to get out. So being a research scholar didn't seem like such a bad idea, as long as she got her chance to leave. But once she started working, it honestly didn't feel bad. She kind of enjoyed it.
Lauren couldn't believe it but the process of building her life again from scratch has brought an immense change of energy in her life. Moving to Chicago, where she was at her lowest, to now living in Oregon where she is at a new kind of high, she was happy. It's strange how things fall into place automatically, especially when you least expect them to.
Lauren was just wrapping up at work. It was one of those days where she didn't have a lot to do so she got to leave early for home. She quickly emptied her mug and put her things in her bag one by one. Since she gets to leave early, she decided to stop by the grocery store and restock the fridge for the week.
By the time Lauren was done with grocery shopping, the sun had reached the horizon leaving hues of gold and pink in the sky. Lauren was still not used to the beautiful surroundings she got to call home. She pulled up in her driveway and noticed the lights in the house were off. It seems like her roommate is still out.
Lauren carried the grocery bags to the house. Her hands fumbled with the keys as she tried to unlock the door in the first go. With no light turned on, the house was engulfed by darkness. Lauren reached the tall table next to the door and placed everything on top of it. Her hands searched for the switch in the darkness and turned it on.
A frown appeared on Lauren's face. She could tell the house appeared different than usual yet she couldn't point out what was different. She took a few steps towards the kitchen and heard some movement in the living room. Lauren froze in her spot. She knew for a fact her roommate was not home, there was no car in the driveway.
Lauren took out her phone and opened the flashlight. She took hesitant steps towards the dark living room and with shaky hands turned on the lights. One by one Lauren took notice of her surroundings. The back door towards the yard was open, the rug on the floor was not in its original place and was stained with mud. Lauren was sure somebody had broken into her house.
Right around that time, Lauren heard her roommate's car pull up in their driveway. She felt a sinking feeling with a little relief, at least she wasn't alone. Her roommate came in through the front door and Lauren rushed towards her with her finger on her lips, "There is someone in the house" she whispered. As if on cue, the girls heard something move in their living room.
Lauren stepped closer to the living room door and peeked inside. She noticed it's tail at first, her eyes moved across the long furry body and landed on the glowing eyes staring right back at her. There was a mountain lion sitting on the floor of her living room! Her roommate let out a scream at the top of her lungs!
The animal jumped up at the sound of her scream and tried to escape through the closed window. When the window didn't budge, it went and hid behind the couch. Lauren felt her legs giveaway. She couldn't wrap her head around this bizarre event. Lauren could hear the animal letting out tiny growls from behind the couch. Her roommate was in a full-on panic mode by now.
Lauren took a deep breath and told her roommate that they have to be calm and think about what to do next. Panicking will only agitate the mountain lion further, it is already in an unfamiliar surrounding. Lauren knew calling animal control will only create chaos and may even make the animal violent. So she has to figure out a way to let it out of the house peacefully.
By this point, Lauren realized there was utter silence in the room. She went outside through the front door into her back yard and peeked in through the window which showed the mountain lion sitting behind the couch. She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw that the animal is fast asleep on the floor!
Lauren slowly tapped on the window to check if the animal is in deep sleep. The mountain lion opened its eyes instantly. Lauren tried to look into its eyes with a loving gaze sending out comforting and trusting energy. To her surprise, the animal stretched its body and went back to sleep!
Lauren knew she has to wake up the animal but she didn't want it to wake up abruptly and get violent at unfamiliar surroundings. She had to come up with a plan which will help her in waking it up and at the same time leaving the house peacefully. The girls decided to let the animal wake up on its own and maybe that will make him leave.
By this point, one thing was quite clear to Lauren, that the animal did not mean to come inside the house intentionally. She had a feeling the animal might have been thirsty and spotted the fountain in her backyard. To quench its thirst, it would have entered the back yard and because of the greenery around her house and the staircase around the branches, it might have gotten confused.
Finding itself in an unfamiliar surrounding, the animal might have lost track of how to get out of the house. So the mountain lion was not really an intruder. It was trapped in the house. Lauren knew she had to help it to get out and back into the woods safely. And she knew just how to achieve that.
Lauren was a firm believer in energies and believed she could communicate with the animal through telepathy. While this may sound ridiculous to anyone, Lauren didn't feel the need to explain her beliefs. She knew she could communicate with the animal and tell it the way out of her house to follow the path into the woods.
Lauren drew a mental map out of the living room and the path which will lead the animal back into the woods, out from the open door, through the back yard, across the creek, through an open field behind the house and finally into the woods. She knew it would help the mountain lion find its way home.
It had been almost six hours since Lauren discovered the mountain lion in her living room. She realized that her plan of letting it sleep and wake up on its own is not going to work. She needs to come up with a plan B. So Lauren decided to make a noise, just loud enough to wake up the animal. Lauren made a loud drumming sound.
At the sound of the noise, Lauren noticed some shift behind the couch. She realized the animal is awake now. Lauren and her roommate went back, outside the living room, giving the animal some space to move around and not be startled. The mountain lion slowly got out from behind the couch. The girls hid carefully, making no sound.
The animal started pacing around the living room and reached the back door, which Lauren left open to ensure it can find it's way out. To their surprise, the mountain lion went straight out the back door across the creek, right as Lauren conveyed in her mental map. Her roommate was astonished at this turn of events.
Lauren quickly rushed to close the back door. The girls finally took a breath of relief. Lauren hurried to her balcony and spotted the mountain lion going across the empty field and disappearing into the woods. Her roommate could not believe that the animal had followed the exact pathway that Lauren had drawn in her mind.
Lauren decided to share this bizarre event on her social media, spreading awareness about wild animals and how to treat them. She posted pictures of the animal napping and roaming in her living room. She pointed out that she did not call animal control to avoid any complications. And how the animal managed to get out of the house peacefully without any violence.
After such a long and bizarre day, Lauren just wanted to get in her bed and doze off. Her body could feel the anxiety slowly easing as she put her head to sleep. She knew she will feel much better and less shaky in the morning. But for now, she just needed sleep. The next morning, Lauren woke up to thousands of notifications on her phone!
Lauren's post went viral all over the internet. People were responding back and forth and sharing her post around their circles. Before she could wrap her head around it, her post had thousands of comments and shares on it. People were amazed by her bravery and sent in a lot of questions about the encounter, which Lauren was happy to answer.
As Lauren could predict, not many people believed her theory about frequencies and sounds and telepathy. There were also a few who suggested she should have lured it with food, which Lauren explained would have been a really bad idea since the animal would then associate food with humans.
Lauren also advised people to not try this in case they get stuck in a similar situation. She has knowledge about telepathy and sound frequencies that is why she could do this successfully. If people without knowledge try this on a wild animal, they might put their lives in danger.
To this day, Lauren has not forgotten the bizarre and unforgettable incident that welcomed her into this city. She was thankful things worked out fine otherwise it could have been a really dangerous event. The mountain lion never returned after that day and Lauren was confident she never will. She wished it a long healthy life in the woods.