Told you so! Sincerely, Your Gut.

March 22, 1994.

Spring has sprung. The sun was bright. The air was warm. I was 22. My life was ridiculously easy and I was doing a fabulous job inventing hardships. Time to take a hike.

South Mountain Reservation, 2000 plus acres located in northern NJ. Hemlock Falls, an area of the reservation that many people frequented, including myself. It was calling my name that day, so I went, alone. It was 2pm, seemingly calm, nothing out of the ordinary. I sat basking in the sun reading a book. Suddenly, I felt a cold wind and noticed the trees swaying ominously. The wind was sending me a message, an alert. I did not have a good feeling. I noticed a man standing in the distance, looking my way. It was time for me to go.

I followed the stone steps that lead me down the edge of the falls. I passed a girl and her dog, we exchanged smiles. I wanted to say something to her, to warn her of potential danger, but I didn’t because she had a dog with her. Silly reason to not warn a person of danger when you think about it. I continued along the path that would take me towards an intersection of pathways ultimately leading me to my car. As I started to turn right along the path I saw the man that I noticed earlier from the rocks above the falls. His presence, his aura was evil. To avoid him I didn’t make the right turn to my car, I continued straight, not realizing I was putting myself in grave danger, deeper into the reservation and away from any help. Now he is coming to me, the man is running to me, he is chasing after me. I start to run. I am totally scared.

He catches me. He looks at me, his eyes were black and cold. I could feel his evil aura blanket the air surrounding him and now swallowing me. Why me? Please don’t hurt me is all I could think. He starts to beat me with a large stick, a heavy branch. My blood is rushing out of my head, down my face and into my hands. My heart was pounding with fear, my tears were mixed with blood as I begged this man not to kill me. My crys for mercy fell on deaf ears. He did not care about me or my tears. He was going to kill me, his mind was made up.

He dragged me by my shirt and hair into the thick woods. He continued to beat me with his branch, he forced me to the ground. He stomped on my body, beating me on my back and head. I could feel the warm blood coming out of my body. It felt like an eternity, when was it going to end? Then a brief pause. Was it over? I was able to move my head enough to look up to see what was happening. The man held a rock over his head, his eyes piercing at me, this was it, this was the moment my life was going to end. 22 years old, I was about to die in the woods in South Mountain Reservation.

At that moment a vision came into my head. It was me, my body. I was decaying, animals had been feasting on me. I had finally been found and my poor body was now part of a crime scene that was blocked off by yellow police tape. I couldn’t bare this vision of mine. This is not my legacy. NO!!!! No, I will not die today, This is not my time.

Suddenly this unexplainable strength came over me, I sprung to my feet, I started to run. I was pushing away branches and I was desperately searching for the walking path I was violently dragged off of. I found it, I was not going to stop no matter how weak I was getting. I was close to the intersection of pathways where my nightmare started. I paused to look behind me. He was coming for me but, I was a good bit ahead of him. Then he just stopped coming towards me. He looked up towards the sky. I couldn’t help but watch him, I wondered if he would retreat back into the woods. He began swinging his arms as if he was swatting angry bees away. He was yelling up towards the sky too, even covering his head. Was something attacking him? Who cares!! Go! Keep running, get to safety was what I had to do and what I did.

I made it to South Orange Avenue, a busy road most days. Can you imagine seeing a person running out of the woods along the side of the road in the middle of the day completely covered in blood. Would you stop to help or save this person? Ask yourself honestly if you would. I was this person and I still don’t know what I would do. Fortunately for me a man driving along South Orange Ave did stop. He drove me to the South Orange Police Station which followed with EMS rushing me to University Hospital in Newark, NJ. I was rushed to the OR, my head sustained 3 large lacerations. 15 staples were used to close the largest of the lacerations. I could feel each staple enter my head, it was if I was being beat all over again. The 2 lacerations in the back of my head had to wait for sutures because my neck and back had been injured. I had to have a CT scan first which meant my head had to be strapped down on a flat board. The pain was horrible, I screamed out and cried as I went through the tube. My vertibrae was fractured, my hand and fingers broken.

I was going to live. I am alive.

I did die that afternoon of March 22, 1994. I would never be the same. The innocent, silly little girl with zero real problems was forever gone.

I am now a warrior. I am a survivor.