She approached with an heir of trepidation, had she been wise to take his directions or was it a good idea to ask a clown with a limp the way to the woods.
She girded her loins and went in. She did wonder what was it she was hoping to achieve going in there, why was she putting herself through this, then she decided no, everyone had a right to k now the truth, at least that’s what she was told, he said it was a big secret and a privalage to paint this amazing experience.
Abbie was weary but she pushed past the bushes and carefully skirted the holly, making it easier for her to enter the woods.
All she had with her was her brushes, a watercolour pad, pencils and few colours. She was determined to paint the truth.

She followed the windy path through the trees until she came to the glade where ‘it’ happened, she had no idea what she would find or what would manifest in front of her. She set up her painting set and waited.
Seconds felt like minutes and minutes felt like hours. While she waited she started sketching her surroundings, a few bushes, lots of trees and a babbling brook going through the centre of the glade, as scenes go it was nice,calming and relaxing, and yet nothing else was happening.

It felt like ages at which point Abbie was considering abandoning this ‘ wonder of nature’. Then she was reminded that she was getting paid to paint this wonder at the behest of someone with more money than sense, so she stayed.
Abbie was just wondering whether this was going to be worth it when a doe entered the clearing, not what she expected, but it would do for her sketch pad. She thought that whatever it was that was supposed to be exciting and enthralling was not just a doe in a woodland clearing.
After a couple of minutes drawing and admiring the solitary creature she started to hear a low deep thumping, like something was walking towards her but from underground, except the trees were shaking and the birds were fleeing the high branches.
The noise just kept getting closer and Abbie was now panicking. She assumed this was what she was here for and stayed firm, but there was no harm in hiding behind a tree just in case, she felt if worse comes to worse she could just take a photo and leg it, as in paint it later and run now, if it was big and dangerous it was definately preferable.

The creature entered the glade on it’s hind legs and she froze where she stood, OMG, a fucking dinosaur, and it’s a T-Rex, if it was going to be a dinosaur why couldn’t it be a herbivore.
Staying calm and remembering not to move and stay still she started to draw, Abbie figured the quicker she drew the better, taking notes on colour and posture, she knew better than to take a photo, she had seen Jurassic park and if it knew she was there she would be lunch.
The T-Rex was more curious about the doe and bent down to sniff at the girl, who was happily contented munching on a bush.
In one moment the doe was there and the next it wasn’t, the T-Rex had eaten it in one gulp.
Abbie was horrified and shaking behind her tree not daring to move, all she could hear was the heavy breathing of the dinosaur.
After a few seconds and some deep breaths Abbie dared to look again, and the dinosaur had gone.

Still dubious about big scary monsters leaping out at her she emerged from her tree, seeing nothing there she exhaled a Hugh sigh of relief, what were her benefactors thinkings sending her in this forest to paint a dinosaur, it could have eaten her, although being eaten by a dinosaur, cool death or what?.
Either way she was now glad not to be a dinosaurs lunch. Abbie picked up her stuff still a bit shakily and started to walk back the way she had come, she would be having words with her money man when she got back. She caught sight of the road with cars on it and people on the pavement that were laughing and kissing, civilisation, bliss.
Abbie walked into the sunshine onto the hot tarmacked pavement and breathed a sigh of relief

Looking around she noticed the clown on a bench nearby that she had talked to earlier, he was smoking an e-cigarette and drinking something from a plain paper bag. She sat down next to him.

‘Did you find what you were looking for?’ he said in a low gruff voice.

‘Yes thanks’ Abbie said, taking a sip of warm water.

‘Not too scary for you, there are far more monsters out there than you think, it’s not a good idea to go looking for them, you might not like what you find or you’ll end up in the belly of them’

‘ Thanks for the tip’ Abbie said standing and walking away.

She got back to the art studio where her benefactors were based, they were going to have a piece of her mind, she hadn’t finished the painting yet but she was so cross at not knowing or expecting what she actually had to paint that she stormed into the studio and made the people inside jump as the doorbell went off. She recognised the boss

‘ Mr Thomas may I have a word, NOW, please’ she said the last bit as sweetly as she could and battered her eye lids.

‘Certainly Miss Wright’ he said with confidence and a smile ‘ Have you done my painting?’ he asked after walking her into his office

‘ I have sketches ready for painting’ she said, her blood boiling at the sight of this smarmy American with his perfectly white teeth and cheesy smile

‘Good, anything else you wanted?’

‘ Yes, what the hell were you thinking sending me out there on my own, you do know what I had to paint don’t you?’

‘I have an idea, a dinosaur if I’m right, I needed a painting rather than a photo, you see if someone tried that, well it being a dinosaur they probably would have been eaten, painters can get closer, you see my logic, plus I need a new centre piece for my wall’ he said pointing to the empty wall behind his desk.
He was standing next to her as his hand was moving over her bottom.
Abbie took a step back and slapped him across his handsome face,

‘ And I thought I saw a monster earlier, it was nothing to the monster in here’
she turned to leave and tore up the dinosaur sketch in front of him and walked out, never mind about the money she thought, good luck to him finding another mug to go into that forest, especially if they see a clown first.