EIGHT YEARS AGO
"How pitiful she must be to have lost them at such a young age."
"It is because they insisted on living so close to that damn forest that they were quickly dragged to their deaths."
"She might actually be next."
"Hush! Now's not the time to be speaking of such things."
The village elder approached a young girl who looked no older than ten. To have lost her parents at such a young age, the neighbors were prone to believe that it was a curse.
The young child was wearing dark clothes and looking afar. The elder sighed.
It was not right for a child to know about death at such a young age, especially because her parents died with so many mysterious injuries in their bodies. So, the burial was kept away from her eyes and she was only informed about their passing.
The older man cleared his throat and asked gently. "Sophie, do you have any relatives who can take care of you?"
"Please do not worry about me, Elder." Sophie managed a brave smile. "My uncle is going to pick me up in a couple of days. I have sent them a letter informing them about my parent's death."
"Ah, then that is good." The village elder was impressed that the young child was able to think in advance to take care of her. So, she had sent her uncle a letter? This was really good. The elder felt some relieved.
Nobody would even think about adopting Sophie for themselves, as if the curse would spread through the entire village if they were to come any closer. Once the funeral rites were finally over, one by one, the villagers left the lone girl to herself.
When Sophie came back to the now-empty hut, that was when she started to cry.
Tears welled up in her eyes and Sophie dropped to her knees. She was at the corner of the hut and hugged her knees to her chest. Sobs began to wrack up from her chest, her shoulders shook and trembled as she wept.
Sophie couldn't do this during the time when her neighbors all came together to attend the funeral ceremony, she did not want any of them to pity her even further.
"I lied," Sophie's voice croaked and wobbled.
There was no uncle, relative or any other family left for her to turn to.
All Sophie ever knew and grew up with was her parents in this forest that people thought was haunted.
But that wasn't true at all.
Every happy moment was filled with them being in the forest, from growing vegetables to harvesting berries and picking beautiful flowers.
Even though the villagers thought the forest was cursed, it was there that Sophie played with her father and talked with her mother. They were such loving parents who doted on her. Her life was happy, even though they barely had anything.
Also, there were no dangerous creatures or monsters that lurked in the forest. No evil witch sought to devour them at all.
All of the rumors were false. Even the animals that lived in the forest were not something that dared to hurt anyone. When she was little, Sophie remembered the time when she discovered a wolf cub in the forest.
It was injured and bleeding, but instead of trying to chase it away, both of Sophie's parents were quick to mend and nurse the wolf cub back to health. Those were one of the moments that made Sophie's life bright and complete.
But now… Sophie was alone.
Sophie cried hard until she fell asleep.
***
A couple of days later, Sophie was now on her knees and harvesting the vegetables her parents had once grown in the forest.
Even though she lost her entire family, it was difficult to just stop living.
At least that was what her parents probably wanted for her. Sophie couldn't just lose all hope.
Sophie looked up at the sky and noticed how dark and bleak it looked. Several dark thunderclouds were gathered and it was only a matter of time before a storm fell all over the place.
"I need to hurry up," Sophie muttered to herself. She rushed to gather the vegetables and as many fruits as she could carry in her basket. When Sophie was done, she returned to her hut and did her best to prepare herself a meal.
Although it took some effort, at last, Sophie now sat at her family's table and was eating some vegetable stew. If there was anything that Sophie was even more grateful for, it was the fact that her parents taught her to be self-sufficient.
Maybe once Sophie was prepared, she could go to the river where her father used to catch fish. All Sophie needed to do was get some earthworms and then she'd have something wonderful to eat.
The sudden rain prevented Sophie from going out for the rest of the day until finally, it was night. The thunderstorm kept pouring relentlessly while Sophie stayed in her hut.
Whenever it was cold and freezing like this, her mother, father, and Sophie would all gather under one blanket as her mother shared stories… but now it was just herself.
But Sophie was still warm, wasn't she? Sophie was under the covers of her bed and was keeping to herself. Until a sudden burst of lightning outside her window and the clap of thunder shook Sophie.
"I'm being silly," Sophie whispered to herself.
There was nothing for Sophie to be afraid of. That was until she heard something else besides the heavy rainstorm and thunder. It was the sound of urgent knocking at her door.
Sophie didn't have any clue who it was.
Sophie's neighbors never bothered to visit and check after her parent's death so she doubted it was any of them. No one cared at all besides doing the bare minimum.
"Help me, please!"
Sophie's eyes widened as she realized it was a cry for help. The voice was croaked and very faint, but after her ears were very sharp and could listen even a faint sound. So, she was very sure it as a cry for help.
Could she really go out right now? Fear made its way to her heart as Sophie thought who could actually be outside and waiting for her.
Sophie was never afraid of the forest before, but now, all the rumors that her neighbors whispered whenever she and her parents traded with them came to her mind. Sophie stayed frozen underneath her covers.
"Help," the voice was growing weaker.
Sophie's heart beat loudly in her chest, but then she was already at the door and pulling it open. Sophie could never forgive herself if she actually turned someone away just because she was afraid.
A boy not much older than Sophie was swaying at the porch of her hut. He was completely drenched from the rain and he was pale as a ghost. The scent of blood was in the air and the boy looked at her with widened eyes.
He stumbled and then fainted into her arms.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺