2 Chapter 2

On top of a certain hill, a small silhouette could be seen. If one looks closely, one could see that the silhouette was stomping it feet on the soil beneath it and if you listen closely, you could hear a young and crisp voice of a child being carried by the gentle yet cold winds, whispering the forest in silence.

As if warning it.

…

It's already been a day and a half since the day I found myself stranded in this damnable forest. Specifically, 37:34:07.

Looking at the view in front of me, a virgin forest bask in the brilliance of this unusually huge moon (?), I couldn't help myself from howling due to the frustration and fear I'm feeling ever since, I step foot on this damnable land.

I could feel my nerves throbbing after seeing that the forest, even after reaching the top of this steep hill, I still couldn't see a single sign of civilization as if I've been stuck in some kind of a very lonely, desolate, and large forest.

Sitting down, I took a bite of the 'apple' I picked along the way. Feeling its crispy crust and its soft and juicy inside, I could feel my emotion and nerves calming down. My eyes widened in surprise at how magical this fruit called 'Apple' are in controlling my emotions on such a crucial situation.

My eyes moved from gazing the damnable forest to the little red apple on my hand. Well, you can't judge me, it's the first time I have eaten such fruit in my whole life, and I couldn't imagine that its sweetness and texture would be this amazing had it not been explained on some book I have read before.

Looking at its reddish texture, I couldn't stop my mouth from watering followed by a big gulp rushing down my throat. Not even a second passed as I took another bite of this delicious fruit.

Bite after bite, gulp after gulp; I could feel the cool and watery juices of this fruit filling my mouth which then continued sliding down my throat along with its solid substance.

Not more than a minute, the apple on my hand becomes nothing but a pinky sized marble which I deemed to be the 'seed' of the said fruit.

Searching my stock pile of knowledge, I remembered that this little thing could be eaten whole with no side effect but it would never give the same taste as its crust and juicy parts so, I let it be. Besides that, I also learnt that this thing is helpful on giving birth to a tree similar to the one where I plucked the apple before and if my memory doesn't get me wrong, its name is 'Apple Tree'.

I couldn't eat something so useful after remembering this. Such a great asset, eaten just to satisfy some kid's curiosity… how ironic.

Shaking my head on such useless thoughts, I gave the apple seed one final glance before putting it in my pocket and then continued gazing at the damnable forest.

Then the irritation and fear which I almost forgot, slowly resurfaced the longer I looked at this damnable place. I took a deep breath and along with that, I puffed my mouth, ready to shout my frustration but I remembered the apple I eaten just a while back.

And after remembering its unique and relaxing flavor, the shout I prepared became a sigh as I helplessly lie on this hill. It's hard and rocky surface touched my back, along with it is pain. Reminding me that none of this is a dream and all that's happening is real which I should accept. No matter how unusual… and fearful it is.

It was then that I noticed the beautiful dark sky which was filled with tiny light spots, I'm pretty sure those things are what my seniors called, 'Stars'… Which is, by the way, similar to our sun, considered as a heavenly body? How bizarre.

Along with the glaring, unusually huge moon(?), it gave off a feeling of how small and insignificant we are in the face of the never ending universe.

Continuing such position which lasted no more than 3 minutes, I slowly got up.

Now, my mind finally regained its calm.

'Sigh… Let's recount on what happened from the start, maybe I missed something important.'

…

From the moment I lost connection to the Headquarters, uhhmmm… broke my SOS device, I've been wandering the forest after that.

I might not look like one but I'm a proud train scout who has gained a perfect star on my Survival Badge, so situation such as this is not a problem at all.

Then, I tried remembering what my mentor always told, "If you're stranded on a forest, and found your SOS device broken due to unknown variable, crouch down as fast as you can and survey your surroundings."

So, I did as I was told. I tried crouching down but because of the uneven ground I was standing, before I even do such actions, I already found myself stumbling and rolling by at least two times before stopping abruptly.

'Ahh…'

I really don't know what happened on why I stopped but I knew that it just saved my life on the impending doom that was about to happen on the little me.

Touching my body due to the pain and then massaging my wobbly head, I looked back on what stopped my momentum, speculating it to be a patch of grass on how soft it was, only to leave me speechless.

Before me… if I didn't stop just now, I would've fallen on this steep cliff and saw my body roiling on that ravaging flow of water down, down below.

'B-but what stopped me?'

Looking at that deep crevice, located just inches away from me, and my body shivered uncontrollably that I felt coldness creeping up my body. Then again, I remembered that I stopped just before falling and that couldn't be my delusion since I felt it myself.

But what I saw besides the deep crevice? I saw nothing… there was NOTHING blocking my path.

This…. is the first point of the unusual activity I noticed upon arriving on this unusual forest.