On the Way to the Unknown

  They begin to hike along the nature trail The boy and the girl embark on their joint hike along the nature trail. They get to know each other and share their motivations and dreams for the adventure. A flirtatious atmosphere develops, and they joke around a lot with each other.

When he sees the girl approaching the pink backpack, which he understands belongs to her, he immediately feels how beautiful he finds her, he can't help but pause a little in fascination over her. She has long red hair, braided into a tight braid on both sides of her head, and sturdy hiking boots of the type he himself likes. As she prepares to grab her pink backpack, he asks if she's also going to hike the nature trail through the southern outskirts. The girl looks up in surprise at the boy, who is her own age, her heart skips a beat in astonishment, surprised that she felt a little happy, why did I feel happy? she wonders. Because he's talking to me.

She smiles to herself when she notices that the boy, whose name she doesn't yet know, was looking at her with curiosity. When he suddenly asks her, she's not entirely prepared. "Yes?" she responds.

"So, are you also going to follow the nature trail through the southern outskirts?" she asks with a smile.

The boy shrugs a little and smiles back; he can't help it when she smiles.

"Yes, that's the plan. It seems like we're heading in the same direction?" he says hopefully.

The boy feels a bit jittery about the sudden turn of events; he had expected to go alone. He usually hikes alone. He has hiked many other trails alone, but never this one. This trail is considered a bit more challenging, a bit more remote. The distances between resting places are longer. He looks at the girl with a searching gaze. She's wearing long knee-high socks and short blue shorts; her legs look strong, he thinks, impressed. He wonders if she's accustomed to long hikes. When she gracefully puts on the backpack with a backward swing onto her back, he's impressed.

She thinks about who the guy is; he looks strong. She notices that he's looking at her with a searching gaze and is trying to impress him by putting on the backpack in a clever way she's seen on YouTube. To her surprise, it works. The backpack slides into place with a satisfying thud that makes her legs wobble. She smiles contentedly at her successful attachment.

She nods in response to his question.

"Oh, definitely." She waits for him to also get the backpack on, not as quickly and  not as gracefully. Then the two of them start walking side by side along the trail. She thinks, of course they're going the same way if they're going to hike the trail; the other way leads to the nearest larger village, who wants to go there?

"It's nice to have company," she says and notices how he gives her a quick sidelong glance. "I mean, adventures are always better when you can share them with someone."

The boy lowers his gaze slightly and looks at the gravel beneath his feet when he hears her response, and he smiles to himself before looking up again and answering with a soft chuckle.

"Absolutely, the wilderness can get quite lonely when you're all by yourself."

She nods and looks at the beautiful landscape around them as they leave the dusty road behind. "And it's always safer to be two, especially when tackling more challenging trails."

The boy agrees. "Definitely. Besides, two usually think better than one."

"You're right. And if we happen to get lost, we can blame each other," she agrees. She smiles mischievously, forming small wrinkles at the bridge of her nose. She starts humming a tune, something she does when she feels confident and a little carefree. She thinks that if they go the wrong way, she has someone to blame, and she chuckles at the thought, feeling relieved.

The boy smiles and nods toward the camouflage-patterned backpack. "So, your pink backpack seems to be heading toward the same goal as my green one."

She laughs and nods.

"Yes, it seems so. And your green backpack seems just as ready as my pink one for... adventures." The last thing she says with a slightly lower voice and emphasis, as if they were in a movie, an adventure movie

"Yeah, maybe they'll become friends," he jokes further. "Nice backpack, by the way; I like the pattern and that it's pink, it's a bit unusual."

"Yes, but it's actually clever," she explains. "Animals don't see red like we do, so for them, it's just another shade of green."

"I see, but humans can spot it from a distance, so if you misplace your backpack, you can find it more easily!"

"There you get a point, for cleverness," she says.

They continue to talk to each other as they walk along the path, laughing and sharing stories. After a while, they realized they have quite a bit in common when it comes to interests and thoughts about adventure.

After a while, the boy wonders with a wide smile, "So, what do you say,  we stick together for the whole journey? Two adventurers are better than one, right?"

She considers the proposal; she doesn't know him very well yet, of course. It's always a risk to trust someone too quickly, but she thinks she'll give it a chance.

"Yes, that sounds quite exciting! Although I want to be clear about one thing, when you join me in my world, you follow my rules."

He's a bit surprised at first by her determined tone but figures it's better to listen to what her rules are first.

"What rules?" he asks curiously, still open to suggestions.

She can't help but laugh, feeling relieved that he doesn't dismiss her.

"Well, I have some rules that everyone must follow when they hang out with me." She looks at the boy. "Firstly, the adventure comes first, enjoying it and not rushing."

"Absolutely," the boy replies. "That was easy. What's the second rule?"

"Secondly, show respect to everything and everyone we meet, including animals. You never know who you might need help from when you're in a foreign place, so one should be kind and humble. What do you say?"

"People and animals, sure," he says, nodding. The boy is impressed by the commitment the girl is showing. "Yes," he says a little hesitantly, "those are good rules. I'd be foolish to protest. Any other rules?"

"Yes," the girl says with a suspicious smile, "there are secret rules that I can't tell anyone else about." She winks at him.

"Can the first rule be that all secret rules are secret and shouldn't be told?" the boy asks curiously, raising an eyebrow.

"Perhaps," she says mysteriously, trying to hide a smile. "Do you have any rules?" she wonders.

"That's right, the Freedom to Roam is a fantastic way to ensure that anyone walking in the forest can enjoy it without  harming it. It should rightfully belong to everyone." He looks at Nina with a proud smile and gives her a gentle nudge.

The girl laughs joyfully. "Exactly! the Freedom to Roam, I agree." She nudges him back gently. "Don't you think I'm familiar with the the Freedom to Roam?"

She drifts into thought, grabbing a dry branch that protrudes from the trail. She began to wave it around as she collected her thoughts. "There are other things too," she said finally, "but I won't tell you, now. The only thing you need to remember is to listen and think."

He says he understands what she means.

"Do you understand what I mean?" she asks, surprised.

"I think so. You can let me know if you think I misunderstood something, perhaps?"

She laughs and nods enthusiastically.

"I'm completely on board with that!" She thinks that this adventure is going to be even better than she imagined; she likes that he's so willing to listen and try to understand. It's also nice that he lets her make decisions about the things that feel important for her to feel safe, which she appreciates. Not everyone thinks it's that important.

"By the way, I realized we've been talking about adventures and all sorts of things, but I haven't actually asked your name yet," he says.

Nina smiles back and laughs lightly. "That's true! My name is Nina."

The boy extends his hand. "Nice to meet you, Nina. I'm Dan."

Nina shakes his hand with a smile. "Nice to meet you, Dan."