MEET

003 Meet

Fear continues to haunt Anindira, but in the end, she realizes to herself that fear must be fought or else she will continue to be stuck there. In the end, courage, even if only a little, came back to her. Her feet regained their footing, though ignorance kept her pacing back and forth. Her brain was busy debating, between the feeling of fear in her heart and the fact that there was water ahead, which could be the possibility that there would be a settlement, or even if there wasn't one, she could walk down it looking for another way. At the very least, she had to find at least one clue that could lead her to seek help.

The more Anindira got goosebumps, the forest in front of her felt silent. Even though the sun was still shining brightly, {it was summer in the world where Anindira was standing now} the forest felt dark and full of gloom.

''What's this? Why does it look like a haunted forest up ahead?"

''Wait Dira! Stop that ridiculous thought of yours!''

"Come on, don't scare yourself!"

Anindira continued to exclaim and mutter in anxiety in her heart. The feeling of horror that made the hairs on her neck stand up continued to envelop Anindira's mind. She is indeed a tough and brave tomboyish girl, but that doesn't mean she's without weaknesses. Anindira is still a very young teenage girl. She was just 16 years old.

Anindira sleeps with the lights off. However, it's in her room. A place where she knew clearly that she would be safe and comfortable. When she is in the village or the wilderness. Anindira would not want to walk alone without the company of her family if it was dark. She didn't hate the dark, but she was afraid of the gloomy atmosphere in a foreign and unknown place. What else is a dangerous place, like a wilderness.

It was natural to happen to a brave girl like her once. Because in the dark Anindira could not see, even though there was a dim light from the flashlight. It will keep her on high alert and make her uncomfortable in the end. Because she won't be able to be aware of anything around her, resulting in a feeling of being threatened. That's what Anindira doesn't like.

As a young girl, she had unusual tastes. Anindira likes horror movies with gripping themes. She doesn't like movies with mellow plots. But it's on television or cinema. As scary as it is, she knows that it's just engineering.

It's different in real life like this. Anindira is cowardly, very cowardly, super cowardly. However, she likes challenging things like roller coaster rides and even Bungee jumping she does. Anindira and her three older brothers are also very fond of rock climbing, which challenges adrenaline at high altitudes.

**

Currently, her brain was going on an exciting debate, her nervous nerves firmly said...

''Don't go there!''

''It's scary''

''It's gloomy and dark. You don't know what's waiting for you there?!''

However, one of her adventurous traits was adamantly against that. Anindira was confused between the instincts in her heart and the logic in her brain. Both of them were arguing in her head, but her adventurous spirit finally won the hard debate in her mind.

''What do you know? If not even try?! Don't be a coward! Experience is the best teacher to teach you...''

''There are clear indications of water ahead, why bother with something that isn't even clear what it is?!''

''Come on Dira, be brave! Don't be a spoiled child…'' Anindira cried out to herself in her heart.

Anindira is still trying to encourage her heart not to give up hope.

Anindira must decide what to do. But, she had finally made her decision. She prefers what she thinks is clearer according to her logic.

Most likely there would be water up ahead, whereas if she turned around, it wasn't certain she would find anything immediately. Don't know how long she's been walking since then? Much time had been wasted since she had arrived in that forest. The day will get darker because it will soon turn into a tense night. When that happened, she would be blind without any light, she would become an easy target for the predators of the dark lord of the night.

"Forward hit... Backward is also unclear!" cried Anindira, "Keep moving forward and never give up!" Anindira shouted again, she still didn't give up hope. She encourages herself.

For a few minutes, she walked with steady steps from where she was pacing back and forth like an iron earlier. It turned out that it was true that instinct had guided her, that there was indeed a river there. A very large and fast-flowing river with the sound of the roar of its loud currents is heard, making the dense gloomy forest have a consistent melodic sound. The river is so wide and deep that even a large ship can easily walk on it. But, because Anindira's view was blocked by mist, her eyes could not reach the terrible and dangerous thing on the other side of the river.

The temperature in that place was extraordinarily cold, different from the previous place. The cold temperature here was piercing Anindira's bones. It was very painful, her teeth kept chattering, and she was shivering with cold. Anindira started to have difficulty breathing, her body had a hard time adapting, accustomed to the tropical temperatures in her hot country. Still about thirty to fifty meters away from the river, suddenly Anindira was startled by someone's voice from behind her.

"STOP!" shouted a man.

His voice didn't sound like he was screaming but felt like it was squealing sharply at her.

"You will die if you keep going. You better go back to where you came before..." he continued.

Anindira was both surprised and happy, her chest, which had felt tight before, now seemed to expand, and her heart felt like it wanted to jump up and down with joy.

''People's voices!'' Anindira cried out in her heart while looking back, preparing to run to approach him.

"Sir, help me...'' Anindira called out to the man behind him. ''AH! HAH..." Anindira exclaimed in surprise, her feet were ready to run. At any moment, she froze, her mouth gaping and her eyes wide in shock. She was horrified by what she was seeing now.

There is nothing strange about what Anindira saw. She saw the figure of a dashing young man with a height of almost two meters. Black hair, straight, long just below his shoulders. His legs are long and balanced, and his large body is muscular like a bodybuilder. His face could not be seen, because he was taller than Anindira and there was also a thin mist blocking his eyes so that only his silhouette could be seen. However, what surprised Anindira, even more, was the aura that the young man gave off. There is a kind of strong aura surrounding it, giving a message as if we are seeing a large and sturdy fort with weapons ready to launch at any time if anyone disturbs the peace of this fort. The sight of the strange young man in front of Anindira was even more frightening, because his upper body, which was not covered with clothes, revealed his broad chest and eight-pack stomach, which were decorated with various scars.