Chapter 1: The Forest

Once, there was a little girl named Tiqa, both beautiful inside and out; she lived in a good household and was raised to help those in need. Tiqa was happy in her household with two loving parents but longed for a younger sibling that she could be a role model to and have fun with. After long nights of praying, and praying, and praying her prayers were soon answered on her 11th birthday when she was given the news she had longed to hear, she was going to be a big sister. Months of waiting went by, and her mother gave birth to a beautiful baby girl that they named Driaka. Tiqa couldn't have been happier. Months went by, and Tiqa developed a strong bond with her little sister. It was a bond so strong that Tiqa could make her sister laugh in the middle of a day-long cry. Jealous of Tiqa's bond with Driaka, their parents soon devised a plan that would change everyone's life forever.

One day before Tiqa's birthday, Tiqa and her family were sitting at a round table in the kitchen. Driaka was in a high chair, throwing her food around, and their mom had her hand over her face sitting on a chair next to her. Their mom said "Driaka you need to eat," and tried to feed her, but she slapped the food out of her mother's hand. Their mother slammed her hand down on the table and asked, "Why won't she eat?" Tiqa answered, "Because she likes when you make train sounds as you feed her." Tiqa took Driaka's spoon, scooped up some of Driaka's food, and made train sounds as she fed her. Tiqa said, "See, she'll eat her food, but you have to make train sounds or she won't eat it." Their mom looked at their (Tiqa and Driaka's) dad, and their dad asked, "So Tiqa, are you excited for your birthday tomorrow?" Tiqa answered, "Yes, I'm super excited to see what you guys have planned for me!" Tiqa's mom said, "Well, it will be a day to remember...." Tiqa said, "I can't wait, I heard it's gonna snow. We can make some hot chocolate!" Tiqa's dad said, "Of course we can." Tiqa said, "Can I be excused? I want to go outside and play." Tiqa's mom said, "Okay, but stay away from the forest." Tiqa left the table, kissed Driaka on the forehead, grabbed her coat, put it on, and left the house while saying, "Okay, mom I'll stay away from the forest."

While Tiqa was outside, her parents were inside talking about her. Her mom said, "I'm so sick of them both. I can't wait to get rid of them once and for all." Tiqa's dad asked, "But what shall we tell the villagers and the royal family when questions are asked about how two little girls went missing?" Tiqa's mom answered, "It was an accident. The two of them went too far away in the forest to play during Tiqa's special birthday surprise. We tried to find them searching all day and night, but we couldn't. I'm sure when they finally find them, they'll both be dead, and we won't have to deal with these nuisance daughters anymore. Then we can finally have a child to ourselves, and Tiqa will not be able to take our child away from us ever again." Tiqa's dad said, "I still don't understand why we have to abandon Driaka as well she did nothing wrong." Tiqa's mom said, "Because their bond is too strong. Driaka will never do anything we say! She loves Tiqa too much. Let's just Pray that Driaka dies fast. After all, it will be too cold for Driaka to survive anyway. We'll Pray that Driaka dies fast and Tiqa dies a slow and painful death. She deserves to die!" Tiqa's dad looked at Driaka and said, "Sorry Driaka, no hard feelings. It was never you it was your sister. She's making us do this, Driaka... she's making us kill you. I hope in Heaven you can forgive us."

After hours of playing, the day was done. Tiqa ate her dinner, bathed, said her Prayers, and laid in bed. Her dad came into her room, sat on her bed, and asked , "Are you ready to be 12?" Tiqa answered, "Of course I'm ready, I can't wait!" Her dad kissed her on the forehead and left the room while saying, "Have pleasant dreams."

Soon Tiqa fell asleep and awoke at the crack of dawn. She ran into her parent's room and jumped up and down on their bed while saying, "It's my birthday!" Her parents sat up and she sat on their bed. Her mother said, "You're right it is your birthday now go put on your coat because your present is outside." Tiqa ran and put on her coat while her parents put on their coats, got Driaka, and put her coat on her. Tiqa stood by the door and her dad held Driaka while he and her mom walked over to the door. Their mom reached into her pocket, got out a blindfold, and said, "Your eyes will be covered so you can't see your surprise." Their mom blindfolded her and she said, "Alright mom lets go!" They all left the house and walked deep into the forest. The minutes of walking turned into hours upon hours.

9 hours later...

Tiqa's mom said, "Alright Tiqa take off your blindfold." She took off her blindfold and asked, "What's the surprise?" Tiqa turned around and saw her mom holding a large branch. Her mom swung the branch, hitting Tiqa over the head. Tiqa fell to the ground and was dazed. Her vision was blurry, and her hearing echoed. She heard her mom's echoing voice saying, "Drop the baby and let's go." Tiqa's dad put Driaka on the ground, and both her parents ran off. Soon, her vision went black, and she couldn't hear anything.

The hours went by, and Tiqa felt rain drops on her face. She woke up to see her sister lying on the ground crying. She crawled over to her sister, pet her head, and said, "Don't cry, Driaka.... everything is alright.... I'm here." Driaka began to smile, laugh, and reach out for her. Tiqa stumbled to her feet, hunched over, grabbed Driaka, stood up, and screamed, "Mom, dad," but there was no answer. She looked around and didn't know where she was. She put her hand on the back of Driaka's head and began to run. Soon she came upon an abandoned stone wall cottage. She quickly ran up to the door, opened it, ran inside, and closed the door behind her. It was cold in the cottage. It was so cold that she could see her own breath. She looked around and saw a fireplace that had matches sitting on the mantle, a couch with holes in it, holes on the floor, glass on the floor, and a water damaged wooden chair. She yelled, "Hello," but there was no answer. Driaka began to cough and shiver. Tiqa said, "Don't worry, Driaka, I'm gonna warm you right up. Tiqa laid Driaka on the couch, took off her own coat, and wrapped it around Driaka so she could stay warm. Tiqa said, "This should warm you right up." Tiqa began to shiver and could barely talk. She said to Driaka, "I'm.... gonna f..f...fin...daaaaaa... som....thi..in...in...ing t..t..t..t..to....bu...r..r..r..r..rn... She ran further into the cottage and came across the kitchen. She looked in the kitchen drawers to find crumpled up thick stacks of papers in them. She filled her arms with paper, ran back into the living room, threw the papers into the fireplace, lit it on fire, grabbed Driaka, and sat in front of the fireplace to warm up. Tiqa said, "Thank you, God, for this... He's gonna to protect us, Driaka, we'll be safe."