SOPHIA POV
I make up my mind to run away, without hesitating, without worrying. Just do it, I thought to myself.
I moved down slowly from the bed, walked to the door, and wore my sandals. I carried my backpack, and I remembered that Erica’s camera was with Lucy. I always want the camera to be with me, to feel Erica nearby. I won’t wake her up, I let it go, I thought to myself.
Opening the door ajar, I saw Alice snoring on Jackson’s chest. Wow! I thoughts, is he her boyfriend? Why don’t she tells us?
I tiptoed to the second door, opening it with caution, not to let it make noise. I stepped out and then closed it. And serene silence and darkness covered the village, and the sky was without stars neither moon.
I hurried into the bush, pacing into the forest. I don’t know where am going, but I believe that I will see Henry one day.
I’m walking, walking on the grass, matching dried ones. The trees were clapping as the breeze whirled up and direct my hair to the back. I feel cold and chill, and something bites my hands. And I realized that it was a mosquito after killing it.
I keep going deeper into the forest, deep into the dark, hoping the moon to pop itself down from the sky. I begin complaining about this dangerous action I took. I shouldn’t do this. I shouldn’t have run away, I thought, but I won’t go back anyway.
I remembered Annabelle snoring at my sides on the bed. Although her one eye was opened, and it was gazing at me but she has been charmed by the power of the night. And she has been eroding into another world of dreams, I guessed.
I loved the way she treats me today, in the kitchen, her behavior is as cool as Henry’s. I closed her open eye, and after a minute, it opens again. And then I remembered her words within me before she slept, “I will keep watching you even if I have slept off. You must not leave me alone. Sophia, don’t dare to leave me. The person you are searching for is not far away.”
I remembered glancing at the ceiling, meditating on her words, what does she mean by ‘The person you are searching for is not far away?’ Does she know where Henry’s living or she said those words to delayed me from running away?
And here, in the forest, I keep meditating on it. Suddenly, an animal ran from my side into the deep forest, I was scared, but I didn’t stop or turned my back.
And I remembered turning my head to the left on the bed. And saw Lucy and Bella who had slept too. They have done all their best for me, and I don’t want to put them into another problem. I don’t want one of them to lose her life for my sake. I remembered Alice gazing at me to see if I have slept as she walked out of the room. And I wondered where she goes at bag time before I knew the truth.
There, on the bed, the night couldn’t charms my eyes. And here, I feel uneasy. The uneasy was not because of the strange animal that rushed away now. It was not because I didn’t stop to turn my back home. But the uneasy was because I don’t know what is happening to Henry.
I don’t want to imagine what would be happening to Henry right now. Does he have somewhere to sleep? Does he even eat?
I remembered asking myself the same questions in the room, till I can’t any longer wait for the morning, as the night crawled like a snail.
I felt guilty for getting mad at Benjamin before he walked away. I sighed, wondering what on earth is happening to him, in this unknown and strange village.
Here, here, in the forest, I don’t want to think of Reuben and his lovely friend. What keeps them staying since all these days? Or did Alice lead us to the wrong place? Or had the King imprisoned them?
I remembered breathing out loudly on the bed hoping if no one heard, hoping if it doesn’t wake someone up. I keep thinking through this crawling night, and I can’t remember how to sleep again.
Back then, In the city, I remembered that Erica and I won’t sleep until our boyfriends’ sleep. We would keep chatting, laughing, communicating through video calls, and planning what to do to test our boyfriends, to see if they love us. Sometimes they win, and sometimes they lose. “It doesn’t matter, humans are imperfect beings,” Erica would say to comfort me. But now, the forest looked blurred, so blurred till I wiped away my tears. I can’t endure the feeling of walking alone without Henry, and that thoughts even motivated me more not to stop walking. Although I don’t quite know where am going.
And now, and here, walking deep in the forest, I fell into a trap, into a deep pit. It was a trap for wild animals. I shouted but no one heard my voice. I screamed harder and harder. My leg, my hands have been wounded.
I keep falling. No matter how tried to climb up the pit. My back hit the stony ground and I surrendered because I had been weak and was wounded so many times and I don’t want another fever to happens to me.
The night that can’t win my eyes in the room, charmed my eyes here in the hole, in the pit and then I slept off.
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ALICE POV
I was surprised to wake up on the incessantly beating chest of Jackson, and as if it is contagious, he woke up too. My eyes held his, and I feel shy. But I was happy that I achieve my dreams. Jackson was my dream.
As we are gazing at each other, his eyes knocked out the dictionary from my head. And then someone shouted out of the room, “Where is Sophia?”
Lucy, Bella, and Anabelle dashed out, gazing at us. I feel shy. “Someone mentioned Sophia now,” I said to bail myself from embarrassment.
“Yes,” Anabelle said, “where was she?”
“This second door was unlocked,” Lucy alarmed, darting to the door
“I can’t see her bag in the room,” Bella said.
“She runs away?” I asked
We all darted out, surveying the surroundings, seeing nothing.
“I tried all my best not to let her go,” Anabelle said, his head bent. I know it hurt him so much. Maybe he is regretting changing his identity. But if not that he changes it, the killer might have killed him.
“Anabelle, this is not the time for weeping,” I said, and he wipes off his tears.
“We need to look for her?” Bella said
“Where exactly?” Lucy asked
“Please let’s look for her,” Anabelle said, “I’m ready to go anywhere.”
“This is bad,” I said, “Sophia shouldn’t have done this.”
We all darted in, her friends carry their backpacks and we all darted outback.
“I will follow you guys,” Jackson said
“No, you don’t have to,” I said, “you don’t have to put yourself into trouble.”
“I can’t,” he said, “let’s look for her in the village.”
“Let’s be fast please,” Anabelle said
We hurried down the road and turned to the right, searching for her, everywhere. Three hunters walked out of the bushes, dragging a dead anaconda out.
“Oh My God,” Lucy said, “don’t tell me they killed the snake in the same forest that we slept yesterday.”
“Yes,” Jackson said, “They killed it there.”
“I will never in my life go to the forest again,” Bella said.
We hurried up the road, looking every and then after two hours we stood still, and every face here looks pale.
“Sophia must not get lost,” Lucy said, “I’m missing her already.”
I looked at Bella’s face, she was holding tears with her eyes, pulling her lips inside her mouth, and then looking down.
“Maybe we should split ourselves,” I said.
“Good idea,” Jackson said.
“I will follow Jackson,” Lucy said and I began to feel jealousy again. How dare she talks like that?
“Me too,” Bella said. Now I was frustrated.
“Annabelle should follow Alice,” Lucy said, “since Alice and Jackson were familiar with this environment.”
“That is true,” Jackson said, looking at my eyes, smiling.
He said that intentionally so that I could jealous of him more.
“Okay then,” I said, “If that is what all of you want.”
Lucy and Bella followed Jackson to the right and I and Anabelle walked to the left side.