“You can’t trust me because I can’t trust you.”

This was the fourth time Dara’s family had to move their house because of her father’s job. And each time, their destinations were always right next to the forests. That morning, when she was tidying up her room, a flash light from the forest caught her attention. She decided to find out what the light was. But, soon after she was lost in the forest. She tried to find her way back, but accidentally stepped on the slippery rock on the edge of the cliff. Fortunately for her, the zipper of her hiking backpack became entangled in the branch below. Grasping the rock above her head, she exerted all her strength to lift her body up to the ground. However, no matter what she tried, the ground was unreachable. The hot sun burned her eyes. At that moment, when she was about to give up, she heard footsteps coming toward her. She smiled and shouted, “Help me!” A boy standing beside the cliff pulled her up. After she arrived safely, she carefully looked at the boy who had just saved her life. That boy wore a colorful costume, mostly red and gold. On top of his head, there was a bronze hat.

“Thank you.” She spoke as she swallowed hard. The boy gave her a wooden water bottle and asked, “Now, tell me what are you doing here?” “My family just moved here. I just wanted to explore this pretty forest, but I lost my direction for the way out.” The sky turned red as sunset approached. The boy invited her back to his home, explaining that it would take a long time to cross the forest. He would help her find the way the next morning. His village was an hour of walking from the cliff. It was a small village. Around thirty households lived in the area; oddly, the people in the village were mostly men. Those men were looking at her unhappily. His house was located at the end of the village. It was a small and cozy house. He told her to sit in the corner and brought her a bowl of soup. The soup smelled delicious, and she drank it all with pleasure after a long and exhausting day. She could not remember what happened next. But when she opened her eyes, she saw a tangled rope wrapped around her hand.

“What happened?” She saw the boy in the other corner. “People who came from the outside, like you, took my mother away. They seized every woman in our village, dragged them across the fields, and never brought them back. Now tell me who else do you want to take this time?” She could not understand any of that information. “You told me that you would bring me home tomorrow, and I trusted you, that’s why I am here.” He shouted at her, “You can’t trust me because I can’t trust you.” He still remembered the day a group of men came to his house. They searched every corner, hunting for his mother. Then two men dragged her away, as he begged and cried in despair. “You will stay tied up until you tell me where the women from my village are.” She tried to explain that she wasn’t involved at all but ended up fainting. Darkness closed in around her.

She was awakened by the shaking of the vehicle. She realized it was her family’s truck. The driver, sitting beside her, was her father. “What just happened? Was that real?” she questioned herself. She asked her father, but he got very angry. He forbade her from going anywhere near that forest again and told her that their family would move their house within the next month. His attitude was strange. He never got mad at her before. When they arrived at her house’s yard, he urged her to quickly go back to her room. As she sat by the window, gazing at the forest, she saw a wooden bottle fell beside the truck. Curious, she approached it. Suddenly, someone whispered “Help me” from the nearby cabin.

She screamed. Her father immediately heard it. He locked her in her room and warned if she dared to step outside,he would kill her. The long night dragged on. She couldn’t sleep. “What was that sound? Was someone hurt?” She couldn’t find an answer. The clock struck four, and her father entered the room. He pulled her toward the truck. They were about to move to a new house. The engine roared into the night, and her chance to uncover the truth vanished.