Near the luminous fire, Anna and her best friend sat in the shabby cottage that once belonged to her
grandfather—a sanctuary untouched by anyone or anything. Reminiscing about their old memories,
Anna felt sorrowful about how many of her friends had changed. If someone had told her back then
how things would turn out, she might have laughed in disbelief. Yet now, Lisa was all she had left.
They could still feel the warmth despite being in the middle of the forest, lonely and distanced from
the city centre. That was what made the forest special—a chance to be unconscious and to escape
from the harsh reality.
Anna had never learned to express herself when she was in pain; perhaps no one had ever taught
her how. She always believed that if she acted as though everything was fine, the problems would
cease all of a sudden. But sometimes, she would treat herself as the problem. In these moments, she
would become silent, isolating herself completely from her surroundings. She would not want
anyone to acknowledge her as a human being. In the quietness of her isolation, Lisa seemed to be
the only person who realized that Anna’s desire to live was deteriorating with every passing day.
Lisa was the only glimmer of light in her darkened existence, apart from what was left of her
grandfather.
He had always interpreted the forest as a liminal place, tied to local myths and ancient legends. Anna
grew up listening to his stories of spirits and guardians of the forest that protect those who seek
refuge within it. She never believed any of that, but sitting here, surrounded by Lisa’s unwavering
presence, she could almost feel the trees breathing alongside her.
The fire crackled softly, sending sparks into the cool night air. Beyond the cottage walls, the forest
seemed to shift and hum with movements full of life in the shadows and whispers in the breeze.
There was a nearly imperceptible warmth carried on the air as if the very forest itself had wrapped
them in unseen arms. Anna shivered—not from any cold, but from some odd feeling of being
watched by something big, old, and alive. She felt as though her grandfather was encapsulated by
the mightiness of the forest.
"Do you remember what he used to say?" Lisa asked in a low voice, careful not to disturb the quiet
forest. "About the forest choosing who it protected?"
Anna slowly nodded and said that the forest knew them all too well.
Lisa was very surprised and said, "Maybe your grandfather wasn’t making up a random story.
Maybe he was right about all the forest stuff."
Anna looked at her as if she had lost her mind and uneasily asked, "What do you mean by that?"
Lisa shrugged. "Think about it for a second. All those years, you felt like you didn’t fit in anywher
But when we’re together in the forest, you always feel very comfortable. It’s like the woods knew
you needed somewhere to go, and they were desperately waiting to reach out to you." She glanced
through the window; the trees seemed to approve of what Lisa had just said. "Maybe it brought us
here for a reason, as you lost your hopes, expectations, and lust for life."
Anna wanted to scoff, to dismiss Lisa’s words as mere fantasy. But deep down, she also wanted to
believe, to reconnect with life. The forest had always been more than just an ordinary place, with its
lively whispers and shifting shadows. Unlike everyone and everything else, the forest acknowledged
her existence even when she didn’t ask for it.
"Can you hear the voice?" Lisa asked suddenly, her tone quieter, almost a whisper.
Anna froze and couldn’t believe her ears.
At first, there was only the gentle crackle of the fire and the rustling of the wind.
Then, from far away, she heard a humming, almost like a melody, weaving indistinctly through the
trees. It sounded haunting yet strangely relaxing, like the lullaby her grandfather used to sing to
help her fall asleep.
"I do," Anna replied with a shaky voice, tinged with excitement and liveliness.
The forest smiled at Anna faintly: "Maybe you’re not as alone as you think."