Dark Forest (source from unsplash)
Sweat dripped from forehead to the soles of Yulika's feet. At the same time, her heart was beating fast in rhythm with the sound of crickets that could only be heard clearly at that time. Several breezes came erratically and shook the tree branches. Along with atmosphere of the afternoon sky which would soon turn gray, creating an eerie and unsightly atmosphere for a 14 years old girl.
Currently, Yulika only believes in her own instincts. She didn’t stop praying to quickly find a way out of that place. She had been lost for two hours, and she couldn't stand the muddy road any longer and there were only pine trees, brushwood and a few dead trees along the way she had walked.
“Milaaaaa? Anastasyaaaaa? Joseeeeeph…? Where are you guys?
Even though she was out of breath because she was starting to run out of energy due to walking 6 km without a clear direction, Yulika kept screaming out the names of her two best friends and a forester who was supposed to accompany Yulika when conducting field observations. They should be having fun today. But things can't go as smoothly as they've always hoped.
Three hours ago, all the students of Boulevard secondary school had gathered in the main field to carry out an outdoor activities and to introduce the forest ecosystem environment to students. There are 8 foresters who will lead each squad as well as to be a mentors in this activity. Yulika was in the last squad with her two best friends Mila and Anastasya and Joseph the forester who became their field supervisor.
When all the squads have entered the forest. They began to split up and were taken over by their respective foresters to location where they would study and take a rest for lunch. Yulika was in the eight squad and their group was the last to walk. while walking, Yulika stepped on something sticky, black and slimy. Yulika knew what it was and decided to immediately clean her shoes near the flowing river where she was walking without telling anyone about this.
“Uuufhh, so gross! I must hurry and catch up with them!”
Yulika had almost finished washing her dirty shoes but suddenly a wave of water came hitting Yulika's shoes so she accidentally let it go. Her shoes expanded towards the other side and further away from Yulika. Spontaneously that girl jumped into the river and tried to swim taking her shoes which were getting anchored to the other side of the bank.
When she managed to reach her shoes back at across the river. Yulika realized that her action were really careless and could only give up when she witnessed the river that she had been crossing suddenly flowed by a very fast current and it was impossible to cross it again.
Confused, worried and scared. All these feelings mixed together and increasingly sucked Yulika's energy as if it would collapse at any moment. She decided to rest for a while under a tree with a thick canopy and catch her breath to stay calm.
"Hey you there!"
Suddenly a voice sounded clear from direction of the bushes in front of Yulika. She immediately knew that the voice was deep and belonged to a boy. Yulika swiftly forced herself to get up and immediately replied.
“Is there anyone there? Please help! I'm lost and separated from my friends! Now I don't know where I am!”
"What are you and your friends doing in the middle of the forest like this?"
The boy's voice echoed throughout the forest and didn't dare to come out yet of the bushes where he hid his appearance.
"My school is attempt outdoor activities in this forest, I am the one of the students! I was with my group but got separated due to my own carelessness! If you don't mind would you help me get out of here?”
Yulika tried to explain everything to that boy. Shortly after, that boy came out of the bushes. His appearance is like an ordinary boy with brown hair, black eyes and seems to be the same age as Yulika.
"Who are you? Do you live in this forest?” Yulika wondered about the presence of that boy in this huge forest.
“I live here with my parents, my house is right in the middle of this forest, you better slide out of here because it's going to be dark soon! Follow me!"
The boy started walking and Yulika followed him from behind with her happy and relieved feeling because she already find someone who would take her out of this huge forest.
"Thank you for saving me" Yulika thanked to that boy sincerely
"You are an honest girl, I know that. A few days ago, there were some teenagers who wanted to camp in this forest, but all they did was littering the forest with the trash they threw away and burn trees carelessly!"
"I hate people who don't care about forest sustainability, I hate those people who forget that forest is our source of life" The boy spoke seriously, his eyes filled with anger but laced with honest and sincere feelings.
"Therefore, when you get out of here, please tell your friends to always protect the forest and everything in it, when you want to carry out any activities in this forest or in other forest, please keep yourself clean!"
Yulika nodded "I will tell them"
After several minutes of walking, Yulika finally arrived at the main field where she and the other squad had gathered earlier. There were already several foresters and other students who looked worried when they saw Yulika’s return.
“Yulika where have you been, are you okay? you ain't hurt, are you?”
Joseph the forester was the first person to approach Yulika and asked about her condition followed by Mila and Anastasya behind him who looked almost crying.
"I'm fine, I was lost in the middle of the forest but there was a boy who helped me out, he was there"
"A boy? Where is he?" Joseph the forester asked anxiously
Yulika turned around and found nothing behind her, a confused feeling filled her head
"I was with a boy, he lives in the middle of this forest with his family!"
Joseph looked confused and started to sweat as he kept looking at Yulika, he held that girl's shoulder slowly
"Yulika, trust me, there are no people living in this forest!"
She was surprised to hear that statement. Yulika just realized that it's impossible for a 14-years-old boy to be wandering in the middle of a forest that soon will turn to night like this. But she still remember his message, to always maintain the preservation and cleanliness of the forest and promise to remember it forever.
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[The End]
