The girl from the woods | Short story

Once upon a time, a little girl named Angela lives in the countryside. But, one time, due to diseases overload within their village, her mother, Sachness, begs her husband to take Angela away and run to the forest. 

Angela's father feels the pain to leave his wife alone because she was infected by the diseases. And at that time, there was no doctor. For the sakes of their daughter, he had to do what he had to do.

So, he left the town while crying, seeing his sick wife left alone and be gone. They leave while in the daylight with a little bit of bread; while carrying his daughter, he survived. 

He then arrived nearer the stream, and from there taking a sip of the stream and drink. Because it was getting darker, he started to light a fire with a bunch of dry wood to stay away from a wild animal.

Angela's father hugs her so that she won't feel the coldness of the dark night. While he holds his daughter, the tears running through his cheeks because he can't get over his wife.

The following day, they walked again, but Angela was hungry because there were no more foods. So, from there, his father learned to hunt to obtain food.

After a while, his father found a spot to stay; nearer the tip of the forest; he knew that they have to stay in the woods; he searched for a place where he could build a house with just a woodblock.

Nevertheless, it took him several days to build up their house but eventually, he managed to set it all.

Time flies within the years; after 10 years, Angela grows to be a young woman. Her father had taught her to hunt for food and set traps in the woods.

One day, Angela asked her father permission to get to the village to look at what had happened after so long. But, his father disagreed because it might be dangerous, and the diseases might still be there.

But, in the end, Angela succeeded in persuading her father to let her see the town. But, with the condition, she must go with his father, and to the point of that, she agreed.

Since they live too long in the forests, they're very skilful about the traps and wild animal. It took about two hours to walk by their feet to go seeing the countryside.

As soon as they arrived, they feel the chills. The village nearly became forests. The house built there covered with thick bushes, and some of the places collapse and turn into ashes.

They walked through the ghost town and eventually arrived at where they were supposedly living a decade ago. Angela and her father only can see fallen wood and bushes around it.

While seeing their rotten house, suddenly, her father can feel that someone was watching them.

He then heard the footprints of people coming towards both of them. To the point on which he was scared, and Angela was panicking.

It was a group of people holding spears to hunt people.

They both run for their life. Unfortunately, Angela slips and feel down and was caught by the people. His father had to stop and run to save Angela.

Eventually, both of them were caught by those people, and they were brought to another side of village cover. Along their way, they can see other people surround them were tortured, being slaves.

While looking at how those people were treated, Angela's father realises that these people had no mercy towards anyone.

They were tied for a night, and his father was tortured by those people. While seeing that, Angela screams at them. But, his father told her to stay strong.

The things that happened that night became a nightmare for Angela as the people started to touch Angela. But, because his father cursing them, those people beat him up until they broke his left leg.

While it became a scary and tortured night, his father had to get away from that place. 

Therefore, when everyone goes to sleep, his father struggles to cut the rope tied at the back of his hand and manage to escape. He then went to Angela and untied her to run away from that place.

When they both planning to run away, one of the slaves, a mother, saw both of them and asked to follow them. Too bad they could not take that person, but the mother begged to at least take her only daughter. So, Angela's father agreed.

While they were wasting time, some slaves woke up and made a noise, eventually wakes others. The mother suddenly stop them from being noisy; she asked Angela and her father to run away together with her child.

So does them.

After a while, the people heard the news and were chasing both of them. Luckily, three of them were halfway to the forest. They run as fast as they can. But, things just won't as good as they thought.

They have to run for their lives, but Angela's father can no longer proceed because of the bruise those people made to him. But Angela forces herself to lift his father.

Though it will take a long time, Angela's father asked her to just let go of him and run for her life, take care of the girl. The tears running down from Angela's while she said, we can make this.

At some point, Angela stops carrying her father and sit down while holding back her tears. Her father can see that Angela won't leave him alone in there, but he told her that she's done her best and understand that it's better to leave a person than all of them were caught.

Angela has to understand that she needs to protect others, like what his father did.

Her father hugs her and saying, "I love you, my daughter." for the last time.

After he says that, he told Angela to run away with tears in his eyes.

The footprints of people chasing them can be heard closely, and she has to run with the girl. While she runs, she turns back and sees her father for the last time, "I love you more, dad". Then, she disappears from his sight. 

After a while, they enter the woods; while the people chasing them, she sets traps and put a hunting skill on those people. 

Eventually, some of them died due to the traps as they set foot into the woods.

The forest is very thick, and there is where she fight them alone. Half of the man were losing their life, and she said to them, no one will enter these woods because she knew every detail of it. 

To that point, those people run for their lives and get away from the woods. Angela and that little girl continue their journey to reach their home at the tip of the woods.

The same thing her father taught her to be brave, she trains to that little girl. Now, she lives in the woods, and when she becomes more potent, she will come back to set the other's freedom.

Disclaimer; The character and name used in this short story are a made-up word, and it is based on the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual events, locale or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.