Chapter 2: A Blind Step (chapter one)
The last days of summer, cold drinks and light clothes. The end of the heat and the onset of the cold. Autumn came early this year, and the leaves of the trees were stripped, throwing their clothes on the cold ground and water, making a show of them.
Little Amalia listened closely to the sound of nature as she fell asleep quickly and prepared for the cold days of the coming winter, humming the song that was composed yesterday for the seasonal festival in her village.
The mist danced around her like spirits, the long strands of her chestnut hair flowing in natural tangled waves from her skull down her long back and swaying as she walked enjoying the morning breeze.
She made her way through a place that now seemed nothing but a dead pool of thousands of dead colored leaves. The pass was very familiar to Amalia, it had always guided and guarded her during her little walks on the steep mountain paths. Sticky stones on either side of the lines prevented her from getting lost on her way in the wilderness.
Amalia reached for the leather strap that slung around her neck and shoulder to adjust her tattered handbag, and tapped twice on the front of it just to make sure she had brought her father's lunch with her for real.
Today, the elders are gathered in groups in the treeless field below the village to pick berries for the "lagoon", a seasonal tradition usually formed the day after the Autumn Festival.
She took a deep breath and inhaled the scent of the wood and the wet leaves and the fresh scent of the morning. Autumn had already marked the end of the season of scorching sun and stinging bees.
The place that was once green, a forest full of verdure and life now is nothing but the half-dull and incongruous branches of a tree looming overhead entwined in a huge wooden pile like a haystack.
It's been days since Amalia shut herself up inside that little worn-out time when the weather hits a cottage she calls home. She's been taking care of her sick twin sister and helping her to bed all through the long summer days while her mom and dad take care of the rest. This prevented her from enjoying the fun that comes with this weather as she should have.
But being a poor family didn't help their situation at all. They didn't even have the money to treat her sick sister.
And a week after entering the beloved autumn, the sounds of sobs and crying came in that fragile little hut.
'Amalia' was embracing the dead body of her twin sister and the tears had dried on her face, while her father was embracing her mother tightly, hiding her head in his arms with red and tearful eyes, trying to calm his wife and reduce her sobs.
Three days after the tragic accident, the corpse was under the ground, and the sky rained tears for the parting of her innocent soul.
Amalia was still in shock from the loss of her sister, but she tried to accept it in a mature way and convinced herself that everyone coming to this world would leave one day and they would all meet in the same place and there was no point in crying now.
But what frightened her was the behavior of her parents, as they began to steal from merchants and re-sell, and when young "Amalia" asked them, they began to curse and blame their poor condition for the death of her sister and worse.
After the passage of days, here comes the day of the seasonal festival, and everyone is happy and participating in the competitions.
The lights and the voices of singers fill the surroundings while all the neighboring villages are watching. Specifically, the village of ( Western Arch ), which is unfortunately known for its bad location.
Amalia was looking for her parents around, but she couldn't find them anywhere.
She walked towards the mist coming from far away from the depths of darkness.
A boyish laugh echoed from afar, breaking Amalia's verses.
It seems to come from deep in the woods.
Amalia's head twitched to her left, her eyebrows raised in confusion.
There were two voices now. Both were males but one seemed more mature and hoarse than the other.
The voices and laughter seemed to come closer and closer from a distance but she could see nothing through the thick mist air.
Fearful, Amalia wrapped her arms around her trembling body. She had heard stories of flaming creatures looming large at night. Creatures born from the depths of hell. Rumor has it that they spit out blazing lava and that they would smash and burn their prey to ashes and bones before feeding on their remains.
Footsteps rushed towards her.
Amalia hardened on her floor.
Closer and closer, louder and louder.
Suddenly the laughter stopped.
Silence.
A bird flew over her head and let out a loud shriek that nestled hollow in the empty forest but apart from her surroundings it was dead silent.
While walking around, she encounters two figures who appear to be only a few centimeters taller than her.
Amelia opened her mouth to scream but restrained herself from doing so with her hands.
"Who's there?" A young man's voice called out from the mist.
Amelia stood still.
Running away wasn't the smartest choice to make in this situation. She didn't want to risk being pursued and her soul burned. So she remained calm and steady...an effective trick her father had taught her, a safety ding if she ever encountered a wild friend.
The figures approached her as she slowly backed away in response expected of her and moved her hand to reach for the dagger hidden under the layers of her dress.
"Hey!!....Talan, are you sure it's not a wild animal we're talking to?" Someone asked, in an unsure tone.
"Look at it, it stands like a human but doesn't move."
"You think it's one of those creatures... Wait what do they call them again?"
" flaming creatures , Adam..flaming creatures or witches, as our ancestors called them."
Amelia hardened. This name sounded familiar to her.
Adam... Adam.... Romah!
The only boy with the name Adam in his village!! Miracle child as it is told about. His mother gave birth to him in the forbidden forest, after her mother-in-law, whom hates her , threw her into the forest at night, wanting to devour her and her fetus by one of the witches or flaming creatures that live in the forest. That forbidden place surrounded by danger.
It is said that her husband then joined them as soon as he learned of his mother's act and hurried to save them all by getting them out of there and bringing them home safely before one of those creatures from hell found them.
Her eyes widened in shock!
What is the " West Arch "village's chief's son doing out here in the wilderness? Aren't they supposed to never pass through this forbidden forest at all? The villagers have always talked about the misfortune that befell their village after the division came and how the village is located among the worst areas, sandwiched between the great ocean and the forbidden forest.
How did we manage to enter it without being devoured by a flaming being or a witch? I wondered.
The boys took another step menacingly close to her, but before they could even tell the frightened girl who was looking at them with her glowing brown eyes, she turned on her heels and fell into nothingness in her long dress.
The sound of her emaciated body colliding with the ground began to fade away until nothing could be heard but silence.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
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