There was a narrow road, surrounded on both sides by thick bushes and overgrown shrubs — as if those bushes were hiding many secrets within them.
The road was wet with water, and fat raindrops were pouring down.
On that rain-soaked, decorated road, a girl — incredibly beautiful — was walking fast, wearing a black dress adorned with fine, expensive embroidery.
On her feet were simple shoes, and her steps were quick on the wet road.
She had no umbrella.
Water was dripping from her hair.
Her black dress had absorbed the water, becoming heavier and darker — droplets still falling from it.
Usually, no one is allowed on this road, but she was certain she had heard someone screaming from here.
She started murmuring to herself and began to scan her surroundings through the curtain of rain.
"I'm sure the voice came from here...
But ahead of this road is just dense forest...
And the rain is getting heavier...
I should leave this place."
She turned to go back — but suddenly, something stirred in her heart.
She murmured again to herself:
"Let me just check once more...
My uncle always taught me to help others.
What if someone is actually here... injured..."
Just thinking that, her mind refused to imagine further, and a sharp beat pulsed through her heart.
Again, she stepped forward, quickly, through the falling cold raindrops, peering into the bushes.
Her heart knew there might be snakes or insects — still, she kept looking.
She looked along the entire narrow road, but saw nothing — neither on the shiny wet road, nor among the thick bushes.
Going deeper into those bushes meant danger — and the rain wasn't stopping either.
The sky had turned pitch black with clouds.
A strange fear had made its home inside the girl's heart.
Then — a growl, the cry of a wild animal — came from a little distance.
Her heartbeat raced.
Even under the cold rain, her blood rushed through her veins.
She froze on the spot.
Panicking, she said to herself:
"Maybe... there's no one here.
I heard the voice right from here...
If someone was here, I would have seen them.
I've searched this place like a sieve.
I must leave now.
Otherwise tomorrow, there'll be news of me going missing.
Uncle must already be worried about me.
I need to go."
And then, with trembling steps, she turned back and started walking away quickly.
Stepping out of the bushes, she hurried her steps along the wet road. The sky had grown even darker now, and a cold wind had begun to blow. Her heart thudded in her chest. The distant howling of animals reached her ears, making her heartbeat even faster.
Clenching her fists, she walked quickly, her feet shivering with fear. Her large black eyes were wide open, her skin taut with tension. Water dripped from her hair. Her body had already turned cold.
"I have to get out of here," she muttered to herself. "There's mud everywhere, the sounds of those animals are terrifying, I need to get home quickly. It's going to be dark soon. Uncle is definitely going to scold me."
She was whispering all this when suddenly she heard a faint, rough voice from the dense bushes just a little ahead.
Her heart nearly stopped. A flood of strange thoughts rushed into her head.
(What if it's a witch in disguise?Or a creep?But why would a creep sit in the middle of this storm?)
Still scared, she slowly turned her head toward the bushes and kept staring at the spot for a while. Her heart was pounding like a temple bell. Every part of her wanted to run away. But deep inside, her uncle's teachings echoed in her heart.
Despite the rain, her throat had gone dry. The rain, the black sky, and that shadowy bush—it was all too scary. And now she was getting angry too.
"This is driving me mad! Ugh. Let me just peek and run away!"
She gritted her teeth, swallowed her fear, mumbled courage into her breath, and slowly stepped forward. Her feet felt heavy, as if resisting her every move. Her heart raced, legs trembled, and eyes stayed locked on that terrifying bush.
Carefully, she reached the spot and with shaking hands, half-closed eyes, and a racing heart, began parting the bush.
"Dear God, please don't let it be a witch. I'm only 18, and witches love the flesh and blood of pretty girls like me—"
But before she could finish her thought, she screamed. She had seen blood.
Panicking, she stumbled back. But just then—her foot hit something.
A hand.
She froze.
Slowly, with terrified eyes, she looked down—and gasped. What she had imagined—a witch eating someone alive—was completely wrong.
There, lying in the mud, was a man. Unconscious. Badly injured. The blood was his.
Her heartbeat slowed just a little. She looked closely.
He was soaked, muddy, tall, broad-shouldered. His face was dirty but—
She spoke to herself in a quietly cheerful voice,
"He is so beautiful..."
But then she heard that man's groaning again and quickly brought her mind back in line,
"How shameless have I become, living among the shameless…"
Lost in those thoughts, she walked toward the man with her eyes lowered and checked his pulse — it was steady.
With her trembling hands, she opened his eyes. They had a shine that showed he hadn't suffered any brain injury.
But his body was wounded badly. His breathing was normal, but now she was worried.
She couldn't lift him alone. She leaned down and whispered,
"Hey... are you okay? Can you hear me?"
She widened her dark eyes to look at him, but he didn't respond.
She waved her wet hand in front of him — nothing.
"This guy... first, he's so tall that you'd need two girls like me just to match him! And second, there's so much mud here, it could make his wounds worse. I need to get him to my uncle, fast."
She looked at him one last time, rested his head gently against a tree, and said,
"Just stay here. I'll bring help for you."
She started crossing the muddy path in a rush. Her steps were quick, but the fear in her heart was gone.
Instead, a new worry filled her — night was falling, and the rain had calmed a bit.
In her panic, she fell in the mud six times. Each time, she got up huffing and continued.
Her hair was soaked and messy, her black clothes muddy, her once-white shoes turned black.
As she stepped out of the path, she spotted her friend. A wide smile lit up her face. She ran toward him.
Her friend — a tall, slender, handsome boy — was walking under an umbrella.
On the empty street, a girl with messy, muddy hair, black clothes, blackened shoes, and a face hidden under wet hair was charging toward him shouting,
"Cam!"
Seeing this, Cam panicked and ran:
"God! A witch is chasing me! Someone save me!"
His heart was pounding.
He looked back and saw her speeding up.
Cam started running even faster and yelled into the empty road:
"This witch is showing me her hand to curse me! Somebody help!"
"This guy's crazy… why is he running?" — the girl panted and thought.
"Oi idiot! Cam! Stop! Why are you running?"
Hearing his name repeatedly, Cam got even more scared and slowed down. He felt frozen in fear.
Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Terrified, he jerked and collapsed right in front of the girl.
"Dear witch! You're actually very beautiful! Please forgive me! Don't hurt me! I'll throw a chicken party just for you—"
Then he saw her laugh. Her face was no longer covered with hair.
He looked closer and realized…
"Wait… this witch is Sydrala?!"
Anger rose in him.
"What the hell are you doing?! Look at your state! And why were you chasing me like a beast?!"
Sydrala laughed hard,
"You... chicken party... haha! Dear witch... beautiful... haha!"
Cam wanted to smack her. He glared, fuming.
Sydrala recognized the fury in his eyes and teased with a laugh,
"I didn't know you were such a scaredy-cat!"
Cam snapped,
"I wasn't scared! It was just a hike!"
"Oh yeah? Then what was that all about?"
Cam, trying to change the topic, said,
"Why were you coming from that road... in this condition? You know it's forbidden."
Hearing "that road," Sydrala went quiet. Something came back to her.
Then she looked at him with a worried face,
"You need to come with me."
"Where?" Cam grumbled.
This time, she didn't laugh. She simply pointed toward the road.
Before he could protest, she warned him,
"If you don't come now, tomorrow's gossip session will be all about you — and you'll be the punchline."
With a smirk, she pointed toward the road and ran ahead,
"Come on, bro! You've got no choice!"
Cam cursed under his breath and chased after her with a grumbling face.