Life on Sandy farm

(Chapter 5: A new friend from the woods)

I've been walking around this forest for Yoba knows how long, and it's gotten dark. I don't wanna say I'm lost, but... I think it might be coming to that. I didn't think to bring a flashlight with me, since I didn't think I'd be out this long, and in the dark, all the trees and bushes seem to look the same, so... Yeah, I think I might be lost. "Well, this sucks." I thought, remembering that I have a fear of the dark. Well... Not so much the dark itself. It's more so what's IN the dark. Just as I thought about that, I heard rustling in a nearby bush. "Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no. I need to hide!" I thought, fearing for my life, before ducking behind a tree.

After waiting for a few seconds, I tried to pull myself together. "Okay. There's no reason to freak out. It's not like there are monsters around here." I thought with a chuckle, before peaking around the tree. As I did, I happened to notice a pitch black figure, walking around in the dark. "Wait... That can't be who I think it is... Could it?" I thought. At the time, the only logical thing that I thought this thing could be was Seb. Knowing how dark his clothes were, I wouldn't be surprised. But at the same time, Seb should have been at home, because his arm was messed up. "But... If that's not him, then..." I whispered, as fear started to set in again, before this... Thing... Turned in my direction. It stared at me with its glowing white eyes. It even looked like its mouth was glowing. "What is this thing?!" I thought, as the fear that I was feeling only got worse. "A... Human...? What's a human doing here...? This late at night?" The creature said, in a quiet voice, as it stepped just one step closer to me. As it stepped closer, I picked up a small stick, and acted like I was gonna use it if this thing tried anything. I doubt it would have done much though. "Human. Do not fear. I'm not here to cause harm." The monster said in a worried tone. As it continued to slowly step closer, I noticed that this thing didn't even have arms. "Are you... Okay?" It asked. I then nodded, even though I didn't really feel Okay. I didn't know if this thing was going to try to eat me if I tried to put my guard down, so I simply didn't, but tried to act like I did. "It's really late. Humans are usually asleep by this time. From the look of things, you might not be able to make it home tonight." The monster said. "Is that a threat?!" I thought, before looking at the clock on my cell phone, which was almost dead. "Well, that's super cliche." I thought before noticing the time. 1:00 am. "Huh... It really is late." I thought before the monster took a peek at my phone. "If you don't make it back by 2:00... Who knows what will happen?" It said, with a concerned tone. I just looked at the monster with a confused look, before standing up, and starting to walk in a random direction, hoping that it would lead back home.

After a while, I checked the clock again. 1:30. "I don't wanna know what happens if I stay out here for too long." I thought as I kept walking, with the monster following close behind. At this point, I actually didn't see it as a threat, so I just let it follow me. It felt nice to not be alone.

After some more walking, I started feeling really tired, so I checked my phone, one last time. 1:50. "Oh no..." I thought, fearful of what would happen once the clock reaches 2:00. "This can't get any worse." I thought, before one of my fears became a reality. My phone died. "Nonononono. Not now. Please!" I thought, as I watched the light go out on my phone, leaving me in the dark. "Um... Your light thingy went out." The monster said, before I looked at him with annoyance. "I... I didn't mean to upset you... I'm just not used to talking to humans." he said, before we continued walking. At this point, it seemed like we were getting nowhere.

As we walked, a small part of me hoped that time could just stop, so I could make it home without any worries, but I knew that wouldn't happen. "Um... Human? I think it's getting really close to 2:00 am. Are you doing oka- Human!" The monster said, as I fell to the ground. "Human? Human! Are you Okay?!" He asked, but there was no answer. I had passed out.

(Narrator's POV)

After the farmer passed out, Krobus tried his hardest to get her to wake up. "H- human...?" He said, nudging the farmer's arm with his head. She didn't move. "I had a feeling this would happen." He said, taking a seat next to her, and staying there to make sure nothing would try to hurt her during the night.

(The next day)

(Willow's POV)

"Apollo... Get... Off me." I mumbled, while still half asleep. "Ugh... What the heck-" I said, opening my eyes, and noticing that I was outside... In Cindersap Forest... "Huh?! Wha-" I said, looking next to me, only to see a black creature sleeping next to me. "T- that wasn't a dream?" I whispered, fearfully, so the monster couldn't hear me.

I tried to sneak away, but as soon as I tried to move, my movement woke it up. "Huh? What? What's going on?" It said, blinking to adjust its eyes to the light, and then it looked at me. "Oh! Good morning, human." It said with a smile, and I awkwardly waved back. "You don't talk much, do you? I usually only stay quiet on Fridays." He said, before I gave him a confused look. "Hm... You probably don't even know my name yet, do you? Well, I'm Krobus, or 'Bridge crosser' in my language." He continued. After he introduced himself, I grabbed my notebook, wrote "I'm Willow." then showed it to him. "Oh! That's a nice name. Does it mean anything?" He asked. I just shrugged, not really feeling a need to explain that I was named after a tree. "Well, Willow. It was nice meeting you, but I should probably start heading home so no one else sees me, and the other humans are probably worried about you, so... I guess I'll talk to you some other time?" Krobus said with a hopeful smile. I nodded again, as I actually started to like this little fella, and then stood up. "Do you think you'll be able to find your way home?" He asked, before I nodded once more, and waved, before walking in the direction that I assumed home was.

After only walking for a little while, I noticed that home wasn't really that far away, but it still was quite a walk. "I'm just happy that I'm almost there." I thought, passing by Marnie's place.

As I got closer to my house, I noticed that there was a little note taped to the door. "Huh. What's this?" I thought, taking a closer look at the paper. "Willow, if you see this note, I've been looking for you for hours! I ended up having an argument with your friend's parents, because I thought you'd be hanging out with him, since I ungrounded you from seeing him a while ago, I figured that's where you'd be. Turns out I was wrong. Still looking for you, and I hope you're safe. After I brought up the fact that you were missing, Your friend ran out of Robin's house. Idk where he went. I also noticed that something was up with his arm. Again, Idk, and honestly, I don't wanna know. I don't wanna see you getting into more trouble with him. -M"

I was actually quite shocked, and somewhat annoyed. "She really had to bring out her anger on them? And now Seb might be out looking for me, while he's still hurt. Great." I thought, before noticing another note underneath the previous one. "Another one? What, was the first one not enough for you, mom?" I thought, before looking at the other letter. It seemed... Somewhat poorly written, and it definitely wasn't mom's handwriting. It was someone else's. "Hey, listen... Or... Read... Sorry about the bad handwriting, it kinda hurts to write with my right arm, for obvious reasons, but I wanted to get this out. Your mom told my parents what was up, and I happened to hear some of their arguments. If you actually ran away, there's a high chance that you won't be reading this, but I figured I'd write it anyway. I'm out looking for you right now. Why? Idk. Just... Figured it was a good idea? Anyway... See you around, I guess? P.s. If you really don't want anyone knowing where you are, I'll keep quiet if I see you. -Seb" I paused after reading the letter, trying to think things through. "Great. Way to go, mom. You got a wounded man to go out to look for someone who you assumed ran away, and now I'm back, and now because of the argument you started, you made it so I actually am starting to think of going into hiding, out of embarrassment." I thought, sitting on the steps in front of the house. I knew I didn't actually want to go into hiding, but what was I supposed to tell mom if she found me? What would I tell Seb, and HOW would I tell him? "Well, believe it or not, I think trying to find Seb would be the easier option. At least that way, I wouldn't get into a fight with my family for things I didn't do, as soon as someone finds me. I didn't 'run away', I got lost. There's a big difference..." I thought.

After sitting there for a few more minutes, I got off the steps, and started running off to look for my friend.