•[1]•

20 3 0
                                    

════ ∘🌿∘ ════

Sua ran for her life through the deepening cursed woods on the outskirts of her village.
The patrols of the king had decided to search her village for more girls and women to kidnap and kill.
This had been going on for centuries, her mother would tell her. 'Not even the Gods above or below could tell you when this started! The king want us dead, Sua. Be careful to never not ever show your real self!' She would remind her every night, almost screaming this to her so that she'd never forget.
But now when the patrols have ransacked every house and set everything on fire, Sua had no choice but to split up with her mother and run for safety.

As she ran into the cursed woods, some patrol officer in their black armor spotted Sua, the young adult, running into it. They were prepared to chase her and kill her as the king had ordered, but seeing the woman had run into the cursed woods, they guessed she'd die in a matter of seconds by the evil woods spirits. So, the leader of the patrol group yelled out,
"Let's go! There's nothing to do here anymore, she'll be dead by dawn."
And they jumped on their horses and rode away into the night with their spears and swords by their side. Leaving behind a burning village in ashes.

Sua had nothing but her ripped woolen pants and woolen sweater on with her mother's cape around her, warming her from the cold wind.

The sticks cracked beneath her feet as she ran and stumbled through, almost not noticing the darkness getting closer to her.
They had attacked around midnight; right as Sua and her mother Chuu were sleeping together in the bed they shared in their tiny house. It started all too suddenly, waking them up, with Chuu, her mother, wrapping Sua with her cape, forcing her out as they cried while they saw their village in flames.

Sua didn't see what happened to her mother. She didn't know if she escaped or if she died in the flames, or maybe if they'd caught her. Her heart felt so heavy with fear for her mother.

There were many roots growing out of the ground in the woods. Trees covered the entire sky as Sua ran, making it seem as if she were isolated from the world. But she couldn't stop running, not even if she thought she was lost. All she could think about was to run and run, as fast as possible; away from the patrol officers, away from murder, away from death and fate.

As Sua kept thinking of running, she started hearing a loud stream in the distance. Or was it a sea? It confused her because it sounded so loud as if she were right in it. But as she ran, her vision began clouding black.
She stopped and leaned by a tree, holding herself up as she looked back and tried catching her breath.
"Are they following me?" Sua asked aloud, wondering if the patrols were after her.

Then, while she tried fighting off the cloudiness of her eyes, she heard a light humming coming from the distance.
The humming began mixing with the sound of waves crashing together.
Her head was spinning as she tried balancing herself.

"Come here, follow my voice or else you'll die."

Sua heard a woman whisper as if she were right in her head. She held her head as she felt a sharp pain appear suddenly.
Sua couldn't help but cry out of pain. She knelt down as she hunched down out of pain.

"What's happening? Help!" She screamed with tears out of anger.

Why is this happening? Right after losing her mother to those wicked officers. Why does it seem like the entire world is against her? She just wanted to live with comfort. Not feeling hunted all the time. Was that asking for too much? To feel safe?

"You'll die out there if you don't follow my voice, woman." The whispering woman called out again.

Sua was at the brink of fainting. She collected all of her strength and dragged herself towards the voice, stumbling from foot to foot.

As she neared the voice, walking through the black and dark-green woods, she thought she could hear the sea in the distance.
"Ah! Where are you?" Sua called out with a tired tone.

"Follow my voice. You're doing good, just follow my voice," the whispering woman assured.

And as Sua felt herself weakening and losing strength, she falls down as her eyes cloud with darkness. But before her eyes completely blackened, she could feel herself dropping into water. She felt herself being held up around her waist by someone she didn't know.

"Good Job, Sua. You're safe now," the woman said beside Sua's ear, making Sua realize she found the whispering woman.

And as she was held, she finally closed her eyes and fell out of conscious.

════ ∘🌿∘ ════

Word count: 830

Called out for you once-Where stories live. Discover now