In The River

Soledad arrived at the river bank, after walking for 15 minutes over a hilly road and through quite dense forest. This little girl is truly fearless.

The sound of the river began to be heard, Soledad became increasingly excited. He ran until he almost slipped. Before his eyes, there was a river with very clear water.

"How long has it been since I've been here?" he muttered.

Soledad took off her shoes and socks, placing them on the rock along with her worn bag. Soledad jumped into the river, letting her feet feel the cold water.

Across the river, two small deer walked carefully towards the river bank. Soledad already knew what the two deer were going to do. Yes, they want to drink and Soledad can't disturb them.

"Woof...woof..." the sound of a dog barking came from somewhere.

Two deer that had wanted to drink from the river ran away. Soledad looked back, the sound of footsteps could be heard right behind her.

"Woof...woof..." the dog barked again.

"Dalton calm down, we'll get caught later!" said a small child.

Hearing the suspicious noises, Soledad immediately got out of the river and walked closer to the source of the sound to see who had come with a dog.

"Who's there?" Soledad shouted, even though it was a child's voice that was heard. But still he had to be careful.

"Woof...woof..." the sound of the dog's barking became clearer.

The bushes were moving as a sign someone was coming. After what felt like a long minute, a large, blonde dog came out of the bushes with a boy whose face was familiar.

"You? What are you doing here?" Soledad asked.

"So what? This place doesn't belong to you!"

Soledad stared cynically, just like a jungle tiger who felt threatened by the presence of an unwanted visitor.

After finishing growling, Soledad immediately looked away after thinking that there was no point in inviting the boy to argue.

Soledad stepped back towards the river, throwing off her sailor-style school uniform and wearing only a white undershirt and shorts.

Soledad climbed the hill and made preparations to jump into the river. Her beautiful jump stunned Nicholas, he didn't expect Soledad to be able to swim.

The sound of splashing water broke the silence. After a few seconds of diving underwater, Soledad surfaced.

"Great!" Nicholas muttered, he couldn't believe that he was currently feeling amazed at the person he hated the most.

"What did you see?" Soledad asked, still in an unfriendly tone.

"You're such a rude girl, aren't you? When you grow up, no man will want to marry you!"

"Who wants to get married, you idiot. When I grow up I'll go on an adventure on a big ship!" he answered confidently.

"What? You mean you want to be a pirate?"

"Pirates? What are those?"

"You don't know what a pirate is? It turns out you really don't know what it is, do you? Even pirates don't know and pretend to want to go on all kinds of adventures, hahahaha..." said Nicky, laughing in his typical arrogant style.

Soledad closed her mouth tightly, showing even more of her sullen face that looked sour. He knew one thing, it was a big mistake to start a conversation with someone like Nicky. But still, Soledad, who didn't want to lose, really didn't like receiving insults.

"Does everyone have to know what a pirate is? If you think you're smart, why don't you just tell them what it means? There's no need to insult other people!"

"Why are you angry? But what is clear, I already know one thing!"

"What do you know ?"

"That Soledad Miranda Colette is no smarter than Nicholas Ferdinand Walter." The answer became even more cheerful.

Soledad looked at the big-mouthed boy with her "Can't stop thinking" look, even though she was getting used to dealing with Nicholas. Soledad thinks that the best reaction to an arrogant person is to ignore him.

Soledad came out of the river, took her school uniform and put it in her backpack. Carrying a pair of worn school shoes, Soledad went barefoot.

"Hey, where are you going?" shouted Nicky who felt ignored.

"Go home !" he answered casually without looking even a bit.

"Wait for me !" Nicky ran after Soledad because he was still unfamiliar with this forest.

"Why? Are you afraid to go home alone?"

"Who's afraid? I'm a boy, my mother told me not to let girls walk in the forest alone," he answered defensively.

"Never mind, be honest. You're scared, aren't you?"

"I am not afraid !" he answered with his face red as a tomato.

"Ha ha ha ha !" Soledad laughed seeing Nicky's expression suddenly turn shy.

"Why are you laughing? What's so funny?"

"Your face is exactly like the puppy I once kept,"

"What did you say? My face looks like a puppy?"

"Hahahaha very funny, really similar. Tomorrow I will tell Rachel."

"Don't tell Rachel!"

"Why ?"

"You can't, just be careful if you tell him!" Nicky, who has been trying to maintain his image in front of everyone, doesn't want to look embarrassing, especially in front of a cute girl like Ratna.

Nicky walked ahead of Soledad, acting as if he was the leader of this trip. Meanwhile, Soledad, who was walking casually behind, could only frown.

"Hey Nicky!"

"What ?"

"Didn't you come to this place with your dog earlier, right?"

***