Silhouette

"It must have been made up by you, I'm sure!" he said in denial, in an effort to comfort himself who was already covered in cold sweat.
"I'm not lying, I don't know if the story is true or not. But my brother said the story really happened when my brother was 5 years old and there was a sequel. After that incident, several farmers who entered this forest at night heard gunshots and crying, after which they-"
"Never mind, don't continue. I don't want to hear it, that's enough!"
"Why ? You're scared, aren't you?"
“Who's afraid? I just don't like hearing scary stories, they're not interesting!"
"Oh yes ?"
"Aauuuuuu..." suddenly heard the sound of a wolf or coyote howling from a distance. The two boys immediately fell silent, the hair on the back of their necks stood up. Somehow the atmosphere became ten times scarier than before.
"Oh my God, I was shocked," said Soledad, sighing.
"It turns out you're scared too, aren't you?" said Nicky mockingly, he still had time to find a way to reply to Soledad in a situation like this.
"No, I'm not afraid. I was just shocked!" he said defensively.
“Soledad !”
"Yes, What is up ?"
"What if we can't go home? What if we are lost forever?”
"I don't think that's possible,"
"Why not ?"
"Actually, I have often been to this forest, I like swimming in the river, catching fish for dinner and looking for wild sweet potatoes around this forest. During the day, this place isn't scary at all, besides, the forest isn't too dense. I'm just never here until the evening."
"But you said earlier, that this forest has lots of wild animals?"
"My father said, this forest has wolves and also small snakes which are not venomous, but they are still very dangerous,"
“Twoarrr….” the sound of lightning striking. After it stopped about half an hour ago, it looked like the rain would come again.
"It's going to rain again, we have to hurry!" said Soledad while speeding up her footsteps.
“Woof…woof…” the sound of a dog barking became closer and clearer. Faintly, the sound of barking was followed by the sound of an adult screaming.
“Nicky…Soledad…!” Opa Robert's screams and other screams were heard calling their names.
“Did you hear that? Someone is looking for us!" said Nicky, starting to get excited when he heard someone calling his name.
"That's Opa Robert's voice," Soledad half-ran out of breath. Even though she was very tired, Soledad tried to hold on as hard as she could.

About 3 meters in front of them, they saw a light and the silhouette of a dog running towards them. Soledad and Nicky were stunned, feeling that everything looked so slow, including the movement of the running dog.
"Gukk..." the dog immediately jumped with joy when he saw Soledad and Nicky.
“Dalton!” shouted a happy Nicky after learning that his beloved dog was safe. 
"Nicky...Nicky..." behind Dalton, several adults ran over to the two poor kids.
"Papa!" Nicky shouted, when he saw his father who immediately grabbed his body.
"Are you okay?" asked Papa Nicky while holding his son who was sobbing.
"I'm so scared, Papa..." he answered in a trembling voice.
“Soledad, are you okay, Nduk?” asked Mr. who was very worried. Seeing her father, Soledad was speechless. He clenched his fists, trying to hold back something in his heart.
Actually, Soledad wanted to scream and cry while hugging her father, just like Nicky. But so far, Soledad has been known as a little girl who is strong, tough, brave and not spoiled. 
"What's wrong with you ?" asked Father while gently stroking Soledad's head. Soledad lowered her face, trying to hold back her tears. Her shoulders trembled, her tears fell to the ground. Even though it is very rare to see his daughter cry, as a parent, you can feel the sadness and fear that your child feels.
"Sorry sir..." he said softly, several residents who had come looking for them, looked pitifully at this little girl who was known to be naughty, but very kind. 
"It's okay, the important thing is that you're safe. "So quiet I can't think about you calmly," said Mr.
Nicky, who was greeted with joy by his father and grandfather, glanced at Soledad for a moment, who was still bowed with her right hand pressed to her eyes as if she was holding something back. In his heart, his hatred towards this dirty, smelly, naughty, wretched and rude girl slowly disappeared.
Even though in his heart he was still embarrassed to admit that he was very grateful to Soledad. If Soledad had really left him in this forest, maybe even now he would still be crying alone in the wild boar's trap hole.
"Thank God, the children are safe," said Opa Robert.
"Yes, thank God, fortunately the forest is not too dense, so we don't have much difficulty finding them," said Mr Joseph, Soledad's neighbor who also works on Duke Robert's farm.
"Nicky, at home later you have to explain why you got lost in this forest, understand? Your mother almost fainted and your grandmother screamed hysterically. You've made a scene!" said Opa Robert firmly.

"B-but, grandpa-"
“No buts, Nicky. Well then, we better go home now. Looks like it's going to rain again!" said Duke Robert, while the others nodded in agreement.
Nicky, who came home carrying his father, felt uneasy for some reason. He thought about how his grandmother would react, who he knew was always excessive when it came to him, as well as how to explain to his grandfather, father and mother, who were very difficult to lie to. 
How could he honestly say that he deliberately entered a forest he had never been to with his dog, which had only arrived from London two days ago, just to annoy and insult his enemy, Soledad. If he answers honestly, of course he will receive punishment. 
As the saying goes, "You've fallen, you've fallen down the stairs." Nicky, who got lost in the forest, fell into a wild boar trap, was injured and is now waiting for the punishment he will receive. In almost 10 years of his life, this is the first time Nicky has truly regretted all his actions.

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