Felicity opens her eyes and stares at the sky. Her back hurts. The rustling of the trees is the only thing breaking the silence. She gets up and looks around, finding herself in a clearing.

The forest looks beautiful. The bushes and leaves were of a very light, soothing green. The grass was so full of flowers it would take way too long to pick all of them. And the trees were tall enough to make yourself feel like a tiny ant. But at the very top of one of them, the girl saw a huge backpack hanging from the branches.

She felt the urge to go up and get it, but decided that climbing would be too scary, especially with the pain. Looking for another alternative, Felicity noticed that the backpack was on a branch very close to a small ledge. If she could just find a path back up, she would reach it.

And so she starts walking, thinking about the situation as she does. Felicity. That’s all she can remember. Many questions started to arise. Where is she? How did she get here? Why did she fall from that tree? That backpack is hers, right?

Right below another ledge there are some very broken stone stairs that go up. The girl finds that odd. They seem ancient, but sturdy enough to use.

The steps were tall, and she needs to climb them to get up. She finally gets to the top and throws herself to the ground, catching her breath. Yet again, it is impossible to not ask questions.

Why are there stairs in the middle of nowhere? Who even is she? Is anyone else supposed to be there? Each question of course only makes her more and more curious, which only leads to more and more questions.

Felicity gets up and starts heading back to the tree with the backpack. Looking up at the sky she notices something strange. A tiny black dot, floating among the clouds completely still. The girl decided not to think about that too much, she already has many things to deal with.

Finally, she reaches the tree. The backpack is close, but not close enough to the ledge for her to reach without risking another fall. She’d have to find a safer way to get it. And she did.

With a sturdy stick, Felicity safely retrieves the backpack from the tree, dropping it on the ground so she can see its contents.

The very first thing that catches her attention is a picture, sitting comfortably on top of everything else in there. It’s a picture of her with another person. Although she does not recognize him, a name comes to mind. Hugo.

The photo also appears to be somewhat old. It is ripped in a few places and seems to have been folded way too many times. Not to mention Felicity’s hair. In the picture it’s purple instead of that particularly familiar shade of blue. Her glasses also look different. The ones she is using are way more stylish than the old ones.

Another thing she finds is a journal with her name on the cover. Only the first few pages have been used, the rest of them are completely blank.

The writings talk about an ancient place, surrounded by nothing but silence and shadows. Somewhere completely forgotten. And by the directions and descriptions given it is very close by.

The rest of the contents in the backpack are just spare clothing, climbing supplies, tools and food, but the first two items truly made the girl ponder. She couldn’t help but ask even more questions.

Who was that person in the picture with her? How did she even find this place to begin with if it was “forgotten”? Also, what in the world is that black dot in the sky?

She still can’t answer any of those questions, and that doesn’t matter just yet. She needs to follow the directions in that journal. She is indeed lost after all, that was her only lead.

The girl makes her way back to the clearing, following the directions and using a compass to not lose herself in the middle of the forest.

It didn’t take too long to find something, however. Soon enough she finds a dirt path. It leads away from her directions, but the girl can’t leave such an opportunity to explore behind.

The little road then leads her to a river. The large wooden bridge is broken in half, and the current seems way too strong to swim across. Getting to the other side is pretty much impossible. Fortunately she loves a good challenge.

She takes a rope from her backpack and ties one of its ends to a nearby tree, then the other end to a small and heavy rock. With a couple of spins, she throws it to other side, where it gets stuck between a tree’s branches.

Felicity takes a deep breath and grabs the rope, holding onto it with both her hands and slowing going forward, one hand at a time. Soon she’s on the other side of the river, and finally manages to let go. She decides to keep the rope there so she can come and go as needed.

She keeps following the dirt path. The trees there are a bit smaller, and as the sound of the rushing river gets further and further away she wonders about why she is there.

What was she hoping to find in such a ‘forgotten’ place? Was it money? No, that didn’t seem like something she’d go to such lengths for. Exploration? That would make sense, she does love every moment of figuring out the unknown after all.

Whatever it was, Felicity is sure she would figure it out eventually. Patience is always important in unfamiliar situations. At least the place looks nice. It’s pretty peaceful.

After walking for a couple of minutes, she sees a little village. A broken old well marks its center. Most of the houses, which are made out of stone, are completely destroyed. But one still stands, seemingly untouched by time or disaster. It is also the biggest house there.

The girl went inside. The house is in perfect condition, as if the people who lived here had gone out in a hurry. The place was almost fancy, in a way. And it was definitely cozy.

The living room is small, it has a fireplace, an armchair, a fur carpet, some plastic potted flowers and an unfinished game of chess on top of a beautiful oak coffee table. It reminded Felicity of something. She didn’t know exactly what but it did, and that makes her sad.

She tries to focus. There are still stairs and a kitchen to explore. She chooses to first check out the entire first floor before going upstairs.

The kitchen is somehow even smaller than the living room. The fridge is open and completely empty, as well as the cupboards and drawers. The small window above the sink is dirty on the outside, but it still gives the girl a view of the trees and the sky outside. It’s starting to get dark.

She then finally goes upstairs. There she finds two closed doors. The right door opens to a completely empty room. It’s then that she notices the lack of dust. The entire place is completely clean.

The door to the left, however, opens to a tiny bedroom. There is a bed on the other side of the room, against the wall. The dressers are messy and the writing desk is broken just like the laptop beside it. The warm colors from a late afternoon sky makes Felicity feel safe. She decides to sleep there to get some rest before moving even further into the woods.

But just before lying down she hears footsteps. They seem to be coming up the stairs, getting closer and closer with each passing moment. The girl starts searching the backpack for anything she could use to protect herself. All she could find was a lighter and a can of hair spray. It would have to do. The door opens, and she freezes, staring at the person in front of the door. It’s Hugo.