It is rumored that every five years, that small village has to offer a virgin to the soul of the forest Truong. May him not bring calamities, cause misfortune to them, as well as wish prosperity and well-being from him.
In the first year, the whole village persuaded a 19-year-old girl to go deep into the forest. No one heard from her anymore, no one mentioned her name anymore, only an old couple left in the night.
In the second year, all the virgins understood the situation and got married, left home, abandoned their virginity. No one wants to be a tribute to all animals and a lifeless forest.
What must the whole village do?
They decided to send the child called That, the girl that the village adopted, who was 9 years old at the time.
"Wait for me here a bit, I’ll be back soon That."
That nodded "yes", in her hand was a lollipop that the village mayor bought for her. His heart hurts like hell, being the one who has been supporting and raising That for many years, he is also the one responsible for bringing her to this place.
That afternoon, That waited under the shade.
...A second
A minute…
...An hour
That was still obediently sitting still, she already finished the lollipop on her, she broke it, broke it in half, then changed to the tree branch, from a branch that was longer than her arm, That snap it until it was a small log. Doing her best to hide fear and anxiety. The fear of loneliness, the fear of eerie silence, the sound of only mosquitoes humming, grasshoppers creaking.
Two hours, three hours. It's almost dark already.
"Hiccup... Uncle Chu, Miss Nhat… Where are you..."
That clenched her teeth to wipe her eyes, she whimpered thinking about everyone in the village, she thought about the next-door friend Ai who she loves to play with. She thought about the hot batch of biscuits that Ms. Nhat made after each word study session in the village, That remembers that day when she was lost in the forest and was scolded by Uncle Chu all day, those times were much warmer than now. The more she thinks, the more she remembers, the more afraid she is and the more worried she is.
Darkness obscured the sky, she dared not sit anymore, That stood up and walked, but where? The more she goes, the darker the sky, the more she fears this place. That stumbled and hit a tree root, she thought it was a snake so she ran away immediately, That bumped into a vine, thought it was a spider ran away, she touched some leaves, she also ran, the mosquito landed on her cheeks. enough to make her run. She kept running, the night kept covering her up, She sobbed even more, she cried so loudly, she cried so loud that if That stood in front of the village mayor’s house, the village had run out to comfort her, but how can the empty forest do that?
“Shut up kid! Who can sleep with you crying like that?”
A voice from the sky scolded, which startled That, she was standing next to a big tree, That looked up, a man is lying on a big branch, his whole body is magically glowing in the night.
The person jumped down, That got frightened, she knew very well that it would hurt if someone jumped down high, so That ran forwards to try and catch that person, but then she realized that the person has wings. A translucent wing that is almost transparent. That person had short hair just past his ears, much shorter than that of That, but his dark hair color was very similar to her, only with the difference is his eye color, he has bright green eyes.
"Wings, bright eyes, glow in the night ... is a lady fairy!" That pointed at that person.
"Lady fa-... kid, I have been a boy for hundreds of years now, but who’s babysitting you? Why are you in my place?”
That paid attention, when the wings are lowered, the person will also fly lower.
“Uncle Chu told me to wait, but I was scared so I went looking for him, I think he was lost. By the way, are you a fairy? "
“... I am a soul, not a fairy. Besides, I think the person who gets lost is y-
"Souls can not have legs, souls are just a swirling smoke that scares miss Tra at night, she told me!"
"Yeah fine, I'm a male fairy, my name is Truong, let me take you home."
It has been a long time since someone dared to bother Truong like this, he did not dare to fight with that child, so he gave up.
He flew close to the ground while holding That’s hand, leading her toward the nearest village, five years ago, there was also a girl lost here, but before he could say hello, she found a way out of the forest, going the opposite direction of the village and never turned back.
...
"When That came back, everyone was happy and couldn't say anything, everyone told me that I am… I am… The One That Won Evils!" That sat on the old tree where they met, swinging her legs while telling Truong her story. Just a week after That got lost in the forest, she came back, calling out for Truong which shakes the forest. Truong gave up trying to stay still so got out to greet her.
"Evil?" Truong grimaced, for several years now he was called a soul, a child out of nowhere called him a fairy, and now he’s being called an evil, it did not affect him much but it did not sound majestic at all.
That afternoon, they made friends. Eating fruit, watching grass grow, pointing to random butterflies.
...
...
"I've been fed up looking at your face for years now, you know that kid?." Truong laid on the grass and looked at the sky for a while, then turned to look at the grown-up That.
"Five years, four months, eleven days!" Not one beat late, That count confidently counted. “That is getting prettier and prettier, while Mr. Truong hasn't changed much.”
For a few seconds, Truong rested his chin and looked at That, then sighed, shaking his head in frustration at this four-year-old soul inside the fourteen-year-old body girl.
“I have lived for hundreds of years, I easily get bored looking at everything. It’s your first time seeing a handsome man so you can’t get bored.”
That afternoon, That was so busy teasing Truong that she forgot to go home.
…
…
"Huh? You also have to go to the army kid? "
“Stop calling me a kid, I’m going to be twenty soon! And don't call it going to the army, that’s scary, It was a recruitment order! But you did teach me martial arts so I don't mind. "
“Recruiting soldiers and joining the army are not different, it’s been almost ten years and yet you are still arguing with me. Here bow down a bit. "
Truong was not very tall, he stayed the same height since the day that the two met, while now That is a young woman, he had to fly to talk to That. That bowed slightly, Truong flapped his wings high, and gave her a necklace made of flowers.
"Huh? When did you make this? " She raised the wreath slightly, avoiding damaging the flower to admire it, she even turned around like she was trying on new clothes.
"I intend to wait for your 20th birthday and make it as your birthday present, but seeing you must go soon, might as well give it to you as a talisman.”
"It’s better if you give this talisman to my enemies, they'll be running away the moment they see That.”
"Yeah fine, you’re the best kid, just don't bring that wreath to the battlefield, it’ll be weird."
"The only person who can stop me is only me! I will wear this wreath as an identification feature, everyone who sees it knows that it is That so that they run away."
"Will you ever give up the habit of being complacent, kid... The battlefield isn’t like going to the beach."
That afternoon, he tried very hard not to tell That what the real battlefield was like. That also partly understood that it is not a playground, but that is the story of tomorrow. Today they have to eat some fruit.
...
...
"Mr Truonggggggg!" As soon as she got home, That called out, Truong being familiar with this, immediately jumped out in front of That and leaned on his hips.
"I thought you left forever, haven't visited me in four years."
"Sorry~ There is a lot of stuff happening there." That giggles
Truong looked at That for a while, the nine-year-old girl who was crying loudly in his forest, now almost six feet tall, with hair cut below the neck, her back straightened, two or three scars on her skin that was already soft. The biggest difference is on the shoulder of That’s shirt, now there are dozens of medals that he doesn't understand any, only a few stars which look pretty cool, he still noticed that the flower necklace he made for That, she’s still wearing it, the only difference is that the flower has wilted completely, only one purple flower, a Myosotis is still alive.
"Let me make you a new one, you look so tough up and down, but then there’s that necklace that makes you look like a forestman." Truong pointed at the necklace of flowers that That was wearing, then looked around to see if there were any flowers that could be used.
“Not now! I will wait until all of it wilted before replacing. When It wilt, I signifies I used all of Mr. Truong’s talisman. " That hides the wreath on her neck, prevents him from coming near.
"You kid… fine." Truong sighed, then he flew up and dropped an apple for That.
That afternoon, That told many stories of her mighty victories, from being a logistic infantryman to a team leader of a thousand people, she said it was all thanks to the help of Truong. Even though they both know that there was nothing such as a talisman.
...
...
"Oh, the kid’s back?" Truong said when he sensed someone entering the forest, it had been two years since the last time they'd met. He was about to fly out to meet her, but then realized that it was not one person, but two, then three people in total.
"Honestly… Our Captain..." a male voice in the lead rang, standing from a distance, he noticed that he was holding a jar or something.
'Captain? What are they talking about?’ Truong stood staring, the three of them entering a little deeper
"Looks like this forest has something important to her." Said the second person, following behind the jar holder.
'Huh? Are they talking about That?' Truong came flying closer, stood on a tall tree nearby, trying not to let anyone see him.
"Honestly, if Captain agrees to burn this forest as a way to retreat and ration supplies for the battle of the Great Desert Plains, then we would have won." The third person only now spoke, a little reprimanded.
‘Great Desert Plains? Is this an open land half an hour's walk from this forest? ''
The first guy put the jar under a nearby tree, then the three left, leaving Truong scratching his head in bewilderment.
When the three of them had walked for a bit of a distance, Truong flew over to see what the jar contained.
...
A necklace with flowers wrapped around the jar, on the jar with the picture of That, in the picture, she smiled so brightly that her eyes were twitching with happiness. She smiled brightly, like the last flower of the lilies that hasn't wilted on the necklace after more than six years.
This is the jar containing That’s ashes
Truong did not believe, he picked up the jar of ashes, it was definitely That’s warmth.
"Kid... It’s been 200 years since the last time I cried."
He held the jar of ashes in his arms, immediately when the last myosotis wilted, like the last farewell from That.
That afternoon, the lonely got more lonely.
...
...
...
You know what? The author told me "The important thing about a story is to make the reader believe that the story is true, even though you both know it is just fiction."
I don't know how to do that, so I told a true story, which happened, and I got involved a little bit.
As a God, am I perhaps not bad at telling stories?
