Mende was not able to visit Evelyn for two weeks. Together with her sister, and her grandmother, they went on a journey back to their roots, located far away.

When she returned and visited her friend one night, she found the room empty.

Her brows knitted in confusion. Where is Evelyn? Why she's not sleeping in her room yet when it's already 8:00 in the evening?

Then she heard heavy footsteps in the hallway and stopping outside the room. She turned herself invisible and floated outside the window, ready to flee if needed. The door was suddenly pushed open, and Evelyn's parents entered the room.

The lady of the house broke down as she looked at the empty bed. Her sobbing intensified. "Husband, our daughter has been missing for one week already! We've been trying to find her everywhere, but she just vanished without a trace! I'm afraid of what already happened to her!" she lamented as more tears fell from her eyes.

Evelyn's father went to bed and hugged his wife.

"We will find her soon! Please, stop crying. It's not good for your health," the husband told his wife.

Mende was shocked after hearing from the couple that her friend Evelyn was missing! Where is Evelyn right now? She hoped that her friend is okay and nothing bad happened to her.

"Wife, do you think our daughter eloped with that handsome man named Rigor who visited her in our house a few times?" he asked.

"I think so, but we have no idea where to find that guy. We don't know where he lives! The servants don't know anything about that guy. He only came here three times, but after that, he no longer returned. We don't know if he is the one who took our daughter. If he is the one, where did he hides our daughter?" the wife responded between sobs.

The husband released a laborious sigh. He doesn't know how to comfort his wife anymore.

Mende took pity on the couple's miserable condition. 'Don't worry... I'll help you find your daughter!' she thought to herself.

She left the manor and went back to their house in the forest.

When she arrived at their house, her sister Ebony and Grandmother Sitas were already waiting for her.

"Did you already bid goodbye to your friend?" Sitas asked.

Mende shook her head sadly. "No. I wasn't able to talk to her because when I visited her in her house, she's not in her room. Her parents came inside the room, crying helplessly because Evelyn was missing and they have no idea where to find her..." she explained gloomily.

"But why would Evelyn went missing?" asked Ebony.

"I dunno... I have no idea. But we went to this abandoned manor in the middle of the forest, and we met a handsome guy there named Rigor. I was suspicious of the true identity of the guy, so I no longer brought Evelyn there. Unfortunately, my friend was smitten with him, and I discovered that the guy already visited Evelyn in her home a couple of times. Her parents thought that their daughter eloped with Rigor!" Mende elaborated further.

Ebony's eyes widened. "Oh, no! Why did you bring Evelyn to that abandoned manor? I have bad feelings about that place! What if she was bewitched by that guy who is not human? How can you be so stupid to bring your friend to that suspicious place?" she asked her sister angrily.

Mende's heart seems to burst due to fear, guilt, and worry. "I...I...we no longer go back there!" she stammered, realizing that it might be already too late to save her friend if she won't go to the abandoned manor right away and saved her. She looked at her grandmother. "Grandma, I need to save my friend!" she declared.

Sitas released a deep sigh then shook her head. "No! You're not going anywhere tonight!" she said in an authoritative voice.

"But, Grandma! If I won't go there and save my friend, she would be in grave danger!" Mende insisted.

"You are not going anywhere!" Sitas repeated in a loud voice.

Mende was torn between two conflicting emotions. To save her friend or obey her grandmother? She walked back and forth on the floor, feeling restless. She feels guilty, and she keeps blaming herself. If she didn't bring Evelyn to that place, this tragedy will never happen!

Sitas watched her restless granddaughter walking back and forth on the floor. She knows that the moment she and Ebony will fall asleep tonight, Menedelia will leave the house and go to that abandoned manor to save her friend. Next week they will leave this place and go back to their roots and live in the farthest part of the forest, far from humans. Menedelia's fondness for humans won't end well. So it's better to bring her granddaughters to a faraway land to protect them and sever any possible interactions with the humans that will only bring them harm.

They are spirits of the woods. Spirits that can take human form and live like humans. After their clan was brutally wiped out by blood-thirsty vampires disguised as bandits, they are the only surviving spirits of their kind. She fled from the ruins and brought the children with her. They have lived in this place ever since.

After visiting their old home inside the cave, located in the deepest part of the jungle, she finally concluded that it's now safe to return to the place. She had scanned the whole area, looking for possible enemies or threats lurking anywhere, but she didn't found anything that has the potential to endanger their lives. She was determined to return to their roots and live peacefully there. She and the girls already cleaned the cave and made it ready for their return.

Mende looked at Sitas. "I'm so sorry to disobey you, Grandma. But I have to find my missing friend with or without your consent!" she declared.

Sitas groaned, then sighed heavily. "You are stubborn!" she said irritably. She waved her hand at her granddaughter, freezing her on the spot from the neck down.

Mende was caught off guard. Oh, no! She can no longer move her body! She looked at her grandmother. "Grandma, please save my friend! Please, I beg you!" she shouted.

Sitas breathed deeply. "I'll see what I can do..." she looked at Ebony. "Child, bring me to that abandoned manor now!" she ordered.

Ebony went to her grandma's side and touched her arm. A few seconds later, they vanished from the house. They appeared in the forest in front of the abandoned manor. Two torches are illuminating the main entrance of the manor.

"Grandma, that's the abandoned manor!" Ebony said, pointing at the crumbling structure in front of them. They're hiding behind the trunk of the big tree facing the entrance of the house.

"Okay. Just wait here. I'll try to find Evelyn inside the manor. If I'll see her, I'll bring her to you, then bring her to her parent's house and tell them to vacate the house right away. They're all in danger if they will stay in the town. If I can no longer return to our house tonight, don't come back here, don't try to find me! That means the creatures living in this place are more powerful than me, and they have already defeated me. You and your sister must return to the cave at once and hide there and never return here! Did you understand, child?"

"I understand, Grandma!" Ebony nods her head.

Sitas left the tree and hovered in the air.

Ebony watched her grandmother floated in the air.

Sitas hovered above the roof of the abandoned manor.