***

After following the river downstream for a while, I found a small hidden house. It was surrounded by trees and looked like it had been built in the middle of nowhere. There was no one around.

"Maybe it's abandoned," I thought. "Or maybe it's full of wild beasts. But it doesn't look like anyone lives here."

I decided to enter the house first. I left Donkey outside and tried to enter.

"Hello?" I called out. "Is anyone home?"

There was no response. I looked inside the house. It was empty. There was no one in the kitchen, living room or bedrooms.

"Nothing here," I said. "Let's check the rest of the house."

I went through every room, and found some food and juice hidden in the kitchen. The rooms were also empty. I looked around the house once more, but still found nothing else.

"Lucky! I even started to get hungry. Okay, let's go back to Donkey for now."

I walked outside and saw Donkey standing patiently.

"It looks like nobody lives here," I said. "But I guess it's fine if I sleep here tonight."

"Mmmf," Donkey agreed. I think.

"You're such a good friend," I said. "I feel bad leaving you alone though. Hey how about you come inside too Donkey?"

He looked at me blankly.

"Come on, you know what I mean. I don't want to leave you alone."

"Mmmf," Donkey repeated.

"You're right, you shouldn't be left alone." I reached out to stroke him. "If you come inside, I'll give you a snack."

Donkey started to nod.

"You're so smart," I said. "And you're always so obedient. I'm so glad I met you."

I scratched his neck and gave him some carrots. He ate them happily.

"Okay, let's get you some water."

I took the bucket outside and filled it with fresh water. Then I brought it and offered it to Donkey.

"Mmf," Donkey drank the whole thing.

"Oh, you're so thirsty. And now I will eat something too."

I opened the steamfrigator and pulled out some cheese. I cut it into small pieces and started eating it with some bread, while sipping juice.

"Delicious," I said. "I've never tasted anything this tasty before. I wish I could keep this forever."

"Mmf," Donkey said.

I petted Donkey's head. He licked my hand.

"Hehe. It's ticklish. I'm glad you like me." I giggled.

I finished eating and washed up the dishes.

"Alright, I'm going to sleep now," I said. "Do you mind sleeping here too, Donkey?"

"Mmf," Donkey nodded.

"Thank you, Donkey. Good night."

I curled up on the bed, hugged Beary and fell asleep.

***

I woke up in the morning and stretched. My body felt really heavy. I yawned and sat up. I looked around the room. I was in a bedroom. A soft light was shining through the window. I saw a small wooden table and chair next to the bed.

"I guess I overslept again," I said. "I have to hurry."

I put on my clothes and stuffed my things into my bag. I checked the gun in the holster and then I headed downstairs. I saw Donkey still being tied up in the corner.

"Sorry, I forgot about you," I said. "I'll untie you shortly."

I fed Donkey some hay and gave him a carrot. He munched it happily.

"So, you were okay while I slept?" I asked.

"Mmf," he nodded and snorted.

"I'm glad you were fine." I stroked his head. "Good boy. Good boy."

I went outside and looked around. A ray of sun shone down on me between the trees. The air was cool and fresh.

"This place is nice," I said. "I wonder why it's empty though."

I thought about that for a moment.

"Maybe there was an accident or something," I said. "I should be careful. It might be dangerous. Come on, let's go."

I mounted Donkey and we rode off. We followed the river until we came to a bridge. I looked both ways and then crossed it. On the other side of the bridge was a road. I decided to take that path.

But before I could ride any further, I heard a sound of rustling in the bushes. I turned to see a strange man on a horse going out of the bushes.

"Excuse me!" I called out. "Who are you? What do you want?"

The man didn't respond. Instead he just kept riding towards me.

I looked at the man. At least he looked like a man. He was wearing a long coat and a black mask over his face. He had a bow slung across his back and a quiver full of arrows strapped to his hip.

"Hey," I called out. "Wait! Don't ignore me."

He ignored me and kept riding towards me. I couldn't figure out what to do. I was afraid. I thought he might attack me. I held Beary close to my chest and stood still.

The stranger got closer. He was less than ten meters away from me. I was sure he would attack me soon.

I started to pat Donkey to calm him down, Then I remembered about the gun. I took it out of the holster with trembling hand. Then suddenly, without warning, the rider pulled out his bow and one of the arrows in a split second and aimed at me.

"Hiii!"

I screamed. I dropped Beary and squeezed the gun in my hand. I pointed it at the man.

"Don't shoot!" I yelled. "Please don't hurt us!"

I wasn't sure if he understood me or not. But I didn't know what else to say. I was terrified. I couldn't move. I was frozen in fear. The hand grabbing the gun started to tremble. I was afraid I would drop it.

"What are you doing here?" I heard the man ask. His voice was muffled. "Why did you follow me?"

"Huh?" I replied. "I... I... I didn't follow you."

I tried to think of what to say but nothing came to my mind. I was completely confused.

"I'm sorry," I finally managed to speak. "I didn't mean to agitate you."

I lowered the gun and put it back in the holster. I breathed deeply and relaxed my tense muscles. I wanted to show him that I wasn't anyone dangerous or threatening to him. I got down from Donkey and grabbed Beary from the ground. I looked a bit dusty.

"Hmm." He looked at me, while lowering his bow. "I'm not sure who you are, but you seem to be new here. You must have come from somewhere far away. Why are you here?"

"I..." I hesitated. "I'm searching for goldens."

"Goldens?" He cocked his head. "What do you mean?"

Then he aimed at me again.

"Tch, you little... So, you were after me after all! And I thought you were just a harmless traveller."

"No! No, no, no!" I cried. "I was only passing by when I heard a noise from the bushes. Please don't shoot me!"

I panicked and covered my head with my hands. I was scared. I felt the blood drain from my face. I heard a loud crack as the arrow hit the tree behind me.

"Hiiiii!"

I screamed again. I fell to the ground and cowered. I could hear the man laughing.

"How worthless." He said. "You are a coward."

"Nooooo!" I wailed.

I wanted to cry but I couldn't. My eyes filled with tears and my nose ran. I was crying uncontrollably.

"I am not a coward!" I sobbed. "I'm not! I'm not! You almost shoot me! You fiend!"

"Shut up!" He shouted. "Stop making such a fuss! There's no need to panic! It's fine now! I won't hurt you."

"But you almost shot me! Sniff." I protested.

"Oh, shut up!" He laughed. "It doesn't matter anymore. Now that I know you're not an enemy, I'll let you go. I don't care about your goldens or whatever. You can leave."

I was relieved. I wiped my tears and stood up.

"Thank you very much," I said. "I'm sorry for disturbing you."

I waited for a moment, but the man wasn't saying anything.

"Um... So, aren't you going to apologize to me too? You almost killed me. That's a lot worse than me disturbing you." I pouted.

"Apologize?" He asked. "Sorry, but I don't understand what you mean."

"Well... You could say something like: 'Forgive me for almost killing you' or something like that."

He laughed. "Why should I beg your forgiveness? I didn't kill you. Besides, I haven't done anything wrong."

"But you almost shot me!" I exclaimed. "That's really bad!"

"You are a funny one. Maybe you're a bit slow on the uptake, but you should really learn to be more careful."

"I am being careful! I'm always careful!"

"Really?" He laughed. "Even when you get into trouble, you still don't learn. Well whatever, I'm going."

He turned around with his horse and started walking away.

"Wait!" I called out. "Where are you going?"

"That's not your business, kid. Keep away or I will really shoot you. Goodbye."

"No! Wait!" I yelled.

And then he disappeared.

"Ugh! That fiend! I can't believe him!" I cursed.

I felt so sad and angry that I just stood there. I was shaking. I could feel my body temperature dropping. I hugged Donkey to calm myself down and warm my trembling body.

"Let's just forget about that man. We should focus on finding the goldens. The Sunnyrise is waiting for us. Okay. Let's go, Donkey."

I took a deep breath and we soon set off.

***

I walked along the road in the forest. The trees blocked most of the sunlight, so it was quite dark now. It was getting late.

"Should we make a camp soon? Rest here for the night?" I wondered.

We continued walking through the woods. But then...

"Hm? What's that?" I stopped.

There were some strange shadows in the distance. They looked like humans.

"Are they people?" I whispered.

I gulped.

"What do we do? Should we run? Or should I call the authorities?" I looked at my steamphone. "No signal, as expected. We are out of town in the middle of the forest after all."

I started walking towards the figures. I kept my hand on Donkey's back.

As we got closer, I realized that the shapes were actually two people. But then...

"Ah..." I gasped.

I was attacked from behind by someone who tried to strangle me. I heard a loud thud as I fell on the ground.

"Eek!" I shrieked.

I saw a silhouette standing over me.

"Aahh! Aaah!" I screamed. "S-Stay away! Stay away!"

The person jumped at me, but I managed to get free and jump away. I was surprised how fast I reacted.

"Hm? Who are you?!" I asked. "Why did you attack me?! Are you a bandit?!"

But the men didn't answer me. Instead, the four men just started to attack me.

"Nooooo!" I screamed. I took out my gun and fired in a panic.

I missed. Somehow I hit the tree.

"Damn it! Why won't this thing work?!" I shouted, while flailing my arms around.

Then suddenly I felt as if the world slowed down.

"Huh?" I was shocked.

"..."

I think I was hearing some voice. But it was too quiet. I couldn't hear it clearly.

"..."

"What? Who is this? Who is calling me? I-I'm a bit busy here." I tried to call back to the voice, but nothing happened.

"Get down you stupid son!"

"Eh, Mommy? Is that you?"

Suddenly I felt something touch my shoulder. The world started to spin again. I fell to the ground.

"Ouch! Wha..." I felt like something missed my head just now.

It seems one of the men almost killed me. I crawled on the ground and hid behind a tree, while bullets where flying after me.

"Guh!"

I ducked and ran under a bush. I heard more gunshots.

"Uwaah! Don't come here, you fiends!"

I started to shoot back at the men with my gun. I aimed at the shadows. I didn't know what would happen. I just wanted to survive. I was panicking. I was scared. My heart was beating very fast.

"Gwaaah!"

"Guh"

It seems I hit two of the weaker looking men somehow. But I still couldn't see them clearly.

"Donkey! Help me!"

"Hmph!"

The stallion snorted and galloped away. I watched him go with shock.

"Wait! Come back!"

But he didn't listen to me. He just kept running.

"Dammit! Donkey! Dammit! You coward!" I yelled.

I didn't want to die alone in the forest.

"Wai-"

I was suddenly pulled up by my hair.

"Wh-What's going on?" I asked.

I saw a man in front of me. He was holding my hair tightly.

"You're not going anywhere, little girl. You can only blame yourself for being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"I-I'm not a girl!" I shoot him in the face with my gun in a panic, before he could do anything else.

He fell to the ground, bleeding. Was he dead?

"A-Are you okay?" I asked.

I was afraid of him dying on me. I didn't really want to kill another person. He was bleeding heavily. But I couldn't look at him anymore as the others were shooting at me again. I ran away from him.

"Guh!"

I shot one of the men in the leg. But he kept coming at me. I felt like I couldn't escape.

"Guh!"

One of the bullets grazed me. It hurt a lot. I was shocked. I thought I was already dead. I felt like I died when I got hit.

"Waaaaah!"

"Ahh! Ahhh!"

I panicked. I tried to run away, but the other men were still chasing me. We were still shooting at each other.

"Guh! Guh!"

I was crying and screaming. I felt like I was about to die. I aimed at the men chasing me and shot.

"Guh!"

The man fell to the ground bleeding from his head.

"Hick." I shrieked in fright. H-he was dead, certainly this time. I killed the person just now. I wasn't even sure who he was. But I still felt bad. I was terrified.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..." I whispered. But I still pulled the trigger again. I had to survive. I had to get away.

Another man was hit in the stomach. But he was still alive. I tried to run away again.

"Ahh! Ahh!"

But I couldn't move. I was frozen with fear. I was shaking. I couldn't think. I was just reacting, pulling the trigger with abandon.

"N-No way! No way!"

I shot and shot and shot. I felt pain in my left arm. But I didn't care. I kept firing. I felt my leg being pierced.

"I'm s-sorry... Mommy. I might die here."

I was still shooting. I felt something hot dripping down my body.

"Please stop..."

Another man died. Only two were left. Then only one. Then finally all of the men died.

I stopped shooting. I dropped my gun.

"Guh." I couldn't catch my breath. I was trembling. I was still scared. I felt like I was going to be sick.

"Ugh... I'm sorry..."

I crouched on the ground and puked.

"Eeeeewww!"

I covered my mouth with both hands. I was too scared to look at the bodies.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..." I whispered.

I sobbed. I was crying for hours. My eyes were swollen. I could barely see.

"Mommy, I'm sorry..."

I couldn't believe what I did. I was so afraid that I couldn't even think. I couldn't stop myself. I just reacted.

I didn't know how long I was there crying. Eventually I realized it was night. The moonlight was shining through the trees. I was hungry. I wanted to eat. I saw Donkey had returned at some point. It was safe now.

"Oh no..." I shook my head. "I've done so much wrong. I'm so sorry."

I started to cry again. I was terrified.

"Hic..."

I took out some bandages from the bag. I wrapped them around my wounds. I felt a little better after that. Fortunately, the bullets flew though. I wiped the tears off my face.

"I need to be strong! Mommy is looking after me from the afterlife. I have to be brave."

I walked towards the bodies of the men. I looked at their faces. I didn't know them. But, they were my enemies. I'd never forget their faces, now that they are dead. But I couldn't feel anything anymore. I felt numb.

I searched their bodies. I only found 2 goldens on them. I looked at the bloodied money in my hand with a daze.

"I don't want this money. I don't need it."

I tried to throw it away. But then I hesitated. I squeezed the dirty coins in my hands and cried again.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I need this money..."

I cried and cried. I felt so guilty.

"Hic..."

I collapsed on the ground and hugged my knees. I was still crying. I was ashamed of what I did. I felt so terrible.

I felt Donkey coming up behind me. He licked my cheek.

"You're such a good boy, Donkey. You always stay by my side."

I felt like crying again and again. But I was already tired.

"I'm sorry, Donkey. I'm so sorry..."

I held onto his neck. I fell asleep.

***