When the sun started to set, I realized that the fun was over, and it was time to go home. The trouble was that I had no idea in which direction I should go. For some reason, I was drawn to the not-so-densely-packed part of the forest, perhaps because it reminded me of the forest near the wall. The creature did not agree with me, and all the time it showed me that we should go to the opposite side. The part of the forest that it chose was already dark, and I decided to try my luck with this brighter side of the forest. This turned out to be a mistake that I would later regret a lot. Although the trees were quite sparse and the forest was easily passable, the sun was setting quickly and visibility was getting lower and lower. To cover up the panic that was slowly creeping into me, I began to think of a name for the creature next to me that followed in my footsteps, even though it still visibly disagreed with my decision on the chosen path. Together, we rejected many of the proposed names until we finally agreed to call her Sylvie, after the silvery glow that accompanied her with every movement, especially in the sun. In this, mostly one-sided, dialogue, a lot of time has passed, and the sunlight has been replaced by the moon. The panic slowly began to return to me, and Sylvie's anxiety did not help me at all. Without a warning, we reached a clearing. Fallen trees and huge craters in the ground could be seen everywhere in front of us. As much as I tried to see the continuation of the forest somewhere in the distance, I could only see the same scene, even on the neighboring hill. The torn earth and the stumps that protruded lifelessly from it were bathed in the cold moonlight. I was overwhelmed with sadness, but I didn't have much time to pity the scene I had just come across. Without a warning, somewhere on our left, we heard a wicked growl, which seemed to explode in the silence of the night. We were immediately blinded by the light from two huge eyes directed straight at us. All I remember before I lost consciousness is that Sylvie was standing in a protective stance between me and the giant monster that stretched its bare claws and jaws towards us...
I woke up drenched in a cold sweat and with a soundless scream on my lips. It took me a while to recover and realize that I was in my room, in my bed, not face to face with the monster. Everything I experienced the day before seemed like a dream as I sat in bed and watched the well-known things in the room. A desk covered with notebooks and drawing utensils, a globe, and magazines on the shelf, an armchair, books, everything was in place. My favorite white dress was draped over the chair, and patent leather shoes were left on the floor. It seemed incredible to me that I dreamt about everything that had happened, but everything indicated that it was just a dream. Still a little disoriented, I got up to get dressed, and when I took the dress in my hands, I noticed that one part of it was sewn. And that was exactly where I tore it in my dream. I felt as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water over me. I frantically checked the bruises where I fell and painfully determined that they were still there. Anxious to find out what had happened to Sylvie, I ran out of the room. At the door, I almost collided with Mira. I started bombarding her with questions with such speed and intensity that even I couldn’t distinguish what I was saying. After the initial confusion, Mira sat me down on the chair, and to my surprise, she started scolding me. At first, she scolded me for running away and told me how worried everyone was when they had noticed I was gone, and then she switched to telling me how they were looking for me all over town and that I was lucky that one of the workers returned to his machine, where he found me standing in the middle of nowhere. She went on about how I had scared him by screaming and collapsing to the ground in front of him. Then she told me that, fortunately, I was physically healthy, except for exhaustion and a bit of dehydration, so the doctors had allowed me to go home and rest, but they kept saying that I was really lucky when I had spent the whole day alone in the wilderness without any consequences. My questions and persistent attempts to find out what had happened to Sylvie didn't seem to reach her, and the monologue was paused only when she heard my belly rumble. During breakfast, perhaps better say lunch, I realized that I would not learn any information from her, but I was a little comforted to learn that we were not attacked by any monster, that it was just a man, although I was still worried about what had happened with Sylvie. Shortly afterward, the parents returned home, followed by another round of scolding and a few hugs. In the entire situation, it seemed that no one was interested in what I had to say except to answer if I knew what it meant to them when I decided to, as they say, run away and whether I knew how dangerous it was. My story about Sylvie was ignored as soon as they realized that it was not about another person. The punishment was set in place for "my own good", which was rendered to a ban on leaving the house for a long period of time. The more time had passed, the more I began to believe that Sylvie was just my wishful thinking, but I was still worried, so I decided that my only chance to find out what had happened to her, if she existed at all, was to ask the man who found me because he must have seen her. It was not difficult to convince my parents to take me to him because they thought it would be good to personally thank the man who found me. When I look at the whole situation from this perspective, it is ironic how my founder contributed, in many ways, to "getting lost" again later, albeit indirectly.
"I went back to the machine to pick up the phone I’d forgotten when something caught my attention on the edge of the forest, but I couldn't see clearly from the trees. I turned on the lights so I could see better and, if there were any wild animals, to scare them away. As soon as I turned them on, I was blinded by strong light, as if my lights were reflected off of a silver surface, and then I heard and saw you crash to the ground. To be honest, if I hadn't heard beforehand at the base that some girl got lost, who knows what would’ve crossed my mind. I still don't understand how you ended up at the mine, it's a few kilometers away from the city, and it never occurred to anyone to look for you there. The forest is not a place even for adults at night, let alone for little girls. I still shudder when I remember how I felt something following my every step from the woods as I approached to pick you up. I could have sworn there was something there." This was enough of a confirmation to me that Sylvie was real and unharmed. For a long time after this conversation, I tried to go back to the forest, to see Sylvie again, but it became an impossible mission. After my "little adventure", they multiplied their efforts so that no one else would go beyond the wall again, and what was perhaps even more painful, Marko's parents also made sure we couldn’t see each other again. As I no longer had company with whom I could share my adventures, I turned to books. I tried to learn as much as possible about forests, rivers, plants, animals, and much more, because, that way, I felt closer to Sylvie. I could almost imagine her leading me through all this new knowledge about the natural world, instead of some letters on paper. However, I began to learn about other things as well. I found out exactly what kind of machine the man who found me was operating and what it was for, as well as many others I didn't know about. The more I learned about them, the more it seemed to me that I was right and that I had seen a monster... I learned why and how forests are being cleared, and that all those who go to work behind the wall are leaving for that reason, including my parents, who were absent for longer and longer periods. Disgust towards this city and the people in it slowly began to form in me. I felt as if they had personally hurt me with their actions during the destruction of forests, meadows, and other natural habitats, and I could not see and understand the reasons for such a thing. Energy sources, trade, the economy, and similar words didn’t mean much to my childish brain, so aversion and misunderstanding grew. A desire began to arise in me to get out of here as soon as possible and find Sylvie. It seemed to me that her presence would help me in some way. I packed my "backpack for the road" and waited for the right moment to sneak out of the town again, to the other side of the wall.
