A while ago, when Rudy was busy with Elena.
Jessica opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds.
"Is it morning already?" she muttered.
She got up from her bed and went to the living room to ask Rudy, but he wasn't there.
"Am I late for school…."
She could look at the time, but all the lights in the house were closed except the bedroom light, and there was no clock there.
"Umm… where is Rudy…" she rubbed her eyes and slowly made her way to the bathroom, but Rudy wasn't there either.
"..." She looked at the window from there and realized it was still night.
"Oh… so where did Rudy go…"
She went to the bedroom to wake Rebecca up, but she didn't wake up.
"..." She puffed her cheeks and muttered, "I am sure he went to meet Miss Elena again. He lives with us, so why does he go there? I will bring him back!"
Jessica rushed to the front door, which was locked, and her hand didn't reach the lock. So she jumped a few times and managed to unlock it.
"Stupid Rudy!"
She went out without knowing what the time was. She thought only a few minutes had passed since they fell asleep and ran her way to Elena's house.
"Stupid. Stupid, Stupid!" She was so focused and angry at Rudy that the thought of being alone at night never crossed her mind.
Usually, she would be scared to even go to the bathroom alone at night and always wake Rebecca up in the middle of the night.
Elena's house was on the way between the school and her house, so she had seen it several times but never actually went there.
After walking for a few minutes, she reached the intersection, where she had to go right and walk for a few minutes to get to Elena's house. However, when she stood there, she eventually realized that she was out alone in the middle of the night.
Undoubtedly, Jessica made a stupid move, but she couldn't be blamed for her action. After all, she was merely seven years old, and a kid would never stop at anything once they had made up their mind.
When she realized what she was doing, everything came back to her. Her body trembled as she glanced around to look for someone, but it was dead silence.
"Why am I here?!" she panicked.
"Is this the dream where I go to the bathroom to pee and pee on the bed?"
She even started thinking that she was dreaming and she wasn't actually outside the house. She was denying her actions, not because she didn't remember doing them, but because she didn't want them to be real.
"Please, let this be a dream. Let this be a dream."
She closed her eyes and repeatedly said the same thing.
"Let this be a dream. Let this be a dream. Let this be a dream!"
She hoped that she would wake up on her bed when she opened her eyes, but that didn't happen.
"No… I want to go back!"
She turned around and decided to run her way back to the house, but she was still too scared to do so.
"Since I am already here, and Rudy is at Mis Elena's house… I should go there…"
It would have taken Jessica at least ten minutes to return home if she had walked without stopping— even for a second. While Elena's house was roughly five minutes away from the intersection.
"Will Rudy be angry?" she wondered. "What if he yells at me? No… what if he leaves us like father did?"
Jessica rushed to Elena's house as soon as possible, but on her way, she heard a weird rustling noise.
"...!"
She looked behind her and to her sides but couldn't see anyone.
"What was that?"
She increased her speed and ran as fast as she could. But she couldn't stop hearing the same sound again and again. It was as though the sound was following her.
Jessica was scared, but she knew that she shouldn't stop until she reached Elena's house, and she did.
She was breathing so heavily that she felt like her heart was about to pop out of her chest.
She was standing on the porch of the house, waiting for her breaths to slow down so she could utter a word.
RUSTLE!
Then, she heard the same sound again, but it was crisp and clear, as though it came from behind her.
"..." She slowly looked back while trembling, but no one was there.
Suddenly, she was covered in the shadow, and she disappeared along with the shadow.
At that time, Rudy had already left before Jessica reached Elena's house.
When Jessica opened her eyes again, she found herself sitting on the huge slab of rock in the middle of the forest.
"..." She panicked and jumped down, but before her feet could touch the ground, she was pushed back on the slab by the shadow.
"Where am I?!" she yelled.
A few seconds later, the shadow revealed itself and sat on the slab beside Jessica.
"Who are you?!" Jessica jumped again, but the shadow pulled her back to the slab.
"Why did you bring me here?!"
The shadow's entire body was covered in mist, making it impossible to see it.
Tears rolled down Jessica's eyes as she yelled, "I want to go home!"
"I am sorry I was being a bad girl! I promise I won't leave the house again! Please let me go home!"
The shadow tapped on Jessica's shoulder and pointed its finger at the dead bodies in the forest.
"...!" Jessica's eyes widened after seeing that. "Are you going to kill me too?! Please don't eat me! I don't taste good!"
The shadow shook its head and took out a red, apple-like fruit from its pocket.
"No. I don't want to eat it. I know you will eat me if I eat this!"
The shadow handed the fruit to Jessica and slowly spoke, "Dangerous here."
Jessica thought the shadow would kill her if she didn't eat the fruit, so she ate it.
"It's so sweet!" she said after taking only one bite.
After eating the fruit, Jessica calmed down and eventually fell asleep on the rock slab. And at the same time, Rudy arrived.
