I set out about an hour later.

The centaurs saw me off and while I did want a guide, I understood that was far too much to ask for. Besides, they actually gave me a map. I actually couldn’t look them in the eye after what the lady had said to me for the last half an hour. I can’t believe they-

If I kept walking for two hours without getting lost, I could get out of the forest. I’d have to cross the sea of salt but since I wasn’t heading north, I wouldn’t have deal with the lava or the great beast or whatever. During my stay in this world, I often heard the phrase Great Beast. And while some of the great beasts were absurdly dangerous, a vast majority of them were just local beasts that were a bit difficult to deal with. The twin head tiger that nearly murdered the fuck out of me, a typical B ranked monster, was also called the great beast of the woods. But compared to the giant shrimp the Sea goblins demolished, that tiger was nothing.

Still, not getting lost in here is a major ask.

No matter where I looked, the surrounding looked the very same. The trees, the grass, the bugs, the weird palms… everything looked the same.

“Stop dillydallying and let’s go,” the voice came from above and a second later someone had picked me up and was swinging around from tree to tree like a monkey with just one fucking hand.

“Why not just jump from branch to branch?” I asked, innocently. I tried hugging her for more support, but I couldn’t really reach the other end, so I barely hung on.

“Too time consuming.”

But she kept swinging with just one arm anyway, and while holding me no less. This lady was something else that was for sure. She might be stronger than Mom….

“Are these… are these trees sentient?”

“Not in the same sense as us,” she said.

“Then how?”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

Typical adult bullshit. Just because they couldn’t explain it properly, they always hid behind the phrase ‘you wouldn’t understand’ or ‘you’ll understand when you’re older.’

I sighed.

And she picked up on that. “They’re related to the things you saw on the other island. But unlike those trees, these ones don’t prey on animals or corrupt us. But they’re very much sentient and use us for mutual benefit.”

See, wasn’t that easier to say? Yeah, probably not. I guess I was just being a spoiled brat.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“I see…” I didn’t see shit.

My eyes were constantly being harassed by leaves and vines, so I had to keep them all closed up. At one point I’d nearly dug my face just below her underarm but didn’t because she let out a welp.

Hella soft though, and the lady didn’t smell bad so no complaints. Ow… okay maybe the cuts on my body were something to complain about but oh well.

While I thought this would last forever, it didn’t.

It ended sooner than expected and we were out.

Bright sunlight. Somewhat greenish sky and clouds.

The ground was flaky and hard, with some grass and lots and lots of puddles. Puddles of boiling green mud.

“Well get off,” the lady said.

“Right… I’m Sol by the way.”

“Hilda.” She flicked her hair, looked down and while she didn’t smile, she did pat me on my head. “No need to be so agitated. I came with you to protect you, not to toss you in the mud. So, relax.”

“Right…”

I walked ahead, and I followed her lead.

“Don’t even get near the boiling mud. It’s both boiling and toxic.”

“Noted.”

***

Plenty of things surprised me. Big bugs, the sweet-smelling grass, the actually sweet green water (that happened to be poisonous), and even the fact that the lady with me actually cared about me; a kid she met earlier in the day who sexually harassed her under the influence. Why had she come with me- that question alone kept me cautious. But as she herself asked me to relax, I tried to. But my subconscious argued that could be a ploy and I was even more cautious now. She probably understood but that didn’t mention anything. Courteous if nothing else. Or perhaps scheming.

“How long have you been traveling anyway?” The lady asked.

We’d crossed the boiling mud. Right now, it was just vibrant sweet grass. It wasn’t endless though. I could see another forest of sorts in the distance. Probably not as dense as the one we’d come out of.

Clear sky, somewhat pleasant sun considering it was late noon. Not yet afternoon.

“I’d say about a half a year. Or probably more, I stopped counting. The journey was supposed to be worth 6 months. Five months of traveling, and one month to find them. But I caught a mermaid and ended up dragged into the ocean. I found out I could breathe underwater but that came with its own problems and safe zones, wars and sigh….” Anyway… I tried not to think about all that. “I honestly don’t know how much time has passed. But at the very least it’s been over six months.”

“That was quite a detour you had to take… I hope you find them.”

“Me too. That hope alone has enabled me to-” I stopped.

No, that wasn’t true. I wasn’t doing this to find them or to get them back to safety. I was doing this to satisfy my own ego. I was doing this to… to feel good or at the very least not feel bad about-

I felt pathetic every time I thought about it. But it was true, some part of me deep down knew that I couldn’t find them with this approach alone. Heck, it’d be a miracle if I could find them at all. But I wanted to find them. I wanted to find Mom. I wanted to find Den. They were in this mess because of me. And I wanted to get them out of this…. Was it solely because of my ego or was it out of love?

I didn’t know.

I wish I did.

But I didn’t.

“We can take a break,” she said. “But I’d assume you don’t want to.”

“No. I know I’ll get tired if we kept this up but… I want to reach as fast as possible.”

This reunion was going to make me both sad and bring me relief? I suppose my journey was coming to an end. I just hoped… it was going to be a happy end. I really hoped the sad part was just the whole detour of a journey and not….

She sighed. “Alright.” She picked me up, and put me on her shoulder.

My legs dangled on her neck, going down. “Why?”

“Faster and efficient.”

Huh. “I don’t know if you understand or not but… I’m really glad you came. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”