I’ve lived with my mother Mileva and father Silvanus in our log cabin, built by my father on the edge of our village, all my life, and while my mom and dad don’t allow me to go to the village centre alone anymore, I still have a lot of time to spent with them and my friends in the village.

And my dad even takes me deep into the forest on some days! And I get to brag about it to my friends, and whenever we return back home, my mom always cooks to best food for us!

And my life really couldn’t be happier... if it wasn’t for those walking bushes that appeared last week.

Whenever I see them, I rushed to mom and dad so they can see them, but whenever my mom and dad approach, they disappear into the forest!

I’ve even seen a few standing around the part of the forest where my dad goes to every day, but he just looks at their direction always a second late!

There was even a time when one of those walking bushes stood a few meters behind my dad while he worked, but he wouldn’t believe me and turn around to look at it!

And when he finally did, the bush had already gone!

And the worst part of it is not that my parents are always a second too late to see them, but that they are starting to get angry at me for trying to trick them!

I am not doing such a thing!

“Grr... I’ll prove to them the walking bushes exist one day!” I muttered in anger as I was hanging our clothes to dry one day.

It was just infuriating that they were always just too slow to see those walking bushes, only if I could catch one...

Turning my head to the forest for a few moments, I looked if there were any of those walking bushes hiding there.

They usually didn’t come to our cabin, and mostly stayed in the woods near the village itself, but I still occasionally saw them passing by here on their way to... somewhere.

“...If only I could go down to the village by myself...

“Wait, maybe mom would like to search for the walking bushes with me?” I thought, and after I finished hanging the last of our clothes, I went into the house to see my mom knitting something.

“Mom, can we go to the village today?” I asked and she lifted her head up.

“Sorry dear, not today—at least, not now. Do you want to ask your dad after he comes back?”

“But he always says it’s too late to go to the village no matter the time is!”

“You know he is a hard worker dear, he is usually just too tired to accompany you into the village... but I’ll ask him tonight to stay home tomorrow, so you two can go to the village.”

“...Okay...” I told her, as I left the house again.

There wasn’t that much to do outside, but I could at least watch out for those walking bushes if one appeared again.

And after a few minutes, I saw one of those walking bushes, walking leisurely through the forest, hidden in other bushes and plants of the forest.

“Mom! There is a—” I started saying, but then a thought hit me.

Wasn’t it the perfect time to catch one?

“What is it dear?” Mom screamed from inside the house.

“Nothing mom! Can I go play in the forest a bit?”

“...Only if you stay near the house, where I can hear you scream! Don’t you dare go deep into the forest young lady!” She screamed from the house, and I sprinted to catch up with the walking bush.

It was only a few trees deep into the forest anyways, so, I should be able to catch up with it, right?

Then, after I got up to the treeline, I realised that it had already gotten away.

“It... couldn’t’ve gotten far, no? And it was going east, right?” I muttered, not exactly sure where it had gone to, but it couldn’t’ve gotten that far away!

I’ve seen those things before! They are too slow! Only getting away right as my parents come around!

“...Yeah, I should be able to catch up with it...” I muttered, and entered the forest, taking a glance behind me for a moment to look at our cabin, and then started running after that walking bush, deeper into the forest.

I then continued running for a few minutes, and then stopped to catch my breath and looked around for the walking bush but, it wasn’t here.

Then I started running again, and stopped after a few minutes. Again, the walking bush wasn’t there.

I did this song and dance a few more times, before accepting it had run away.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Next time! I swear, the next time I see one, I will catch it!” I pledged to myself, and then turned around and started running back.

But after ten minutes, I realised I still hadn’t arrived back home.

“Did I go the wrong way?” I asked myself.

“No need to panic—remember what father thought you! First, find the sun, if it’s rising, point your right hand towards it, and if it’s setting, point your left hand towards it!” I muttered, and looked up.

“I... can’t see the sun.” That... was a problem.

“Oh no! Mom is going to get angry at me!” I started worrying quickly, but I wasn’t out of options yet! I could always just climb a tree!

Turning myself towards one of the trees, I quickly realised that... I couldn’t climb them.

“...There may be a clearing around here... I just need to find it, then I can re-orient myself!” I said, and chose a random direction to go to.

After another ten minutes of running through the forest, I finally saw a clearing near a lake.

“Finally!” I screamed, but quickly stopped myself.

“Is that... one of those walking bushes?” I asked myself in curiosity, and got as close to it as I could without it spotting me.

“That... doesn’t look like the others...” I thought to myself.

The other walking bushes always stayed low on the ground, or up in the trees, letting their branches and leaves hide them among other shrubs and bushes.

And they were small! The biggest I saw was only as big as a fox! But this one, it looked just like a deer!

And it didn’t have as many branches and leaves sticking out of its body either! Only a single layer of them, barely covering anything!

For a few moments I continued watching the big walking bush that was resting on top of a rock, until it suddenly started moving.

“Wait—should I go after it, or stay to re-orient myself...” I thought for a few moments, and was about to stay behind—until the walking bush suddenly stopped just a few steps away from the forest line, and turned its head towards me.

I had never seen one of the walking bushes from the front, but I hadn’t expected their eyes to be so... normal.

Not that the weirdness of it having a normal pair of eyes made it any less creepy, but I was only able to look at them for long as it motioned for me to follow behind it, and went into the forest.

“It... wants me to follow it?” I asked myself, surprised, as they usually always just escaped before my parents could see them, but it just wants me to follow it now?

“...I can’t see the sun from here either...” I muttered as I quickly got out into the small clearing.

“Well... I guess I have nothing better to do...” I muttered to myself as I started going the direction the walking bush had gone to.

And after less than a minute I saw it running a bit ahead of me, and I started tailing it.

I would sometimes lose sight of it, but it’d appear after a few moments again.

“...Wait, can’t I catch it right now?” Sure, it was a bit bigger than me... but how strong could it possibly be with a body made of branches and leaves?

“...This is my chance!” I said to myself, as I started running faster behind it... but I still had to stop after a few minutes of running to catch my breath.

But it would always come back near me, I always had another chance to catch it!

And, after another few minutes of running, I saw it stop in the middle of the forest, and ran up to it as fast as I could.

“Caught you!” I yelled as I grabbed onto one of the hind legs of the walking bush!

“M-milena?!” I heard dad yell my name, and when I opened my eyes, I saw him holding his axe forwards, towards the walking bush.

“Milena! Get away from that thing!” He yelled again as he tightened his grip on his axe.

“It’s fine dad! Look! I’ve caught it! It can’t escape now!” I told him, being happy that I had finally caught one of those walking bushes, and now I could show them to both mom and dad!

But he continued to scream anyways.

“Milena! I said get away from it!” He screamed again, and I was just about to reject, as I wanted to at least show it to mom too before I let it go, but before I could start talking, vines started coming out of the bush’s body, and lifted me up a meter in the air before putting me in between it and dad.

And then, after retracting its vines, the bush just ran away into the forest again!

“Wait! You can’t get away!” I screamed, and wanted to run after it, but my father grabbed me before I could start running after it.

“Milena!” He screamed as he hugged me.

“Are you fine?!” He asked as he hugged me for a bit.

“Y-yes?” I asked, flustered, then he lifted me up, and seated me down on his cart as he picked up his axe, and started pulling the cart faster than I ever.

“The moment we arrive back home, I want an explanation of what happened, understood?” He said with a stern voice as he all but ran across the dirt path.

“Y-yes...” I could only mutter, as I could tell that he was angry.

“Milena! Milena! Are you there?!” I heard the faint screams of my mother, and my dad suddenly stopped in his tracks.

“...When we get back, we are telling her you came to visit me, understood?”

“W-what? Why?”

“I asked if you understood me, Milena?”

“Y-yes...” I told him, and only after he heard me say those words did he start walking again.

“Mileva! We are here!” My dad screamed as she entered our sight.

“Silvanus! Milena! S-she is g... gone...” My mother started screaming as she heard my father’s voice, but as she realised, I was in his cart, she stopped.

“Don’t worry, Mileva, she just came to see me on my way back. I was surprised that she came without you, but she was fine when we met up.” My dad said with a smile on his face, and my mom just started approaching us without saying a word.

“I-I am sorry for—” I started apologising, but before I could finish, she had jumped forward to hug me.

“Oh, goddess bless you! I was so, so worried you had disappeared...” She said with a rough voice, and after hugging me for a few seconds, she straightened up, and wiped a few tears from her face.

“Milena! You will never, ever, go anywhere without me or your dad, understood?!” She then suddenly started screaming.

“I was so worried for you! You just said you’d stay in the forest outskirts, but when I come out to look for you, you are gone! And you suddenly appear with your father out of nowhere! This is never going to happen again, understood?!”

“I-I am sorry...” I could only say to her.

“Ha ha ha!” Father then suddenly started laughing out of nowhere, and mother’s head snapped towards him.

“What are you laughing at?!”

“Sorry sorry, it’s just—you are trying to get angry at her but its so obvious you are faking, I can’t—I just can’t hold myself... Pfft~... hahaha!” He then continued laughing as mom looked at him mouth agape.

“Silvanus! You know we can’t just let her get away with what she did! What if she had been attacked by animals?!”

“Then, we’ll discuss her punishment... later. For now, let’s just get back in our home, I am sure all of us has had a hard day today.”

“...Fine... but she’s not getting away with “helping” you work in the forest again! I know you don’t make her do anything! Don’t think that will get pass me again!” Then mom said as he started going back in our home, and as she was out of our sight, dad turned to me again.

“We are talking about what you did, tomorrow. I will be taking you to the forest with me again. But this time—there will be consequences young lady... now, get out of that cart, and clear yourself. You are covered in dirt.”