The Missing Pendant

THE JOURNEY

"Wait a minute, let's go to the market and get some food and other necessities," he remarked.

She said, "Oops, sorry, I forgot about that, and I don't need anything."

He asked, "You don't eat food?"

She replied, "I eat fruits; they will be available in the forest, right?"

"I doubt that; there are very few fruit trees in Noire Forest, so I'll buy some extra fruits," he said. "Just in case."

"I will return the favours when I return home," she added graciously.

"No need for that; I'm not sure why, but I feel happy when you're with me," he remarked with a smile.

She slightly blushed, but did not show it that much.

They began their journey after purchasing all the necessary items. All the way to the Noire Forest, they were talking about their favourite things and so on.

Surprisingly, they both had so many things in common. Gradually, they started to like each other, but they haven't confessed. When the sky is dark, they have already entered the Noire forest.

The forest was quiet, except for the hooting owls. When the clouds moved with the breeze, the moon was clearly visible. Since it was a full moon day, the bright moonlight illuminated the dark forest. All of the animals appeared to be asleep in their own homes.

After a few steps in the silent, dark forest, they set up a tent and sat down around a campfire.

Adrien asked Ziara, "Do you want some apples?"

Ziara replied, "Yes, my favourite fruit."

Adrien laughed and said, "Yeah, I know."

After they finished eating, they were stargazing. "They are so beautiful!" Ziara said as she gazed at the stars.

"That's true," Adrien stated and muttered to himself, "but it is not as beautiful as you." Due to the breeze, Ziara couldn't hear what he said at the end of his sentence.

"Ziara, if you don't mind, can I touch your wings?" Adrien asked, gazing up at the sky.

After giving it some thought, she transformed into a fairy and told him to touch them.

He was a little hesitant to touch them, but when he did, her wings were delicate and soft, and they gleamed in the moonlight. He had never touched something so delicate like that in his life.

Then he took his hands from her and said to her, "It's the most delicate thing I have touched in my life."

She again transformed back to human and said, "You're the first human I showed my wings to, or, to be more precise, the first human who now knows I'm a fairy."

He exclaimed with excitement, "Really!"

She said, "Yep."

Again, they talked for some time and then went to sleep in their separate tents.

It was a lovely early morning, with birds chirping and sunlight streaming through the trees. As per plan, they resumed their journey at dawn. After a long walk, they had their breakfast around 8 a.m.

On their way, Adrien saw a rabbit whose leg was stuck under a big, broken branch. He set it free by lifting the broken branch. Ziara picked up the rabbit and discovered it had a wound in its right leg.

Ziara asked Adrien to hold the rabbit while she searched the neighbouring plants for something.

She returned to him with a few plants in her hand. Adrien was perplexed as to what she was doing. She clasped her palm with the plants, and a green light glowed from within her closed fist. When she opened it, there was a small green candy inside.

He thought, "She has used her magic."

She gave the rabbit the magical candy to eat, and when it did, its wound began to glow a light green and healed within a minute.

Then the rabbit happily leaped around them and bowed in front of them, expressing his gratitude towards them. After that, it went into its burrow.

They continued their journey again. Adrien was a kind-hearted person, Ziara thought.

By that afternoon, they had reached Apricocity, even though helping a rabbit took some time.

They found Longbel Villa on Elm Street after a few minutes of searching. It was an old villa, and they were standing in front of a large, black, rusted gate. There was no security around, so they unlocked the gate because it was not locked. They approached the porch and knocked on the door.

There was no reply; they knocked several times, but there wasn't any response from inside. Then Adrien turned the door knob, and to his surprise, it opened. They both slowly went inside.

The place looked like it hadn't been used for many years. The tables, chairs, and almost everything else are covered with dust and spiderwebs. The drapes in the window were closed, and it seemed to have been this way for a very long time.

They investigated the place a bit, and Ziara said, "Adrien, I found a lantern here."

Adrien went near her, and she gave the lantern to him. He found a matchbox lying on the floor, so he picked it up, and then he lit the lantern with a matchstick.

He analysed the lantern and said, "Ziara, this lantern is new; I think the man we are looking for has come here. He wouldn't need a lantern in this villa since sunlight shines through the holes in the wooden walls."

She listened to him attentively, and before she could ask him anything, he continued, "There must be some place that is dark, and it might be hidden here somewhere."

She asked him, "How are we going to find it?"

"Let's look around the area where you found this lantern." he said.

She replied, "Okay."

They both examined the place where they found the lantern.

After a few minutes, Ziara heard a tapping sound on the floor and turned around to find Adrien tapping his foot on the floor. She was perplexed and questioned him, "Why are you tapping the floor?"

"Can you see the difference?" Adrien asked, patting the floor. The flooring sounds different from the other section."

That's when Ziara saw the distinction and stated, "Yes, it's different. Then it must imply that there is some sort of secret corridor or room, right?"

Adrien bent down, held the lantern close to the flooring, and said, "Let's find out what's in there."

Ziara nodded. Adrien discovered a small hook on the floor and pulled it, which opened a small door with a cracking sound.

He kept the lantern inside the little door because it was pitch black. The light revealed the stairway, a path that led into the darkness.

With a lantern in hand, Adrien led the way into the secret path, closely followed by Ziara.

They ended up in a small room with no other way out and no light except the lantern in his hand.

When they moved the lantern across the room, they found a table and a person tied with ropes in a chair.

They gradually got closer to that person in order to see his face. Adrien was shocked and shouted, "Oh my god!" as he brought the lantern closer to his face.