LOL, Phili [Rusphil]

Request 2

"Ma, P-pa." The small girl hicked wiping stray tears away, curled up against the tree. In the middle of the woods, alone and lost. She let out a wail, "Mama! Papa!"

But after that, she was met with silence. The slight sway of trees as cool wind danced along between the quiet space. Hair stood at their ends.

"Mama," she sobbed. "I'm sorry."

She regretted disobeying her mother. She shouldn't have gone on her own, she shouldn't have went in.

"Oy, what are you doing in here, little girl?" She perked up upon hearing an old raspy voice. An old woman in her late eighty's stood not far from her. Dressed in garments of white and hair a little disheveled that reached past her waist. "Didn't your parents tell you that there's strange things in this forest? You shouldn't be here, little girl."

Phili stood up, eyes wide in shock. "A-a... A ghost! White lady! Help me!" Her knees trembled.

"Come with me and I'll take you to your house, you ungrateful cout."

Her feet stood firmly rooted from her spot, unable to move. She stared at the old lady with quivering eyes. Looking away and closing her eyes, she forced her legs to budge and dashed to the opposite direction.

"Oy, girl, where are you going?" she heard the woman's distant yell but she didn't dare to look back.

She kept running. She didn't know where her feet took her, whether it was deeper into the forest, or farther to her home, she had no clue. Her legs buckled, finally collapsing to the ground with deep erratic breaths.

Nothing matters, she just wanted to get away from that woman.

"What are you doing?"

She screamed, turning towards the source, only to find a boy standing a meter away from her. A cute looking boy, probably around the same year or two years older. He was tall. A large stripe of white, blue, and red, consecutively horizontal to his face.

He tilted his head, his grayish blue eyes staring weirdly at her as if she was some otherwordly creature. "Uh, what are you doing?"

Phili stopped and spunned around, embarrassed.

"What are you doing here?" he once asked again.

This snapped the girl out of her thoughts. "I was lost..."

"You live here?" the boy raised his eyebrow. "Where? I'll take you there." He held out his hand.

Phili stared at it and hesistantly accepted. "I...don't know."

"You don't know?" the boy asked, confused.

"We just visited here for vacation."

The boy nodded in understanding. "Ah."

They were met with silence.

"I guess we should start looking for your house then."

She awkwardly nodded.

~~

It was almost near twilight. Stars peeked from the clouds and the sky blended in hues of violet and pink, the sun was setting on the horizon behind the tall mountains, casting silhouette on the small town below. Lights from light bulbs and lamps scattered far from each house to house; t was the life living in a province, peaceful and quiet.

One thing that caught Phili's attention was the clustered of light, which seems to be the villagers in search for something, or rather, someone. Phili perked up, seeing a familiar man amongst the crowd.

"Papa!" Unable to contain her excitement, she ran down the small hill, past the borders of the forest and bolting straight into her father's arms.

"Phili!" Katipunan yelled with worried eyes as the midget clung to his clothes tight. The people behind him sighed in relief with the missing child now finally here. He knelt down, placing the lamp on the ground as he hugged her. "Where were you? You had us worried."