The Year of the Tiger

Chapter 4

[Main character] ran until she got tired, still thinking about Aunt Yang and all of her troubles. She grit her teeth and moved on, determined to outrun her troubles.

Your life will never be normal

That's what the teacher had said. [Main character] didn't want to believe it. There had to be some chance of her getting to live a normal life with her mom. She stumbled on a tree root, and came to a stop, panting. She sat down and tried to see where she was.

Ok. I'm lost. Now what? This is all Aunt Yang's fault!

She tried running backwards, only to see in a few minutes the sycamore tree that she was sitting under. Trying not to get frustrated, she walked around in circles until the sky grew dark.

It's fine. She told herself. Mom will look for me. She saw me run in here.

Hours, or was it minutes, passed, with no sign of her mom. Now growing frantic, [Main character] set out again, and dejectedly made herself a small hut with some branches on the floor. She crouched, shivering on the floor, and sat there in the cold, preparing to wait out the night.

Suddenly, she heard a stick snap, and she turned around, only to see a boy around her age crawl through one of the bushes.

"Hi." At least he sounded friendly.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Your worst nightmare." the boy said, with a playful light in his eyes.

[Main character] jumped up, eyes widened.

"C'mon! I was messing around with you. You should've seen your face!" he said, laughing.

[Main character]'s face got hot, and she shook her head crossly.

"Not funny." she muttered.

"Cheer up! It's fun hanging out in the woods." he said.

"You try sitting here for a few hours!" [Main character] said, her old temper flaring up.

"Eh. It's fine. Come on. Let me bring you to my hideout."

[Main character] perked up, only to find out that his 'hideout' was exactly like her's, except for a small fire burning in the middle. Her stomach grumbled, and she flinched, feeling the raw pangs of hunger. The boy noticed and smiled apologetically.

"Sorry. I don't have any food."

"It's fine- why do you have a hideout here?"

"I er- I don't know...?"

[Main character] frowned, finding this a bit strange, but decided not to question it. The boy smiled again, and said,

"Come on! Let's run around or something."

[Main character] reluctantly stood up, and the boy ran away, [Main character] chasing after him.

"I forgot to ask! What's your name?" she shouted as she followed him through the woods.

"You have to catch me first!"

[Main character] grinned, and closed in on the boy. Suddenly, he stopped, [Main character] crashing into him.

His voice was strained. "Do you see those temples?" he asked.

"Yeah. What?"

"You must never go in there. Got it?"

"Okay. Sure."

He smiled, and told [Main character] that he would go get some food for them.

"Don't move. Okay?"