jula and mae: endgame

The beginning of the end .

Mae, a woman of culture, was skipping around in the deep, dark forest. Nothing bad was expected by her, her friend Jula was following behind her. The two were inseparable, not thinking about a single bad thing about each other. They loved each other like they were family, the two would sacrifice themselves for the other person no matter what. The forest was said to curse the ones who enter it, yet the two were foolish enough to ignore the warnings. Many villagers warned the two girls, though the two were fueled with curiousness about what the dark forest had to offer. Witches? Fairies? No one knew, everyone who ever dared to take a step into the forest was eaten by it alive.. Or so they all say, Mae refused to believe this kind of accusation. It could be beautiful.. her heart wanted to feel the sensation of the dark air. She loved to visit the forests, pickijng berries with Jula was always heartwarming for her. Jula felt the same, always.

,,What a beautiful forest.." Mae claimed, enchanted by the forests beauty. ,,The air is so fresh.. you can smell the mist. The birds chirping is so refreshing.." Jula nodded in agreement. She had the same opinions as Mae on this forest, she liked it. Though, the fact that the trees around the forest were almost like a barrier with spikes on it made her uncomfortable. ,,My mother told me that beauty is pain.. she warned me many times." She shook her head. ,,Though.. I don't quite understand how people get lost in here or even die!" She smiled, walking behind Mae like a little child, following her step by step. As the name says, the forest is dark.. it gets darker as you go on. Mae and Jula noticed this. Jula grabbed Maes hand, stopping her from walking.

,,I don't believe that going into the forest further is needed.. it's quite cold anyways, I'm hungry.." Jula explains to Mae as Mae turned around. Mae smiled a little, accepting Jula's wish.

,,Of course it's not needed, but though I will be fine. I want to go in further, I wish to meet a fairy! You know what the old, nice lady told me..?" Mae put her hand next to her mouth as she got closer to Jula's ear, preparing to share her knowledge with her. ,,The fairies can grant wishes..! It's a(MAE)zing, we could be whatever we want to..! I'm tired of being a no one.."

Jula looked at Mae as she took a step back, shaking her head in denial. ,,You work hard, Mae. You get judged way too easily, I know that hurts your heart. But you are a sweet, hardworking girl in my eyes.. you try to make everyone feel loved, do you know how much that means to everyone in our village..?"

Jula put her hand on Mae's shoulder, noticing the sorrow in her eyes. She always felt what she felt, knowing exactly what her body language means. Mae slightly tilted her head to the floor, appreciating what Jula was saying to her. She knew that Jula was a sweet and geniuine girl who wouldn't lie about something like that. Though, she wanted to be more. This could change her life.. not just hers, she wanted the best for Jula as well. Selfishness was not an option, there is so much more she could do.. even if it's only one single wish. When Mae turned back around, Jula's eyes widended a bit.

,,You're not planning on going further now, are you..? Mae, that's dangerous! I'm not planning on going with you.." She claimed, the look on her face being stern and serious.

,,We're connected by our watches, remember..? If something happens, I'll immediately inform you!"

„Of course I remember that..! But that doesn't guarantee that you will be completely fine.." Jula said. Mae then replied with a simple answer; „You don't know if anything bad will happen. If it happens, it happens!"

Jula shook her head once more, Mae's stubbornness getting on her nerves slightly. She breathed in and out a little heavily as she took a glance at her wristband that is connected to her own soul and Mae's. She felt uncomfortable with the thought of Mae being all by herself in a forest like this.

„Fine.." Jula said calmly, smiling a little at the sight of Mae being excited about something. „I'll stay nearby though. I will be here in the forest, maybe I'll find some berries. I'll get some for you too, okay..? So don't come back too late!"

Jula then hugged Mae from behind, holding her arms around her calmly. „Every moment together could be the last.." are the words that Jula had always kept in mind, she cherished every moment she got to spend with Mae because of these words that were practically engraved into her mind. Mae grabbed Julas arms and held them for a couple of second before she started walking forward, making Jula's arms get off her. Mae smiled and blushed a little because she appreciated Jula's concerns and friendly affection towards her.

Jula then walked into a different direction, keeping track of where she is going. She walked towards the way they were coming from as she noticed a bunch of blackberries.. though, these weren't there before. Jula noticed that which made her quite confused. She was sure that no berries were on their way to the point where they were. She walked to the bushes and touched the berries, picking them off the bush.

At this moment, the 'person' behind this all showed up. A witch, a horrible being with no good intentions had horrible things in mind for these two girls. She had planned this all out. 

The witch, who also lived in the village undercover as just a "normal" woman, had spoken to the girls multiple times before. The interactions were always nice, Jula and Mae had no reason to suspect that anything bad was happening. This was their first and biggest mistake, trusting what this woman says. The words that Mae heard about the fairies and the wishes was from exactly this woman. Mae was decieved, lied to. 

As Jula kept picking more and more berries as she felt a cold hand on her shoulder suddenly. She jumped back in immense fear, her heart literally stopping at the sight of who was behind her. ,,The woman from the village..? What the hell is she doing here?!" she thought to herself, not understanding why this woman was here so suddenly. And how did she find Jula?

,,Don't worry, it's just me!" The woman started explaining. ,,This won't hurt.." 

After this, Jula's vision went dark. She gasped for air as she noticed her vision getting blurry, though she couldn't do anything about this.