𝕊𝕠𝕝𝕕𝕚𝕖𝕣 (𝕊𝕙𝕠𝕣𝕥 𝕀𝕞𝕞𝕚𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕪)

𝒮𝓌𝑒𝒹𝑒𝓃, 𝐻𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝒲𝑒 𝒞𝑜𝓂𝑒

I met Anneliese at the edge of the forest, she had her hair tied up in a ponytail which was nice because I was able to see more of her face. She had a backpack on her back and was holding a lantern that hadn't been lit yet. I told her that there was one more thing I needed to do. "What is it?" she asks. I whistle quietly into the air, a sharp high whistle. Almost as soon as the sound travels, I hear a bark and see a massive creature bound towards me. Otto jumps into my arms and licks my face.

I missed you too Otto" I laughed as my face was covered in dog saliva. Even though I made sure to slip him food every night I still missed him dearly. And by the looks of it Otto did too. "You didn't tell me you had a dog" Anneliese gasped crouching down to pat Otto. "Be careful" I warned because Otto doesn't take too kindly to strangers.

But maybe it was all that time alone, or Anneliese looking so friendly, but Otto let her stroke his fur and he wagged his tail happily when she did so. "Aw" she cooed. "What a beautiful boy. Otto..., is it?"

I nod, still in awe how Otto liked Anneliese so much even though they just met. It took me ages for him to finally warm up to me, and to trust me took even longer!

But as if Anneliese had the magic touch, he seemed to trust her immediately.

We left there that night, taking everything and nothing.

I never even got the chance to say goodbye to Alexei.

After many endless days and the longest nights, we finally reached the river.

Anneliese and I used large sticks and bound them together with the rope she had in her bag. A small raft just big enough for the three of us.

We stopped after what felt like weeks, as we were all exhausted. I looked like a wreck, covered in leaves and mud. And even Anneliese didn't look too pretty herself. We sat at the trunk of a large tree, resting our heads. I lay there looking at the stars while Otto placed his head in my lap. Annelise had also fallen asleep, her head resting on my shoulder. At that moment I felt so peaceful, listening to the sounds of the wild. I could hear the crickets chirping, the owls hooting, and the wind howling, yet everything was still quiet. For once in forever, I felt at home.

We continued the journey, going through muck and rivers and getting lost in trees and grasslands, but as long as we had that small piece of the map that Anneliese had we were fine.

At last we reached the Oden River. A small boat resting in the water. I don't know how we found the energy but all three of us ran to the boat as fast as we could. We searched the entire boat, but no one was there.

"Did your mother mention needing to find the man elsewhere?" I asked Anneliese, but she looked just as confused as me. "No, she said to come to a boat and there would be a man."

But there was no man.

Then I think I knew why there was no man.

"Anneliese how long ago did your mother give you that letter?" I asked, hoping what I was thinking was untrue.

"She gave it to me about a few weeks before you arrived at the camp, but I don't know when she wrote it. It could have been years ago."

Years ago.

I searched the boat for something that could tell me how long it has been waiting here without a captain. But there is nothing but messy and cold coffee sitting next to the steering wheel.

Cold coffee.

Messy room.

This man must have left here in a rush.

Annelise looks over to me, realizing the same thing.

"You don't think he could have been taken away Ludwig?"