"This can't be happening… It can't, it can't, it can't…," the girl repeated over and over, her eyes closed and hidden behind her hands. She pressed hard with her palms, as if that action could bring her back to the world she knew but barely remembered. When she freed her eyes and opened them to see nothing but red leaves everywhere and the two Moons high above, she knew there was no turning back. "Shit!"
That nightmare, unfortunately, was real. That unknown world was real and accepting it was the only thing she could do. Helplessness, as well as so much and sudden stress, made Tristessa finally break down in tears. Her shattered memory did not help with any consolation, nor did the search for logical explanations for what she was experiencing.
The overwhelming loneliness in that forest made her cry harder… But, in essence, crying cleansed the soul, even if it was only a dim feeling of lightness upon the colossal weight of what tormented her.
"It's okay…it's okay," Tristessa managed to articulate, once her eyes were left without more tears to shed and her breathing became more controlled and devoid of sobs. "I have to think. Yes, calm down and think."
She wiped her tears with the back of her hand, and the movement made her feel that stab of pain in her forearm that she felt in her room. She decided to ignore it, knowing that the current situation required her utmost attention, and stood up.
Even if her mind did not help with memories or clues from the past, she did remember perfectly the last dozens of minutes before leaving planet Earth, as absurd as it sounds.
She remembered her room, although she was undoubtedly missing several details, such as the origin of that horrible feeling of heaviness, and the unpleasant smell of something rotting.
"The mirror…"
And then, of course, there was her reflection; that doppelgänger that she couldn't help but associate with her sudden summoning from one world to another. The empty gaze of her supernatural double was still fresh in Tristessa's mind. The way she pointed her finger at her, as if to say I found you… It gave the girl the chills.
That phenomenon and the fact of being in a world with two natural satellites called into question any understanding of reality, and witnessing them marked a clear before and after.
"What can I do now? Someone… No, a town, civilization…" she thought in the privacy of her broken mind, looking in all directions as she turned on her own axis. Beneath her bare feet, the ground was cold and indifferent… There was nothing that gave her any apparent direction in that forest, all the paths between the trees led to shadows that daylight could hardly eliminate. "What if I'm the only person here? What if I don't find anyone? What if…what if I get lost in the forest?"
So many questions that brought with them a horrible feeling of impending doom. Despair took hold of Tristessa's heart more and more, until her eyes stopped on something foreign to the forest; something that had been jealously hidden at the foot of one of the trees, protected by the shadows projected by the branches meters above.
Quickly Tristessa trotted in that direction, without losing sight of that object, kicking leaves in her path and feeling dizzying excitement among so much pessimism. Upon reaching the foot of the tree, the girl let out a sigh of surprise.
"This is…," Crouching, she picked up a piece of clothing from the protruding-with-roots ground. Made of dark, ruined fabric, punished by the elements and nature, it was a veil with small gold chains at the end to adhere to a tunic. "This means there are people somewhere!"
Yes, that fact was more important than thinking about why and how that piece of clothing had ended up in that place. Knowing that the existence of civilization was practically confirmed by that simple object, Tristessa was more than satisfied.
"Now I have to find…!"
The girl's hope and enthusiasm waned slightly as she looked up and saw the interior of the forest. There was no definite direction or any other sign that indicated the origin of that veil. Tristessa swallowed, the bottom of her stomach twisting at the inexorable and intrinsic corridors between the trees that stretched out in front of her, with no end in sight.
It was a difficult decision, to move forward and risk getting lost in the forest; behind her, the clearing that had seen her arrival in that world offered a false sense of security. The day was advancing, and Tristessa did not know how much more time she had available before the darkness of that new world begins to fall.
"I must go… Yes, I will gain nothing by waiting here," she decided, putting the veil in one of the pockets of her jacket —which also contained that dirty and ruined photograph— and trembling from head to toe. She just had to take the first step into the unknown, no matter how difficult it was. "Come on, you stupid coward…"
Slowly, she began to walk. Now all that was left was to move forward and keep going, against that deep fear of the unknown.
The crunch of the leaves under her bare feet, hurting from the uneven ground, was the only thing that broke the disturbing monotony that reigned in that Red Forest. Sometimes, the blowing of the wind moved the roof of the branches above her head, contributing to the disturbing natural cacophony. It didn't take long for paranoia to take over the girl's common sense; as she moved forward, she looked back and in other directions from time to time.
She felt like she was being watched. In that sea of trees, in silence… It was the reigning tranquility that fed her fear second by second; that immutable panorama, of leaves eternally falling, the crunch against the ground, and the blowing of the wind…
"H-hello?" she asked timidly upon hearing, or thinking she heard, the sound of a branch breaking. With her breathing coming in short gasps, she looked around. Cold sweat was building up on her forehead, her legs unable to stop trembling from that dangerous mixture of fear and tiredness. "Is there anyone…?"
The only answer she got was that of the forest, with its constant natural orchestra…
Amidst her fleeting glances filled with paranoia, Tristessa saw something in the east direction from her point of view: a furry bundle among leaves, grass and dry mud. As she approached carefully, the girl almost covered her mouth with her hand when she realized that it was a rabbit with brown fur and small ears. It was motionless, almost as if curled up against the ground as if it wanted to protect itself from the cold, and several flies were buzzing around it.
"It's not moving," she thought, as she approached and without alerting the small animal. The flies instantly took distance, and she detected no strong odors coming from it. "Is it…?"
She crouched down a few inches from that brown pompom and with a tentative finger, touched it. It was a little cold and stiff, almost confirming its passing. Its fur was soft, like a stuffed animal, although upon closer contact, she noticed that the skin was rough… No, it stung.
"Ouch!" Tristessa suddenly withdrew her finger and looked surprised as a trickle of blood flowed from the tip that had felt the prick, as if a stinger had stuck in it. "What the hell?"
Looking around, she saw that several corners of its torso were sticking out white, hard and sharp spines, and an interesting amount were concentrated around the animal's neck, forming a discreet ring between fur, bulky and dangerous.
"Wow… A rabbit with spines on its neck and body. Poor thing, it must be painful," she thought, sadly, as she carefully caressed a harmless part of the animal's back. Thinking, she became more and more convinced that those thorns were not the cause of its death, since they gave the impression of being part of the body, just like nails or hair. "I wonder what kill..."
Suddenly, Tristessa was the victim of a dizzy influence that momentarily turned her perspective of the world upside down. It was as if someone had shaken her head from side to side, scrambling her brain and generating deep nausea.
"Ugh, w-why?" she asked herself, with her free hand against her temple and clenching her teeth to resist that mental attack. She had been taken so by surprise that she noticed too late several movements throughout the animal's body. "What the fuck!?"
The girl broke contact and jumped back, already feeling that general dizziness in her head less strongly. The pain was completely forgotten when she watched, a smile forming on her lips as the bunny began to move. He raised his head and looked to the side at Tristessa, his pitch-black eyes fixed on her.
"So you were asleep!" she assumed, laughing and smiling non-stop. "Hello, little one!"
"…"
"You are so adorable!" she exclaimed, satisfied with the animal's passivity. "Although with those thorns you are a little dangerous, eh… Can I come closer?"
Tristessa could not contain her happiness at finding such a cute living being in that world that, from the first moment, caused her a flood of unknowns, uncertainty and discomfort that converged into fear. After so many adverse events in such a short time, from losing her memory to arriving in that world, something like a bunny was a breeze of fresh air to the soul, alleviating for a while the titanic weight of her current problems.
She took several slow steps towards the animal, which stood on its hind legs and continued to stare at the girl.
"I'm not going to hurt you," she said, extending her hand and giving the rabbit a new, honest smile. "Calm down…"
"…"
"That's right, I'm a friend. There's nothing to be afraid of." Her hand was almost there, inches away from touching his little head, with the intention of caressing him between those adorable little ears. "What do you want me to call you?"
"…help."
Tristessa stopped instantly, and her loving smile shattered. She blinked several times, paralyzed by the abyss projected by the animal's black eyes. A large part of her already punished mind refused to believe that she had just heard that rabbit respond to her in her own language, its mouth still but half-open, showing small, sharp incisors.
"Help."
Without a doubt, the rabbit had spoken with a deep, masculine voice, which undoubtedly had no business coming out of the inside of the throat of an animal like that.
The rabbit took distance from Tristessa, trotting in the opposite direction.
"Impossible…," the girl murmured, refusing to believe what she had just witnessed.
"Help."
Having heard it for the third time, Tristessa realized that it was a voice without emotion, without any feeling behind a cry for help. It was a false voice, a replica, whose only purpose was to attract the attention of other animals… But why?
"Wait!"
The girl ran after the rabbit, ignoring the pain in her feet as she stepped on rocks and protruding tree roots. Her black hair flew in the wind and became a spider web for the falling leaves, but Tristessa couldn't worry about that at a time like this: she had to reach that strange little animal, learn from it and, above all, keep it company.
"Please come back!" she begged him as she began to feel a burning sensation of exhaustion in her lungs. Dodging the trees and the rain of leaves, Tristessa didn't take her eyes off her target for a moment, knowing perfectly well that if she did, she would lose it forever. "I'm not going to hurt you, r…e…ly…"
Without warning, Tristessa was forced by a will greater than her own to slow down; the exhaustion that invaded her was astronomical, covering every corner of her body. And at the same time, when she could barely drag her feet, the rabbit collapsed like a rag doll a few meters ahead. Its body dragged itself against the giant mattress of red leaves, victim of the inertia it had been carrying, until it stopped in an abnormal position. Mouth open, legs extended... The animal was dead.