One of the boys asked:
"What was that?"
The other added:
"I have no idea"
Then he added:
"But it is certainly not a flaming being".
These were the last words Amalia heard before the two figures and their voices were completely swallowed up in mist.
Amalia drifted through her thoughts until she heard a familiar voice calling her name:
"Amalia...Amalia"
She looked around, searching with her eyes for the source of the sound, until she saw two bodies standing near a giant tree, around which the heavy fog concealed their bodies.
Amalia, come here.
Again, she heard a familiar woman's voice calling to her, but this time she recognized the owner of the voice.
Her mother and father were standing next to the tree behind the mist.
She ran towards them and hugged her mother's feet tightly, as this is the length that her little body was able to reach.
The mother kneeled down to her level and looked into her sparkling brown eyes and said:
"Here we are, honey, and you won't believe what we found. We'll be rich and you won't have to put up with those threadbare clothes anymore."
Amalia said:
"But where were you two? I searched for you so long" .
Answered her father :
"We were collecting money from all over the place, and all of a sudden we stumbled upon this giant tree. It bears all kinds of expensive fruits, and if we sell it in the village market, we will reap great wealth and be freed from our extreme poverty" .
Little Amalia looked at the giant tree in astonishment.
The fog was covering her height and increasing her terror.
She felt negative energy and fear that she hid so as not to disturb her parents, as this tree was one of the strangest things her eyes had ever seen.
"How can one tree bear all kinds of fruits and fruits in it?" Amalia wondered to herself.
Amalia looked at her parents, who returned to picking fruits with eagerness and joy, and approached them anxiously to said:
_ "Shouldn't we touch or take anything from the trees of the Forbidden Forest? What if we were met by a flaming or witch of the night?"
The mother continued picking the fruits, while the father let out a sarcastic laugh and said:
_"We have not entered the forest yet to consider this tree as part of it or belong to it, so there is no reason to worry."
The mother turned to meet them and followed behind her husband's words:
_ "And there are no such beings or witches at all. This is just a myth to prevent us from enjoying these riches and bounties in the forest."
Amalia was surprised by the amount of greed and eagerness that overwhelmed her parents at that moment. Madness covered their features, which increased her fear even more. She took her steps back a little and swallowed her saliva when she saw them rushing to pick it and throw it in the basket at the bottom of their feet.
They continued like this for a few minutes before Amalia caught sight of the bird next to her whistling and flying towards the tree where her parents were.
He climbed between the branches where half of them became empty of fruits due to the speed of her parents in picking, and he began to shake between their leaves until they fell blue colored red, and Amalia rushed to pick them up.
She began to read what was written on it in a large and clear ornate font
"Don't touch anything from the tree of hell, or the curse of the "Flamethrower" will fall upon you."
Amalia's body shuddered and her hands trembled with fear.
She grabbed both of her parents by their legs, trying to get their attention, and when she succeeded in that, she handed them the paper in her hand and tried to warn them, saying:
_ "Mom, Dad, you have to stop now and let's go home. We'll all be cursed or the witch will kill us".
Her parents read what was written on the leaf of the fallen tree and started laughing at her and her thinking.
_"Child, this is a trick of the villagers, you needn't be afraid".
Her father said confidently, and her mother added:
_ "Yes, then this tree is ours now".
_ "But mom, dad... what about the "Flamethrower" ? This is her tree, and she's also a witch and she could kill us here".
The father furrowed his eyebrows angrily at the insignificance of his daughter's words, then said in a loud voice that sent chills and fear into her, as he had never raised his voice against her before under any circumstances:
_"Stop talking nonsense. Apparently we spoiled you a lot".
And she added:
_ "Help us or just sit there and shut up."
Despite Amalia's fear of the tone in which her parents spoke to her, she continued to insist on stopping them from picking more.
Her fear of the witch who was terrifying her in her young mind, and her concern for her parents was too great for her to pass by remaining still in her place alone.
She held on to both of their feet, moving them to stop until they did not pay any attention to her and continued as they were, and when it became annoying, her father pushed her so hard on the ground that she hit her head hard on a large rock that was attached to the ground.
Her vision became a bit blurry, and her chestnut hair was drenched in drops of blood from her forehead, as a result of the strong fall she had suffered.
She blinked her eyes several times to clarify her vision, until all she could see was her parents' back.
Both of them didn't stop taking with eagerness and greed painted all over their faces.
Amalia kept blinking as the haze around her vision increased.
This time she noticed the sparrow from earlier flying around her parents and little by little it started to turn into black smoke.
That smoke continued to materialize and incarnate in human form until it became in the form of a woman.
As for everything that happened after that that night, it messed up and changed the course of little Amalia's life forever.
She lost everything she once had, including her life, her parents, and that little hope left in life. And the most important thing anyone can lose is...
Her Soul.