With a loud bang and the sound of thunder, Vanessa's heart suddenly felt like it had been pricked by a needle. At the same time, she had an uneasy feeling that something disastrous was about to happen.
Everyone was worried about Rosendo's safety. At this moment, Rosendo was hanging on a big tree by the river. He had been swept up by the rushing water and remained stuck there. Rosendo was still unconscious, but after some time passed, he slowly regained consciousness.
"Where am I? Why is it so dark?" Rosendo's weak voice echoed in the pitch-black night.
Due to the darkness, Rosendo couldn't see his surroundings. He felt extremely uncomfortable in his body and turned around abruptly, causing him to fall into the water again with a loud splash. Fortunately, there was no wind at that moment; otherwise, he would have been carried away by the river once more.
During his period of unconsciousness, Rosendo regained some strength. After falling into the water again, he quickly swam back to shore. "Where am I? Why is it so dark that I can't see anything?" muttered Rosendo to himself. His location was far from any urban area with limited streetlights – hence everything being pitch black!
Rosendo now found himself wearing nothing but underwear; he felt cold and desperately wanted clothes and fire for warmth. However, he didn't have a lighter or matches on hand while it rained outside – where could he find dry firewood?
As Rosendo groped around on the ground helplessly searching for something useful in complete darkness when his hands stumbled upon a stick nearby. Rosendo felt a stick on the ground and used it to navigate as he walked slowly. The surroundings were filled with trees, weeds, slopes, and no lights. Rosendo was certain that he was in the outskirts of somewhere.
After over an hour of searching tirelessly,Rosendo finally found a place where he could rest. It was at the foot of a mountain, and due to its concave shape, it provided shelter from wind and rain.
Rosendo's luck seemed to be on his side as he discovered a pile of dry firewood inside along with a box of matches nearby. He suspected that these were left behind by villagers who often visited this spot, ensuring they wouldn't have to go through the trouble of finding firewood again next time.
Rosendo didn't care about the details anymore; he piled up the firewood and lit it using the matches. Soon enough, warmth filled the air around him. "Wow - so warm and comfortable!" exclaimed Rosendo happily as he basked in the newfound warmth.
Rosendo checked his surroundings after the fire started and found it empty, except for a small pile of firewood.
He had expended a lot of energy today, which caused him to unknowingly fall asleep by the campfire. Rosendo slept soundly that night and even had a dream where he became a billionaire, enjoying delicacies from all over the world with countless beautiful women by his side.
As dawn broke, an old man wearing a raincoat and sporting a beard named Toland arrived at Rosendo's location. He was known as a hunter who would come to the mountains every day to check his traps. When he saw someone lying naked at the foot of the mountain where he often visited, he was startled and thought it might be a ghost.
Toland slowly approached Rosendo and whispered, "Hey, wake up! Why are you sleeping here?"
Upon hearing the voice, Rosendo gradually woke up. He turned around on the ground and looked at Toland in confusion before asking, "Who are you?"
"I'm Toland, I'm a hunter. Young man, how did you end up in these deep woods? It's not safe here; wild animals often appear. I advise you to leave quickly!" Toland kindly suggested.
Rosendo stood up but immediately felt unsteady on his feet. His limbs felt weak and his body was still feverish.
Seeing that Rosendo seemed about to lose balance, Toland quickly supported him and asked with concern," Are you okay?"
"I'm fine; maybe just caught a cold—nothing serious," replied Rosendo.
"Given your current condition, it's not safe for you to stay in these deep mountains any longer; otherwise it could be very dangerous. Come with me!" advised Toland sincerely.
"Thank you so much Grandpa Toland! Actually I didn't come here for fun—I got washed away by river water in New Mountain City yesterday and ended up by the riverbank here. I'm lucky to have met you; otherwise, I wouldn't know what to do," Rosendo said with a smile, feeling grateful for his luck in surviving being swept away by the river.
"Surviving a great calamity brings great fortune. You will surely become an extraordinary person in the future," Toland smiled at Rosendo and then supported him, saying, "Let's go! I'll help you."
With Toland's help, Rosendo walked for two hours and finally came out of the deep mountains to a small village called East Mountain Village, which had about a hundred households.
Toland took Rosendo to his home and tidied up a room that hadn't been used in a long time before helping Rosendo lie down on the bed.
Worried about Vanessa and the others, Rosendo said to Toland, "Grandpa , can I borrow your phone to make a call? I want to let my friends know that I'm safe."
"Of course you can, but I don't have a mobile phone. However, there is a landline phone available. Just wait here; I'll bring it for you," replied Toland with a smile.
Toland quickly brought over a telephone connected by wires and placed it next to Rosendo. Rosendo dialed Nicolas on his phone and explained the situation briefly. He asked Nicolas to help him pass a message to Vanessa, letting her know that he is currently in East Mountain Village but will be returning in a few days.
Additionally, Rosendo requested Nicolas to inform Johanna and others that he is not dead, but alive.
After hanging up the phone, Nicolas immediately rushed to Rosendo's place since both Vanessa and Rosendo didn't have phones. When Nicolas informed Vanessa about Rosendo's situation, she immediately packed her bags preparing to go to East Mountain Village. Although Rosendo was already safe at this point, Vanessa couldn't help but cry.
Nicolas then went to Johanna's house and informed her family about what happened with Rosendo. Upon hearing that Rosendo was alive, Johanna sat up from her bed with tears of joy streaming down her face. Her mouth curved into an upward smile as she resembled an exuberant blooming cuckoo flower filled with the joy of rebirth.
Cheryl was even more ecstatic as she jumped up happily saying: "That's great! That's great! I knew Rosendo wouldn't die like that. Hahaha... lalala... I'm so happy, I've never been this happy before."
"Johanna, stay at home and rest. I'll go to Dongshan Village to see Rosendo," Tyson's gentle voice advised his daughter. After all, Rosendo had saved his precious daughter, and no matter what, he needed to personally thank him for saving her life.