It was a late autumn chilly night in the dark near the woods. There was no one but Shua at this time. Shua, who was carefully driving through the heavy fog, had a hard time seeing the road despite how bright her fog lights were. She drove slower than the usual speed limit and took her time to get home safe. After all, who could really see through this thick fog? Being all cozy in her car with her music on comforted her through it all. There were no street lamps to help see the way. All she could really do is keep going.
A few minutes had passed by and she felt like she had been on the road for eternity. It should've taken five minutes to get out of there to get to town. She let out a long sigh and kept a thought to herself to be more patient. She had a glimpse of a person up ahead thus slowing down her speed even more to avoid slightly harming them. But the more she kept going further the more it seems like they're still in the distant.
She was certain it was indeed a person figure she was seeing up ahead although there was no reveal of the appearance. She felt a chill run up her spine as she tried to remain calm in her seat. She wasn't any religious follower, but that didn't mean she didn't believe in their existence. Being completely aware of the possibility, she kept her hands gripped tight on the steering wheel. Instead of fear, she was in anger. It has irritated her that she hasn't passed by the figure yet. She cursed under her breath at the figure and as if it had heard her, the figure disappeared.
She felt relieved now that the elephant of the room was gone, but soon realized what she had done. An instant regret made her sick to the stomach. She turned off the heater and rolled down her window a little bit as she had no confidence to roll it all the way down even halfway. It became a sudden event when she saw another figure this time approaching her. It was definitely not a person this time. Just to be rest assured, she completely came to a full stop as the figure came closer.
There she could see its golden eyes glowing and staring straight at her in the form of the tiger. That's when she knew deep down that something wasn't right. She had encountered bears, elks, bobcats, etc. But never a tiger as it was not common. Shua didn't fear for her life, but she feared for the tiger. Be it real or not, she knew its ending would be tragic either way if spotted. And even if it does mean harm, she could never have the heart to fully blame it. Normally the right reaction would be to panic but with her mentality, it was not because she was strong or faithful. Shua just wanted to accept the time of coming.
"Are you a spirit?" She asked the tiger that is now sitting across from her. The tiger never once took its eyes off of Shua. There was no sign of aggression or a pose of threat coming from the tiger. It was just sitting there calmly looking Shua in the eyes. "Do not fear me," he said in a calm, raspy voice. "Follow me." he continued and got up. Doing as told, she unseat her belt and opened the door. Paranoid as she is, she hesitated to step out for a momentt. She looked back to the tiger who was patiently waiting for her. She was once again at ease and decided to follow the tiger after all.
She stepped out and walked towards the tiger. She took a deep breath and lifted her hand in front of him. He took a sniff before rubbing his head against her hand. "Let's go," he said and started guiding her into the woods. She followed closely without looking back.
"May I ask..." She began.
She nervously asked, "I'm not dead am I?"
"No,"
"Did I do something wrong?" She asked some more.
"No," The woods were indeed creepy. It was completely silent. It had made Shua anxious again.
"Don't be scared," he told her. He had noticed Shua tensed up as they kept walking.
"Whatever you hear, don't listen to them. Keep following me and I will keep you safe." He reassured her.
"Is my soul lost?" She asked him.
He didn't answer this time. Shua then began to hear cries and screams in the wood that were difficult to ignore. She knew of the consequences if she did try to do something. In the corner of her eyes were many weeping children.
"Who did this to me?" Shua asked the tiger, ignoring the child in disguise.
"All of your questions will be answered." He responded and kept walking.
Shua hated the feeling of being watched. She was being watched by spirits everywhere that wanted her soul. If she hadn't grown up in a religious traditional clan, she probably wouldn't know a thing about these entities. Growing up, she was told many stories of these child spirits. They were commonly found in the woods/forests/jungles. Sometimes they will serve a master. They are harmless beings but are quite mischievous. Harmless they might be, they will sometimes eventually lead a person to their death. It was definitely right to ignore them regardless of how realistic their cries may seem in a human form.
"Mommy," a child wailed. It has caught Shua's attention by surprise.
"Ignore it." The tiger fearlessly said. The wailing was itching Shua to comfort it in spite of its true character.
"Why should we ignore them?" She asked out of curiousity. If they were harmless, there would be no harm in just talking to them right?
"They're a waste of time." He answered.
"Rude!" A childlike spirit shouted angrily at the insult.
"How long do we have until we get there?" Shua asked.
"Once the trees are cleared." Tiger responded. Hearing that it won't be anytime soon, Shua wanted to be entertained since tiger is not much of a talker.
"Child spirit," she called out.
"What do you think you're doing, human?" Tiger ears perked up.
"You're telling me you're not annoyed from all this crying nonsense?" Shua questioned back. Tiger let out a huff from his nose in response.
"Let's play a little game together!" Shua shouted in excitement. A child spirit appeared next to her with its eyes sparkled.
"What kind of games?" it asked out of curiousity.
"Whoever gets mad first loses. That includes screaming, crying, throwing tantrums, you name it. If you win, I will give you all of my delicious candies. If I win, you will serve me as your master. Deal?" Shua explained.
"Candies from the human world?" The child spirit asked in awe.
"What? You never had candies from the human world before? You're missing out. And here I thought you were supposed to be a mischievous spirit." Shua said in disappointment.
"I am!" The child spirit shouted but quickly covered its mouth once the realization hit.
"I win," Shua grinned like a bobcat.
"You cheated!" The child spirit whined.
"I won again!" Shua laughed. Before the child spirit could say or do anything, Shua handed the candies to it. The child spirit gave her a confusing look.
Try it," Shua insisted. The child spirit hesitated at first. It slowly unwrapped the papers and took it to its mouth. The sweetness melted in its mouth like never before.
"How is it?" She asked. The child spirit began to tear up. Both Shua and tiger were shocked at the sight.
But the child spirit didn't mind. In fact, it was still a child at heart. The child spirit remembered when it was human, humanity was cruel to it first. Resenting the gods for giving it an unfortunate fate, it became a child spirit that would cause all sorts of mischief because the child spirit was also a child as well. How was a child supposed to understand right and wrong, happiness and sorrow? The child spirit had never tasted anything so sweet and warm.
"It's delicious," The child spirit choked out using its arm to hide its tears in embarrassment. Shua understood the feeling as well.
"It's okay to cry." She told the child spirit.
"I'm not crying!" It shouted in denial.
"As your master, I will give you lots of candies to your heart's content. Just remember to brush your teeth please." Shua cheerfully said. The once dark and gloomy child spirit it was, was suddenly glowing just like the tiger.
"Why did you do that?" The tiger asked.
"Do what?" Shua asked in confusion.
"Why did you bond a contract with it?" Tiger asked again.
"I saw it on tv and games so I thought I could too." Shua gave an honest answer. Although the tiger didnt understand the human technology concept, he didn't question it further.
"Let's get to know each other to kill time," Shua suggested.
"I'm not doing that." Tiger said.
"Whenever you're ready," Shua told him.
"I'll go first!" The child spirit volunteer.
"What's your name for a starter?" Shua asked.
"I don't have one." The child spirit answered.
"Your parents didn't give you a name?" Shua asked out of surprise.
"I don't have parents." The child spirit replied.
"What do you remember from your past life?" Shua asked.
The child spirit took a moment to look back from what she can recall. 500 years ago in a poor village, she was stealing from vendors to do what she could to survive on the streets. With no places to call home and no parents to love, the child often got bullied by both childrens and adults in the village. The child had always envied other children and always wanted someone to treat her with the same kindness and warmth. But as time passed by and winter came, there was no storage for her to shelter anymore as she was not the same size as before to break in and hide. She was eventually left in the cold and hungered to death. Her last sight was the fallen snow gently placed upon her eyelid and then her last breath calling out to God.
"Do you not fear us?" The child asked Shua.
"As someone with a deathwish, why should I?" Shua laughed.
"That's not something to laugh about…" The child muttered under her breath.
"By the way, how did you find me?" Shua asked tiger.
"A human like you should not be here." Tiger told her.
"That didn't answer my question!" Shua laughed again.
"What was the last thing you remembered before you met me?" Tiger asked.
"Let's see… I was driving back home from a party, and then it got pretty foggy on the way here. Oh! I saw a shadow of a person! But I don't think it was human though." Shua explained to tiger.
"How so?" Tiger asked, taking sudden interest.
"Well…. The more I was moving forward the more it seemed like they're still in the same distance. I know I shouldn't acknowledge it but I was just trying to get home. I started talking crap about it and that's when it disappeared." Shua explained nervously.
"Idiot," the child said quietly.
"I was just trying to get home!" Shua angrily said, pinching the child's cheeks.
"We're here," tiger announced. Shua and the child looked ahead to see a cloud of mists over the mountains while standing on the edge of the cliff.
"You're going to kill us aren't you…" Shua and the child said in unison.
"Ride onto my back," tiger said, ignoring what they had said earlier. Shua and the child did as told as tiger leaped over the cliff without a warning. Shua and the child closed their eyes while screaming, expecting to fall to their death.
"Why did you trust this stupid tiger!" The child shouted in between screams.
"I just want to go back home!" Shua shouted back, holding back tears.
"You are both overreacting," tiger rolled his eyes. Shua and the child slowly open their eyes and before they know it, they are soaring through the clear crystal blue sky. It was a while until tiger landed on the grassy land. Shua and the child got off his back and looked around in awe.