Chapter 7: chapter 7

Instead of heading home, Lucy and Amelia decided to slip away to their secret hiding place—a sanctuary nestled high in the mountains, surrounded by towering pine trees. The air was cool and crisp, carrying the faint scent of pine needles. This place, hidden from the world, had been their refuge since they were little girls.They had built the shelter together, weaving branches and dry leaves into a makeshift canopy. It wasn’t much, but to them, it was a fortress, a safe haven. Every corner held a memory. They had played with their dolls here, whispering secrets and dreams into the wind. They had hidden here after being scolded, wiping away tears with small, chubby hands. This was their place—a world of their own where they found solace and shared their hearts without fear.As time passed and the world grew heavier with expectations and silence, they, too, grew—no longer children, but not yet women. And still, the shelter stood. A little more weathered, a little more worn, but unchanged in what it meant to them. They returned often, escaping from the noise of life, from rules, from heartbreaks, from questions they didn’t yet know how to answer.There, beneath the old canopy, they talked about things they couldn’t say aloud to anyone else. Things that twisted their hearts in knots, things that made them feel uncertain or small or confused. They spoke in half-whispers and sudden laughter, sometimes pausing just to listen to the wind stir through the leaves—like their childhood selves still lingered, listening, giggling in the silence.That place had seen their whole spectrum of being.To the world, it was just a tangle of wood and leaves. But to them, it was more than shelter—it was a witness to their growing, a quiet keeper of everything they had ever been and everything they were still becoming.The sun was beginning to dip behind the mountains, casting a golden hue over the winding path as Lucy and Amelia made their way toward the old shelter. The climb was steep. Their laughter echoed softly between the trees, a melody that had once filled these woods with the sound of innocence.Just as they neared the last slope, Lucy’s foot caught on a jagged rock half-buried in the snow. She stumbled forward with a yelp and landed on the ground with a soft thud.“Ow,” she muttered, more surprised than hurt.Amelia, who was a few steps ahead, turned around. The sight of Lucy sprawled awkwardly on the path made her burst into laughter—rich, unrestrained, the kind that comes from years of shared clumsiness.“Oh my God, Lucy! It's always you!” she laughed, walking back and offering her hand.Lucy took it with a grin, pulling herself up. “I swear, if there’s a rock anywhere within ten feet, it will find me,” she said, brushing snow and dirt from her gown. “Why me, all the time?”Still chuckling, Amelia shrugged. “Some things never change.”They stood there for a moment, catching their breath, letting the laughter die down. The forest around them was quiet except for the rustling of leaves and the distant cry of a bird.Then Lucy's smile faded just a little. A flicker of something older, something strange, passed over her face.“Hey…” she said, turning to Amelia. “Do you remember that boy? The one who used to watch us from behind the trees?”Amelia blinked, caught off guard. “What boy?”Lucy tilted her head toward the woods. “The one who used to play with us when we were little. He said he lived in these woods. We thought he was out of his mind.”Amelia’s brows furrowed, her mind sifting through the dust of forgotten memories. Then, like a lantern flickering to life in the dark, the image returned. A quiet boy, always standing just out of reach. Watching. Listening. Sometimes joining in their games without a word.“Oh,” she said slowly. “That boy. We didn’t even know his name, did we?”Lucy shook her head. “No. He never told us. Barely spoke at all. It’s strange, isn’t it? I don’t think I’ve ever seen him in the village.”Amelia smirked, her voice tinged with amusement. “You still remember him? I almost forgot he ever existed. It’s been ages since we last saw him.”Lucy nodded, her expression thoughtful. “Yeah… it’s been years.”They resumed their climb, quieter now, their thoughts drifting through time like leaves on the wind. The shelter waited just ahead.When they reach there Amelia sat down on the soft bed of pine needles, hugging her knees to her chest. Lucy settled beside her, her eyes scanning Amelia’s face.“What’s the matter, Amelia?” Lucy asked gently, her voice soft but concerned.Amelia hesitated, her fingers tracing patterns in the dirt. Finally, she spoke, her voice barely above a whisper. “My mother… she was talking about my marriage yesterday.”Lucy’s brows knitted together. “Marriage? What about it?”A storm of hatred raged in Amelia's eyes as she looked at Lucy. “It’s like they’ll marry me off to whoever asks for my hand… as long as they’re rich. My opinion doesn’t matter to them. I don’t even think they care how I feel.”Lucy’s chest tightened at Amelia’s words. She reached out and placed a comforting hand on her friend’s shoulder. “I understand,” she said quietly. “It’s the same at my house. My parents are already looking for someone. They keep telling me it’s for my own good, that they just want what’s best for me.”Amelia looked at her, “But how is it best for us if we don’t get to choose? If we’re just handed over like… like things?”Lucy pulled her friend into a tight embrace. “This is the way of the world, Amelia,” she said softly. “We were born as girls. This is our fate. We have to accept it, don’t we? Girls don’t get to choose who they marry. Our parents… they mean well, even if it doesn’t feel like it. We have to trust them.”For a long moment, they stayed that way, sharing their sadness in the quiet embrace of the forest. The shelter, their childhood sanctuary, seemed to echo with the laughter and innocence they had once known, now replaced by the sobering weight of their reality.After a while , the girls stood and began the walk home. Their footsteps were slow, reluctant, as if leaving their hiding place meant returning to a reality they weren’t ready to face. But they knew this place would always be here, waiting for them—a quiet corner of the world where they could find comfort in each other.