4. memory

1899: Budapest



"Run away and never return"



Those were the last words she heard from her mother before fleeing Budapest. She ran as fast as she could while wearing her hood. Her life was in peril, as men carrying daggers pursued her. When she turned around, she saw her house on fire, with the rest of her family inside. A tear fell from her eyes, and she dove down the cliff into the vast lake that united the oceans.



She swam, ran, and tried to hide behind the enormous woodlands she came across. Many hunters never saw her since she moves at night. Along the way, some kind strangers offered her some food and wished her well on her journey. The majority of them asked as to her whereabouts, but she was unable to respond. She has no idea where to go.



After a few days... no, months of running and hiding, she gave up and was taken by an elderly woman she met on a frozen road in Estonia. It was November and winter at the time, so she could appear in daylight. She was placed at an adoption center in Estonia, away from the ongoing conflict in the rest of the country.



"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but I can't support you anymore when you turn 18 and still don't have any foster parents," said the old lady who placed her in the foster home. The girl was still grateful that someone had picked her up on the lonely roads, and because she was only six years old, she still had time to grow herself and learn how to be independent.



Fast forward when she is 15 and enjoying her life at the foster home after rejecting more than 22 adopters. She truly doesn't want to be adopted because she has a secret that may cause them to dislike her. Unlike the other children, she was homeschooled. The elderly lady stood as her own teacher.



She finally decided to leave the foster home when she turned 18 years old. It was already 1911, and the conflict was still ongoing. She didn't mind because she's a skilled hider and continued her walk until she came to another border with different looking folks she passed by. These people have cat-eye like eyes, and their face shapes are likewise different. Every time she passed someone, people were taken aback because she was only a visitor to the country. She stayed for a while and adapted the nature to survive. She learnt their language and culture from kind people who wanted to help her.



She chose to leave the modest home she had built near the border after 6 years of learning to read and write. She then traveled the forest trail and arrived in a poor neighborhood somewhere in the west middle of the vast region she had just entered. And, like with the earlier incident, the individuals present were astonished to see a face similar to hers.



A kind man allowed her to stay at his house with the rest of his family in exchange for jewels. The girl was exceedingly wealthy because she picked up treasures along the road and stored them in her hefty bags.



Because the man was uneducated, the girl and the man with his family couldn't exactly understand each other, so they talked through drawings. After a few days, she was still there, learning the language for free from the man's middle child. The parents bore three daughters, and the mother of the family is expecting another kid. Since they resided in the heart of the forest, the family has lived blissfully and safely away from the ongoing war.



"Is everything fine?"



The man asked his daughter. Both females nodded, and the man walked away to cut down some trees for lumber. 



"Shen Xiaoting?" 



The girl asked the daughter. She received her name since her father always addressed her as such. "Do you want to go for a walk?" With a smile on her face, she asked the girl. The girl returned her smile, which made her heart skip a beat. She was 24, and Xiaoting was only 18. The two have been pals since the older daughter, who is the same age as the girl, finds her strange. "Yes," Xiaoting said quickly as they stood up and hurried to the massive forest outside the house. They knew they were too old to play, yet they did. Because she was concerned about her future, Y/n never had the opportunity to play as a child. Xiaoting, on the other hand, had a strained relationship with her sisters. They ran and ran, smiling all the way, until they came to a cliff. The girl abruptly came to a halt, her smile quickly dimming.



"Y/n?" questioned Xiaoting.



Y/n's breath became heavy as she lurched backward, colliding with Xiaoting. "Scared? " The younger asked. Y/n looked around, her eyes shining as tears streamed down her cheeks. "I remember something, bad memory," she explained. She remembered her leaving Budapest and their house burning with her family. Xiaoting understood what she was saying and suddenly hugged her. "It's alright. I am here," Xiaoting said, soothingly rubbing her back. They were unaware of the feeling that was developing within them. Neither had they ever been in love or liked someone. They've only known each other for 6 months, yet they've already become great friends. "You will never leave me, right?" Y/n inquired.




"I will never"











































A/n

Hello, this story is back too

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