The lady scurried through the forest, with no idea where she was going, only her desire to know the truth kept her going.
She kept moving all morning till dusk, only stopping to grab a bite from the fruit she packed.
The sky had started to get dark, a proof that a lot of time had gone since she started walking. She pushed through the pain, and was determined to travel through the night.
When her body couldn't go any further, she stopped to rest underneath a tree. Lifting up her face, she saw a faint light — just like she'd seen the day before: a ray of hope -– and a smile lit up her stressed muddy face.
Strength found her joint, and she sprinted towards the light.
To her profound despair, she was back to where she ran away from – the hut.
A feeling of fatigue swept across her, her legs gave way, and she fell into the dew covered grass as she stared on in disbelief. She had been very careful about how she trod, she hadn't made any turn to avoid a situation like this. How then did she end up here?
She lay there on the floor looking up into the grey sky. Dark clouds moved by, overshadowing the little light left in the sky.
She hoped that the wild beast from last night would appear again and just end things once and for all, she would gladly accept her fate. Her hope was dashed when she had already laid there for what seemed like hours and there was no sign of any creature in sight, not even an ant crawled by her.
She closed her eyes shut and one last drop of tears trickled down on the already wet ground. She braced herself, stood up, dejectedly picked up her bag, and walked into the hut.
Filled with the sorrow she threw herself on the bed and wept bitterly.
Time seemed to move very slowly and it felt like forever until the day broke. She had dozed off for a few moments before the sun rose and didn't have enough sleep.
She looked around and was not about to be fazed by anything she would see. Nothing had changed and nothing was tampered with although she hadn't really noticed anything when she got back yesterday.
But won't the owner of this hut return? She couldn't help but think of what could have befallen them. Perhaps they had been caught up in the jaws of one of the dangerous beasts lurking out there.
She was sad, indisputable, but she wouldn't just give up like that and let the forest destroy her life. She summoned every ounce of strength left in her and got up, determination visible in her heavy eyes.
She grabbed the essentials she needed again, this time more prepared than ever. If she kept finding herself back here, then she doesn't mind circling around over and over until she finds a way out.
She set out again determined. Her steps were very agile for someone who had walked miles the day before and barely had any sleep.
This time she decided to take another route, not sure where her feet were going to take her, but she was ready to try every possible way to leave this hut.
She carved marks occasionally on trees to make sure she doesn't pass through a place twice, and also made sure she did not take any turns. And she walked and walked and walked.
When night came, she met the same fate. Also the next night, and the next night and the next forty nights.
Strangely, for some reasons, food never ran out in the hut and she even got games for herself a few times. Also the thickets around the house stood erect no matter how many times she cut them down.
Something was trying to keep her in, but she would not back down either.
Day forty one came and night fell again, but her legs kept to motion still. She lit a torch and kept moving, searching for something, just anything. She raised her head and saw once again, what seemed like a roof.
She remained unfazed like it was a routine. But as she got closer, she realized this was different, something ignited in her as she made her way through the tall grasses
For the first time in a long time she prayed, she wished, to not be back where she left. Hope dawned on her once again.
"Please, please,please," she muttered to herself countless times.
Ready for the worst she moved closer, her feet tottering beneath her.
She slowly cleared the grass out of her line of sight and there it was, ahead of her, the different something she had hoped to see.
Her heart leapt for joy.