That night was silent. The full moon rose high above the darkness of the sky.
There was barely a sound at all. I could even hear my own breath turning into mist. Even the beating of my heart sounded like a terrifying signal.
The lights in the houses were completely out, leaving only the lanterns along the village road still glowing faintly.
I turned the page of the book in front of me. The rough paper scraped softly against my fingertips.
My vision blurred as I continued reading.
I rubbed my eyes, red from exhaustion.
I was already extremely tired. Taking care of Anna all day drained what little energy I had. And yet, strangely enough, I couldn't sleep.
It had been happening for several days now.
No matter how tightly or how long I shut my eyes, I still couldn't fall asleep.
I didn't know the reason. Maybe I was afraid of nightmares, which had been happening far too often lately. Or maybe I didn't want Anna suddenly barging in and sleeping on top of me, leaving me gasping for air all night. That had happened once before.
Just as I was about to return to my book, my bedroom door creaked softly.
Nikolai stood just outside, his hand gripping the door handle.
"I knew it," he said, then leaned against the old wooden door that looked like it might collapse at any moment.
"Still can't sleep?"
I nodded quietly.
Nikolai sighed, a faint smile forming on his face.
"Alright then," he continued. "Come with me. We're going to the forest."
I gently closed the old book, stood up from the wooden chair, and followed Nikolai out.
At least I didn't have to spend the entire night reading these books. I would never fall asleep that way.
The wooden floor creaked loudly as we stepped out of the room. The silence made even our smallest movements painfully clear.
I tried to walk softly, careful not to wake the others.
As we went downstairs, I could still glimpse the lower floor, faintly lit. The sharp scent of burnt wood stung my nose.
Nikolai headed to the back kitchen and retrieved an old axe from a large cabinet where Auntie Vera kept sharp tools.
He turned to me, tilting his head as if noticing something odd.
"Where are your gloves?" he asked.
Startled, I simply turned my head aside.
"Anna lost them again, didn't she?" he asked with a quiet chuckle.
I didn't answer. There was no need to.
Nikolai shook his head. Yet, there's no sign of anger in his face.
He walked to a shelf in the main room, just to the left of the fireplace, took something from it, then turned back to me.
"Here," he said, handing me a new pair of gloves.
"Don't lose them again."
I took it slowly and put it both on my hands.
Since they were spare gloves, the size didn't quite fit. A bit tight, but it was fine. Better than watching my hands freeze in the cold.
We walked toward the exit, and Nikolai slowly opened the door.
Cold air rushed violently into the house, stabbing my pale skin.
We were used to it, of course. I mean, come on. Even if my body wasn't particularly strong, I admit that freely. Especially after losing an arm-wrestling match to Anna. Truly humiliating. Still, living in the same climate for nine years naturally led to some form of adaptation, didn't it?
Snow fell gently, gradually covering the road we had cleared earlier that morning.
Nikolai walked around to the side of the orphanage.
He dragged out a small sled. It had originally been bought by Auntie Vera so the children could play outside, but we didn't have any choices either.
The sled we usually used to transport firewood had broken a few days ago. We'd already ordered a replacement from the village's well-known carpenter. However, knowing it's Nivalis, a land that never had a clear day, made the people's orders had piled up, burdening the poor man.
I pitied him.
If only the orphanage had an experienced craftsman, we might've been able to build one ourselves.
There were plenty of people who could chop wood in this village. Even me and Nikolai could do it. Unfortunately, not everyone could turn that raw logs into something functional.
So we had no choice but to use a sled meant for fun while waiting for the carpenter to finish his work.
Nikolai turned to me. "Let's go."
We walked along the village road that still passable. I was grateful for the hanging lanterns across the village. They helped slow the snow from piling up into hills, and more importantly, they guided us through the quiet village as the wind and snows limiting our vision.
It only took a few minutes before we entered the forest.
The air inside felt colder than outside. I even started to shiver, despite having spent nine years on this land.
Before I continue, I want to make myself clear.
I am not afraid of this forest, nor anything within it.
I mean, sure, I often read books about the anatomy of the so-called beasts that came from this forest. But they only appeared during the Devil Year that only occur once every four years.
There had never been a case where those beasts left the forest and attacked villagers on ordinary days.
I am a logical person.
I might not go to school, but I read a lot. Even if Auntie Vera said the books weren't suitable for my age, but hey, at least I gained knowledge, right?
We continued deeper into the forest until we came upon a wooden sign nailed to a tree.
"DO NOT ENTER FURTHER."
It wasn't the only one. I looked left, and there was more signs. Same things to the right.
These signs marked the safe boundary we were allowed to enter. Beyond this point… well, I didn't need to explain.
See? Nothing to fear. Even our ancestors had left clear markers to warn us not to go too deep.
Come on. As long as we followed the rules, everything would be fine.
Nikolai searched the area, looking for a suitable tree to cut.
Since we were only using a small sled, the tree couldn't be too large. But it also couldn't be too small, especially if it was still growing. Otherwise, we could be penalized by the chief.
While Nikolai inspected the trees, I stood near the sled. Losing this thing would be a disaster.
I also took the opportunity to look around.
Odd.
Auntie Vera often talked about encountering herds of deer and small rabbits when gathering berries.
The carpenter said the same. He claimed to have seen a pair of winged creatures perched on tree branches. One a beautiful white owl, the other a pitch-black raven.
They were said to roam this forest often.
Sometimes they sat quietly side by side. The other times they were loud, seemingly cursing in their own languages.
I'd also heard a story from an extremely old man who claimed he once hunted a massive moose in this forest.
I didn't believe him at first, until he invited me into his home and showed me the moose's head, mounted high on his wall. Terrifying, but cool.
There were countless stories from villagers about the animals living here.
But I didn't believe them. Well, except for that old man.
In all my life, going back and forth through this forest, I had never, not once, seen any sign of animals. Not even insects.
It sounded foolish, I know. This was a forest. What forest didn't have inhabitants?
But I wasn't lying. I could swear to it right now.
I didn't know why. I'd tried to find an explanation, but came up empty.
People always said this forest was alive, full of life and harmony. But to me, it was no different from a graveyard. Even graves felt more alive than this place.
If not for the dense green leaves, I might've thought this place was a dead forest already.
It felt as if the forest hid its wonders from me. As if it despised me.
As if I a nine-year-old orphan boy, had been cursed by it.
"Hey, Ilya!" Nikolai shouted from a distance.
I flinched slightly before turning toward him. It seemed that he had found a suitable tree.
I walked over, dragging the toy sled along with me.
The chosen tree wasn't very tall. Short, really, maybe around fifteen meters. I wasn't good at estimating. Still, it was already dead, so it should be fine to cut. I hope.
I didn't know its exact species. I just assumed it was a spruce, but not because that was the only one I knew. I'd read about conifers in a dendrology book once.
Nikolai told me to step aside so I wouldn't be crushed by the falling tree. I already moved aside before he told me.
He took a deep breath, gripping the old axe tightly, then swung it hard into the trunk.
Wood chips flew as the blade struck the soft surface. Nikolai's heavy breathing formed white mist in the air.
I used to find this exciting, maybe when I was seven. Now, it was just routine.
Cold wind swept through the forest again.
My cheeks reddened despite my thick clothes.
I glanced around, boredom creeping in.
Once again, there were no animals. Not even a single sign of life. The only living beings here were the two of us and the trees.
That's what I thought.
Before I immediately took it back.
Not far from us, hidden behind trees and falling snow, there was something, or someone.
I couldn't be sure. The silhouette was too dark to make out clearly, but it looked like it was wearing a cloak that covered its entire body.
My eyes widened, locked onto the figure. My body, which had been relaxed moments ago, began to tremble violently.
My mouth fell slightly open. I wanted to shout to Nikolai, but I couldn't.
My body shook, yet it refused to move. I wanted to look away, but I couldn't.
I wanted to believe it was just a hallucination. I hadn't slept, after all. But the longer I stared, the clearer it became.
It was real.
The dark figure stood deep within the forest.
And then I realized something else.
Whatever that creature was, it was watching me too. Perhaps it had been for a while, and I simply hadn't noticed.
The silhouette was clearly focused on me. I wanted to deny it, but it was certain.
I could see two small reflections of light where its face should be. It hadn't moved at all, not even to turn its head.
It was watching me. This whole time.
People's stories flooded back into my mind. Tales of a mysterious being in the forest.
A figure behind the disappearance of those who went too deep. A terrifying presence sharpening its claws. A hunter in the darkness. One who knew this forest better than anyone.
The Hunter, they called it.
I never believed it. Superstition, I thought. A mere folklore meant to scare children away from wandering too far.
A creature that existed only in words.
Just a word.
But now, I can confirm it right now.
I swallowed hard, shattering the confidence I'd held for so long.
The Hunter was real. Not a myth nor superstition.
It was real, standing right before me.
We stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. Sweat soaked into my thick jacket.
My skin grew even paler. I wanted to faint, anything was better than locking eyes with that thing.
Then—
"Ilya!"
Someone suddenly tapped my shoulder.
I jolted and spun around. It was Nikolai.
He tilted his head. "What's wrong? You've been spacing out," he said, placing the back of his hand against my forehead.
"A-Ah, n-no… I'm fine…"
Nikolai raised an eyebrow. "Really? You look awfully pale."
"Y-Yeah…"
I turned back to where the silhouette stood.
It was already gone.
There was nothing there, only tall trees and dense underbrush.
I tried to calm myself. I took a deep breath in and out.
Then I looked back to Nikolai, slightly glanced to his back. That dead tree had already been felled. Nikolai had even chopped it into smaller pieces.
"I-I'm going to stack the firewood.." I said, gently brushing Nikolai's hand away.
I hurriedly gathered the logs and arranged them on the sled.
Still confused, Nikolai glanced toward where the figure had been. That thing already gone though.
I wanted to believe it had all been a hallucination.
Truly.
That's what I wanted to tell myself. But what happened felt far too real, too real to dismiss as mere imagination.
I was a logical person.
But tonight, I had to admit—
Maybe I am scared.