Chapter 1
After a long struggle, Insan had finally managed to get a date. They had dinner at a fancy restaurant, and later, they decided to spend the rest of the evening in his room. He was excited—as he was about to unfold her.
But he was interrupted by the unexpected arrival of a friend.
He answered the door. It was his friend, looking pale and frightened.
“Hey, man, what’s up?”
“Hey, hi, how are you, man?” Insan answered.
“I’m fine, thank you. Would you mind if I stay here tonight?” he asked.
“Well, I have company here. What happened to you?”
“Um, nothing, I just had some issues, so I left home. I don’t have any money left to stay at a hotel, so I thought I could stay here for the night.”
“What happened, man? Is it something serious?”
“No, nothing serious. No problem, I will take care of myself. Sorry for disturbing you so late at night.”
“Hey, no, wait. Give me a couple of minutes, I’ll come.”
Insan went inside.
“Well, it was my friend. He wants to stay here tonight.”
“Oh, okay. Then maybe I should leave,” she said.
“Hey, no, wait. I’ll arrange accommodation for him. Give me an hour, I’ll sort this out and come back.”
“Are you sure? If he’s in some sort of trouble, we can meet later.”
“No, no. I will be back soon.”
She gave a goodbye kiss, which Insan resisted as she tried to turn it into a passionate one.
Insan came out. “Let’s go.”
“Where?”
“My friend has a cabin in the woods. It’s over an hour’s drive near the forest. You can sleep there tonight.”
“Oh, thanks, man.”
Insan took the car while his friend waited outside the parking lot of the flat.
Insan drove off.
“I sense something serious,” Insan said.
“No, man, nothing serious. I just thought to leave.”
“Okay. What about tomorrow?”
“I’m planning to go to the outskirts to visit a friend, and I’ll be staying there for a while.”
“Again, at a friend’s place?”
“Yeah, for a few days.”
“I don’t know what you got yourself into, man, but I won’t ask. If there’s something I can help with, I’m ready.”
“You’re already doing me a favor, man. I’m grateful.”
Insan drove fast into the woods.
“Where are we going?”
“Well, there’s a cabin in the woods, owned by a friend who is abroad. We used to party there. You can stay there tonight.”
“Is it safe?”
“If you stay inside, yes. But don’t go outside—you know, it’s the forest. It’s a bit dangerous out there.”
“I’ll come and pick you up tomorrow morning.”
“Okay, man.”
Insan took an off-road path, trying to maintain the same pace, but the deposits of stones on the journey made it harder.
They didn’t have much conversation.
After a few minutes, he stopped the car.
Then both started walking. Insan had a torch and a compass to navigate the hill.
There was no definite path, and he followed north, using the compass.
“I suggest you don’t come alone. As you know, there’s no path, so you might easily get lost in the woods and never find your way back.”
“Okay, man,” he nodded.
They walked longer than they had driven.
Finally, Insan declared that they had arrived.
His friend saw the silhouette of a cabin.
Insan unlocked the door and went inside.
His friend took a look back at the path they had come from—it was filled with darkness, with no sign of light except for the moon.
He remembered climbing hills up and down—they might be inside a mountain cliff. That’s why he couldn’t see the city lights.
“Come inside, man.”
The room looked cozy, and there was a TV in it.
“This cabin has a power connection?” he exclaimed.
“Yeah, it’s all solar-powered.”
“Oh,” he nodded.
“I forgot about the water. There’s some in the pot over there. I hope it’s drinkable. It should be fine until tomorrow morning.”
“Yeah, it’s fine, man. It’s just for a few hours.”
“Great. Okay, there’s no telephone connection. Please stay inside the cabin. The paths are difficult to follow. I’ll come tomorrow morning and pick you up. Until then, do not leave the cabin.”
“Sure, man.”
“Okay, then. Bye, good night.”
