A Journey
As long as I lived 17 years as the only daughter in my family, I felt that the burden I was carrying was not easy. My father, John Willowsky, left three children in very poor conditions. We live abandoned and financed by the government. It all started when my mother died when I was 10 years old from a brain tumor. Two years later, my father married my mother’s best friend and chose to abandon us. Life is not easy, right?
One day, there was a family who wanted to help us to live with them because for some reason, their children couldn’t live with them anymore. With this condition in the end, my brothers and I chose to follow the recommendations of the local government for a more decent life. This is because the new family is willing to provide unlimited assistance to us. We decided to move together with this new family in a small town called Havenshire.
Our journey was not easy, first we had to take the train to the west. An uneasy feeling enveloped me for a moment. I remember, my mother once said that there is an area in the western region of our country that has a myth that the further west you will know there are things that are impossible but are really real, like the legend about werewolves.
“Hey, Rachel, what are you thinking? I don’t think you’re doing well. Are you okay?” asked Mike.
“I feel something...” suddenly the train shook and stopped in a forest that did not know where it was. This forest looks gloomy and very dark. It was so lush that even the afternoon sun could not penetrate the crevices of the branches and twigs that seemed to be towering.
“Help!!! I saw something in the forest! Big monsters!” shouted a middle-aged woman with a look of fear and panic.
“What do you see?”
“I didn’t see anything! Don’t make things worse!”
There were people shouting at each other due to the unstoppable panic. While on the other hand the conductor seemed to be pacing back and forth calming the other passengers, suddenly I heard a very clear howling sound in my ears.
“What’s that?! Jo? Heard something?”
“Rachel, stop. Don’t make this any worse. I didn’t hear anything!” Answered Jojo who was busy reading his favorite novel.
Suddenly the carriage started to run again and things started to get quiet again. The passengers had already started to prepare for bed because the clock was already showing at 8 pm. But not with us because we had to get off at Havenshire station which is indeed a small station in the west of our country. I’ve never even heard of a town called Havenshire.
“So, we’ve arrived! Let us hurry to meet Mr. Murdock.” Mike said as he rushed towards the station exit.
“Good evening, Mr and Miss Willowsky, I will escort all of you to Mr Murdock’s house. I have been given the task by Mr. Murdock to pick you all up so you don’t get lost in the forest of Hallerbos which is famous for its horrors,” said someone startling us from behind. A strange looking person with a tall body and sharp eyes looked at us. The clothes he was wearing looked very shabby and looked torn in some of his arms and legs.
“Sorry in advance, but is that really so? Because I’ve never met Mr. Murdock in person before,” Mike answered immediately with a confused face.
Hallerbos Forest is scary huh? What makes it terrible?
“Why do you say that this forest is terrible? What’s in it?” I asked without thinking, making the man’s face even more terrifying due to a small grin showing his sharp teeth.
“Hi! I’m here! Romulus! What are you doing here?! Do you think that Romeus never knows what you are going to do with his guests? Go home. Don’t bother them!” Someone shouted from a distance making the shabby and scary man shuffle back and then walk away. It was obvious that the man named Romulus was furious at the arrival of a man with a resounding resolute voice.
“Good night. You must be Mike, Rachel, and Joana Willowsky. Come with me. My name is Lyall. I was ordered by Mr. Romeus Murdock to guard and pick you up at the station. Come with me. Mr Murdock’s residence is quite far from this station. So we have to hurry before midnight” said Lyall with a friendly smile. Lyall looked very different from Romulus. Lyall is very handsome with a very neat appearance wearing a beige turtle neck sweater and a black parka jacket.
Without thinking Mike rushed to carry our luggage to the car that was parked among the trees on the right side of this small station. Lyall was very friendly and kind to welcome us. He seemed like a reliable person. We also penetrated local residents’ settlements and Lyall stepped on the gas as he entered the forest with dense and towering trees.
“Lyall, while I was on the train I heard a very strange sound. At that time our train was stopped in the middle of the forest because there was an engine failure. So, we had to stop for a few hours in the middle of the forest. But in the middle of the forest I think I heard something..” I said to Lyall who seemed calmly driving and trying to penetrate this forest at full speed.
“Rachel, please. Maybe we’re too tired. Don’t tell stories that don’t make sense. Whatever sound it is, I don’t hear it,” said Jojo, who is indeed my younger brother. Jojo is my younger brother who is quite mature among his best friends. Sometimes I feel sorry if Jojo has to grow up at such a young age because of the circumstances we are currently living in.
“By the way, you guys have been living together for this long, haven’t there been any fights? You guys are great people because you can control your emotions and don’t hurt each other. Unlike me, my sister and I often had fights until I chose to leave my house and my parents. Even so, I really wanted to meet them. But maybe they chose to never see me. Wow! We’re almost there! 100 meters ahead there is a sturdy building that is the residence of Mr. Murdock. Mr Murdock is very nice and friendly so you don’t have to be afraid to talk to them but it is a shame that Mr Murdock may not be able to welcome you today as Mr Murdock is currently out of town. Maybe he will come back next week” Lyall explained with a warm smile. Lyall looked very relieved when the car he was driving almost reached Mr. Murdock’s residence.
