Chapter 2

We spent the rest of the night talking to our old neighbours, and about my horrific travels with Nate, we had chips with juice and my mother laughed at my attitude while Calissa listened intently to me. After a while everyone got drowsy and went to bed, it was a really tiring day for me and I fell into a deep sleep I had made up my mind to talk to Nate about giving up his research and turning to our relationship and our soon-to-be wedding. I said goodbye to my mum and Tia and set off with Nate on a private helicopter flight. I also did not forget to take my kitty with me, who did not leave me on all my trips. next morning-- Nate had chartered a plane for the trip, things like this were not an obstacle to him, he was from the wealthy class, and he was able to do everything to help him achieve his dream. When I took my seat on the plane, I was surprised to find a good number of men who were sitting in their seats with wide bags next to them I watched someone open the wide leather bag to take out a gun and take a look at it, I felt some annoyance for that, why would Nate take the gunmen? Is the task so dangerous? Nate sat next to me with his seat belt on, turned to him, "Nate...why are all these men with guns?" I whispered to him in a low voice. "Of course, because we will hunt the legend," he said I rolled my eyes, not wanting to discuss how to hunt a mythical creature, I put the belt around me too while Kitty sat on my lap. I looked through the small window as the plane began to soar into the air. We were soaring over the vast lands and watching the greenery below, the only pleasure of traveling with Nate was getting to know and enjoy the enchanting nature. After a good time, I saw the small houses spread out below, when the plane began to descend gradually to the ground. We removed our seat belts and Nate hurried off the plane, and I asked, "Are we in Romania now?" I said while waiting for someone to answer. "It's the Bermuda Triangle, Romania, that's how this part of the country is called," said the big red-bearded man, and I saw him getting off the plane too. I did not understand what he meant and we all left the plane outside while looking around curiously. The city of Cologne in Romania did not seem more civilized because it seemed completely devoid of the manifestations of modern life, and the houses and shops were distributed in a random way. A wave of shivering went through my body as some wind blew, laden with dried leaves and dust. We noticed a group of men advancing towards us and they seemed to be residents of the area who were living here, and they surrounded us in a circular circle and stared at us in a frightening way, as if we were residents of space. Now Nate was getting a bunch of papers out of his pocket and one of the men approached him to talk to each other and fortunately for us the man was fluent in English. Then Nate continued talking to him, "Anyway, you can say that I'm from the tourist delegation, so I'd like to have a place to stay here," Nate said to the man. The man turned to the rest and gestured for them to disperse away from us "There is a Cologne city hotel that I will take you to," said the man "No, I'd like our own house here near the woods," said Nate "I can provide one for you, but it will be expensive," said the man "Don't worry about the money," Nate told him The man nodded and led us on foot to a small house somewhere like a village or a big neighborhood. What caught my attention about the house was the way it was designed. Its outer courtyard was surrounded by a wooden fence, while some beaded necklaces were hung on its outer walls, perhaps talismans of some kind. "It hasn't been used for a while, so you might find a little bit of dust and dirt inside," said the man, who refused to leave until Nate handed him a sum of money. Immediately we started dusting the floor and things so we could sit while Nate lay on a big, clean sofa. I took some sheets out of the bags to put on our sleeping quarters and lunch boxes, I turned to Nate and found him already asleep. I sighed with boredom because I was still feeling energetic, so I decided to go out a little to the balcony of the house, which looked out on the backyard. The place outside was eerily quiet, as if the place was empty of people. "You must be thirsty," said a hoarse voice behind me I turned towards him and saw that huge red-bearded man standing there, handing me a small bottle of water. "Thank you," I told him "My name is Jacqueline," he said, leaning his wide hands on the edges of the balcony "I'm Melin," I said with a smile He was silent for a few seconds, "I don't want to tell you that, but you shouldn't have come here... I don't know how Nate compliant himself managed to take you with us," he said without looking at me. "Why?" I said curiously, still looking at him "The place is not suitable for women, we are in a dangerous place," he said "But I do not believe in the existence of these myths, it is just diligence from Nate as usual" I said "I don't think so, I've heard many scary stories circulating here about the Hoya-Bakyu Forest, don't you see that the natives have already moved away from its surroundings," he said. "Then why should you also risk coming here as well as your comrades?" I said "It's money, I have a family, and the need for money sometimes drives a person to do what he doesn't want to," he said I was worried and afraid of his speech, I was watching the horizon in front of me when the sun was about to set, I thought I saw a large group of little black birds flying in a circle and fast over the fearful forest!