CHAPTER I ( pt 1 ) ( Silva )

PART 1: SILVA

The forest is a terrifying place for some people. It is wild, cold, mysterious, and lawless. However, for others, the forest is a calming, peaceful, natural, beautiful, and even enchanting place. At least that's what a logger named John thinks. He has been living in the forest for a long time, and he has been through a lot. John isolated himself in the forest not for any particular reason, but simply because he enjoyed the beauty of nature within it. It sounds logical for a professional logger, except that there might be a terrifying fact that he is hiding.

I always think about this. The deeper I think about it, the more I want to ask about my thoughts. So, is it true that everything in this world has two sides? Like two sides of a coin that stick together but have opposite meanings. A simple example is in the book that I am writing. In the beginning, I explained that the forest is a terrifying place, but not for John. Another example is a knife. There is always a sharp and blunt part of a knife, just like humans. They often consider themselves bad or good, but in reality, they are in between, whether the bad dominates or the other way around. No one is entirely good or entirely bad, just like John.

That morning, John went to work in the southern part of the forest. He was assigned to cut down trees there. He prepared his tools and supplies like any other day when he went to work.

John was 28 years old and still single. His body looked like an ordinary person, not muscular, but his muscles were above average for a normal human. This was because he had been accustomed to physical work since he was a child. At a young age, he looked healthy and fit.

On his way to work, John met someone who appeared to be hiding and hunting.

John ask to him "Hi, what are you doing?"

Hunter with hoarse voice slowly answer him "Hi, nice to meet you. Can you help me? My leg is injured."

John raise the eyebrows "What happened, sir? Let me see."

John approached while taking out a first aid kit from his bag.

Suddenly, after John approached, he shocked, he ran as fast as he could, leaving his bag behind.

When John arrived at work, he immediately met his friend there, gasping for breath and sweating profusely.

His friend asked him, "Why did you run, John?"

John did not answer. He felt very dizzy. For the first time in his life, he saw a person could live and speak even without a head. His friends gathered around him, and one of them gave him a bottle of water. He spoke,

"Darn it, I just saw a ghost this morning. I thought he was a hunter, but when I approached, it turned out to be a headless body holding a weapon."

His friends were startled and thought that John was hallucinating. "I just passed by there, and I didn't see anything. You must be tired, John, and it's still early in the morning."

John confidently said "No, I'm not lying. I even panicked and left my bag."

John asks his friends to go to the place where his found that body

Finally, they walked along the road that John had passed before and found his bag.

While carrying a large knife, they cut through the wild grass that John considered to be where he saw the body, but they did not find anything.

All of John friends start looking at him and say "I think you need to rest, John. Go home."

John’s feel confused "But I saw it, friend. He was here earlier..."

His friends looked at John as he passed, "Get rest, you're tired"

John was alone, he immediately took his bag and went home because he felt uncomfortable.

Suddenly there's a voice behind “Hi, nice to meet you”

John quickly turned around, unfortunately, he didn't find anything around him, but this time he didn't run, he just kept quiet while observing his surroundings, and then he went home

John couldn't shake off the eerie feeling that lingered in his mind. He couldn't believe that what he saw earlier was just a figment of his imagination. He had been working in the forest for years and had seen all sorts of strange things, but this was different. It felt too real.

He went home early that day and decided to take a break from work. He tried to distract himself by reading books, watching TV, and going for walks, but nothing could shake off the feeling of unease. He kept seeing flashes of the headless body he saw earlier and wondered if it was a warning of something terrible that was going to happen.

Days passed, and John slowly tried to get back to his routine. He went back to work, but he couldn't concentrate. He was constantly looking over his shoulder and checking his surroundings. His friends noticed the change in his behavior and tried to console him, but John couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong.

One day, as he was walking back to his cabin after a long day of work, he heard a strange noise. It sounded like a low growl, but he couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from. He looked around but couldn't see anything. He tried to shrug it off and continued walking, but the noise got louder.

John started to panic, and his heart raced as he realized that something was following him. He tried to walk faster, but his legs felt like lead. The noise got closer and closer until he could feel hot breath on the back of his neck.

Suddenly, he felt something grab his bag, and he turned around to face his attacker. He was relieved to see that it was only a wolf, but it was a massive one. The wolf bared its teeth and growled at him, and John knew that he was in trouble.

He reached for his knife and prepared to defend himself, but he knew that he was no match for the beast. The wolf lunged at him, and John started holding his axe instead of a small knife

The wolf growled, John raised his ax and started running fast toward the wolf

The wolf jumped, John swung his ax right into the wolf's face and knocked the wolf away, his ax stuck there.

Without wasting much time John stepped on the wolf and stabbed it in the neck

The wolf covered in blood rebelled and clawed at John's leg, he immediately ran while dragging the ax stuck in his head.

John didn't immediately run after him, he sat down first and treated his injured leg, he knew that a wolf would not be able to survive with such a severe wound.

Finished treating his wound, John continued his journey home while following the trail of the wolf's blood earlier, he continued to walk slowly and carefully

Arriving at a cabin on the edge of the lake, in front of the cabin lay the corpse of the wolf he had killed, he was dead, John approached and was about to take his ax which stuck

But there was something strange, it seemed that the wolf's leg was hit by a bear trap, suddenly there was a sound of "raise your hand", John who was shocked immediately turned around, he saw a man with a big body with a bushy beard wearing a cowboy hat was pointing at him with a 2 caliber shotgun, once again the man shout “put your hands up, NOW!!!” John raised his hand and explained that he only intended to take the ax that had lodged in the wolf

The man was suddenly shocked and lowered his weapon, in his heart saying "How can this young man beat such a big wolf with just an axe", "Hey kid, the wolf is mine, he died because of my trap"

John was amazed, "oh yes, it's okay to take it I'll just take this ax because this is part of my job"

The man smiled faintly "Ah no, I'm just kidding how about we just cook this wolf? come here"

John continued to take his axe, but he was having trouble, the man approached him and without thinking he just dragged the ax and the wolf to the back of his cabin

The man approached and said "Let me take care of your axe, come into the house, you are my guest now"

John entered the cabin

John looked around the cabin, and there were lots of ornaments such as the heads of deer, deer, and even bears stuck neatly on the walls, in his heart John thought "Wow, this person must be a very skilled and experienced hunter.

After a few minutes, the man came and told John to sit down, he made a cup of coffee for him, John asked "How long have you been hunting?"

The man answered while looking for a machete that he had hidden behind the cupboard, "I've lived and hunted here since I was 18 years old, boy" he also said goodbye to wanting to process the wolf meat they were hunting "I want to go back for a while, if you want to catch up, I'm in the basement"

Because it was already evening John said goodbye and promised to come the next day after he returned from work to enjoy meat with the hunter man

The next day, John came to the hunter's cabin to enjoy the wolf meat they had hunted. John was pleased to meet a man so skilled at hunting, and he wanted to learn more about the hunter's craft.

During their meal, they tell about their experiences in the wild and share tips on effective hunting techniques. The hunter also gave John some pointers about places in the forest where wolves and other animals usually roamed.

After eating, the hunter showed him some of the items he had collected over the years of hunting, such as animal skins and deer antlers. John was deeply impressed by the collection and began to understand the hunter's love for the wilderness.

They talked all night, and John came home feeling very good. John felt grateful to have met a hunter so skilled and knowledgeable about the wilderness. From these encounters, John gains many new experiences and skills that will be of great use in his journey into the wilderness.

The next day, John woke up with renewed vigor. He felt very motivated to learn more about life in the wild and improve his hunting skills. John returns to the hunter's cabin, and they spend some time together again, this time hunting deer.

They took a walk in the forest, paying attention to the tracks and marks left by the deer. After a few hours, they managed to find a deer feeding in an open meadow. The hunter gave John some instructions on proper shooting techniques, and John managed to hit the deer with precision. They then cut up the venison and brought it back to the cabin.

Over the next few days, John spent a lot of time with the hunter, learning more advanced hunting techniques and learning more about the wild animals that lived in the forest. He also learned about how to recognize signs of danger and how to avoid dangerous situations in the wild.

In a short time, John felt that he had developed his skills in hunting and felt more confident in dealing with various situations in the wild. He thanked the hunter for all his knowledge and guidance, and they promised to keep in touch and exchange experiences in the future.

From this experience, John learned that life in the wild can be very challenging, but also very fulfilling if he learns to respect nature and acquires sufficient knowledge of good hunting techniques. He promised to continue to deepen his knowledge and contribute to preserving the wild nature around him.