However, the night passed, then the morning, and none of the girls appeared again. This was both very strange and alarming. I was uneasy—what if the girls had died along the way? But no one nearby had heard the telltale shots of a flying hunter either that night or the morning. So, there had to be something else going on. Perhaps I was mistaken, and the girls simply liked life in the monastery?
As daylight dawned, there was no time to speculate about the reason for the others' delay, as there was much work to be done. First, we urgently needed to find food somewhere, as our three backpacks contained only five canned goods and a few crackers. Second, I was forced to admit that my smartphone had completely died. I needed to find another working phone and replace the SIM card. And third, the
