Searching for a hiding place
1300 Words
She didn’t know how long she walked. Her stomach hurt from hunger, and her feet were covered in blisters.
Just when she felt she couldn’t hold on anymore, she suddenly saw several fruit trees ahead. Pale yellow fruits hung from the branches — they looked delicious.
Calista’s eyes lit up. She quickly picked one and brought it to her lips, ready to bite down.
But just as the fruit touched her mouth, she suddenly froze.
She remembered — you couldn’t just eat random things in the wild.
And she also remembered that her system could identify items.
So she held the fruit up and silently said in her mind: Identify.
A line of text immediately appeared beside the fruit:
【Golden Fruit — poisonous, not edible. Juice can repel insects and mask scents.】
Seeing the words “poisonous, not edible,” Calista instantly deflated.
But she still picked many of them and stored them in her space — because they could repel insects and hide scent.
She figured she might need that at night.
She looked around again but couldn’t find anything else that looked edible.
Holding her aching stomach, she continued walking.
Not long after, something suddenly hit her on the head.
She instinctively looked up.
On a tree branch above, a squirrel-like animal was nibbling on something. What hit her was the shell it dropped.
Calista didn’t think much of it at first, and lifted her foot to keep going.
But then — as if realizing something — she abruptly turned back to stare at the tree.
She saw that the tree was full of small black, thumb-sized nuts — the same thing the animal was eating.
If animals could eat it… then humans probably could too.
Calista’s eyes sparkled.
She swallowed and looked around, then picked up a fallen branch and began knocking at the nuts on the tree.
Before long, many of them dropped to the ground.
She was so hungry she was seeing stars. Once she’d knocked down enough, she stopped.
Just to be safe, she used identification again.
【Black Chestnut — non-toxic, edible, no side effects】
Although she had already guessed it would be edible, she still felt immense relief reading it.
She immediately cracked one open with her teeth and began eating the flesh inside.
The nutty aroma spread through her mouth.
It tasted very similar to roasted chestnuts from her original world. She couldn’t help thinking that if these were cooked, they would definitely be even more delicious. But she didn’t have the means — nor the time — to do that right now.
She continued eating. Before long, the ground was covered with shells.
Only when her hunger finally eased did she stop.
Then, she picked up the stick again and continued knocking nuts down — gathering every one she could reach.
She stored all of them into her space. Roughly estimating, there were probably close to two catties.
It wasn’t a lot — but it was something.
At least now, she didn’t have to worry about starving tomorrow.
Once that was done, she continued forward.
Night was falling.
The forest was growing darker. Strange roars began echoing from within the trees — some of them painfully close.
Tears welled up in Calista’s eyes, but she forced herself not to cry.
Right now, she had only herself.
Crying would not bring help.
Crying would only waste strength — and maybe her life.
The sky grew darker.
Just as despair crept into her heart, she suddenly saw — not far ahead — a huge tree, far bigger than any she had seen before.
And beneath the tree…
There seemed to be a dark opening.
Calista’s heart leapt wildly. Without hesitation, she hurried toward it.
The tree was enormous — even if several people joined hands, they might not be able to encircle it.
And at its base, there was indeed a tree hole.
Beside the entrance, there was also a large stone — clearly placed there deliberately, like a door plug.
Calista hesitated.
But right now — she had no other options.
Fortunately, the stone didn’t completely block the entrance. If she crouched, she could squeeze inside.
When she entered, her earlier suspicion was confirmed:
This tree hole clearly belonged to someone.
There was a pile of dried grass that looked like a bed. Nearby, a small stone table made of stacked rocks — and on the table, a bamboo tube that looked like it was used for storing water.
Calista hesitated for a moment, then walked over.
When she wiped the surface of the stone table, she found the thick layer of dust.
Clearly — it hadn’t been used for a long time.
Only then did she finally let out a long breath.
But she still didn’t dare relax.
She went back to the entrance and examined the big stone. Although it could block large predators, snakes or small beasts could still get through the gaps.
And if that happened — she would be helpless prey.
She looked around anxiously — but there was nothing usable.
Her heart tightened.
She finally turned her gaze toward the fallen branches and vines outside.
Right now — those were all she had.
She dragged several thick branches and tough vines inside — moving back and forth many times until she was exhausted.
But she still didn’t rest.
Sitting on the floor, she began tying the branches together with the vines — weaving them into a rough fence-like barrier.
It looked ugly and crude.
But — it was better than nothing.
Given her current circumstances, she had no right to be picky.
Although the makeshift fence looked rough, it was at least something she could use.
After finishing the weaving, Calista dragged the fence panel to the entrance and leaned it against the gap beside the large stone blocking the tree hole, using it as an extra barrier.
Only then did she finally feel a little safer.
Her entire body was already exhausted to the point of collapse. Her feet were covered in blisters, and every step felt like needles stabbing into her flesh.
But now was not the time to rest completely.
She dragged herself over to the pile of dried grass and sat down, gently taking off her shoes.
Her feet were a mess — swollen, torn, and covered in raw skin and broken blisters. Some spots were even faintly bleeding.
Calista gritted her teeth, forcing back tears.
She knew she could not afford to panic or break down now.
Taking out a golden fruit from her space, she squeezed out some juice and carefully dabbed it around her feet to repel insects and mask her scent.
Then, she tried to adjust the dried grass a little to make it softer and lay down carefully.
The sky outside the tree hole had already gone completely dark.
All kinds of terrifying roars echoed through the forest one after another — some close, some distant — making the night feel endlessly long and dangerous.
Calista curled up tightly on the dried grass.
Fear surged up from the depths of her heart like a wave.
She wanted to cry.
She wanted to scream.
She wanted to tell herself that everything was just a nightmare — that she would wake up tomorrow in her warm bed back home.
But she knew—
This was not a dream.
This was her new reality.
Her life could end at any moment.
Her nose stung, and tears silently rolled down the sides of her face, disappearing into the dried grass beneath her.
She didn’t sob. She didn’t make a sound.
She just let the tears fall.
After who-knows-how-long, exhaustion finally overwhelmed her nerves.
Eventually—
She slowly drifted into sleep in that dark and lonely tree hollow.
- Writer
