As for the leaf that had been in the little girl's hand earlier, no one knew where it had gone.
The little girl was so frightened that her whole body seemed to seize up.
That only made her hurt even more.
She wished she could pass out right away.
But she remained fully aware of everything.
The pain, the agony, the helplessness, the fear...
She wanted to call for help.
She remembered hearing other people's voices earlier.
After a long struggle, a broken sound finally squeezed out of her throat.
But it was like a stone sinking into the sea. There was no response at all.
She was utterly exhausted.
She was aware of everything.
And yet, aside from the pain and fatigue, she gradually stopped even feeling the rain beating down on her.
At some point, even her fear had been replaced by numbness.
Just as she was in a daze, she finally heard other voices.
Human voices!
She wanted to answer.
Hope stirred in her again.
But before long, that hope seemed so far out of reach.
She could see it, yet it was as if she couldn't grasp it.
Just as despair was about to eat away at her heart, the roar of a beast left her stunned with fear.
W-what?!
She had been to these mountains countless times.
She had never heard a cry like that before.
It was so terrifying that it made her break out in goosebumps.
She couldn't stop her body from trembling.
"Are you all right?"
A gentle male voice came clearly through the little girl's muddled mind.
The little girl froze.
It was like reaching the height of an emotion only to have a bucket of cold water suddenly poured over her... like everything