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* ...
* There's been a lot of strange happenings in the area, as of late...
* Teachers... Parents... Even Babysitters;
* All reporting that their children keep getting lost in one of the city's forest.
* And police searches keep returning with nothing.
* The kids haven't made it home for... Who knows how long.
* This could be kids being dumb little kids- wandering places they shouldn't be.
* But rumors always spread.
* A whisper already started to float through classrooms, streets, and friend groups.
* "There's a ghost in the forest."
* They say, reveling in their peers' fear.
* "A bitter ghost that eats kids, maybe?"
* Another will say, spiraling the story out of control.
* "What if it's that one ghost from the big house on the hill?"
* They confuse themselves with nonsense theories.
* These words fall onto the ears of a silent observer.
* Hm, no good. * No good at all.
* A familiar presence begins to watch over the school curiously, listening in on these rumors.
* "The Ghost of B", some called her.
* She preferred Bibi, thought, honestly.
* Much smoother.
* Of course, people noticed her pretty quickly.
* They spotted her out of the corner of their eyes, trembling as their eyes locked with her mask's swirls.
* Deep down, they worried that she might be the culprit.
* But it was a silly thought.
* You can't pull pranks on children if they're all gone!
* Many kids started venturing to the forest.
* Some to satiate curiosity, others pushed in by bullies, and some were just lost.
* And so, many more vanish into the deep wood.
* One night, Bibi finally steps foot at the edge of the forest, a few of her "little friends" in tow.
* It was time to see exactly where these kids landed.
* She starts the adventure, one step at a time.
* Their footsteps were completely silent, not even the sound of a stick crackling or grass crunching beneath sneakers.
* Quickly, the forest comes alive under their scrutiny.
* To protect whatever was here... It becomes a never ending maze.
* The patterns of trees repeat, and going back doesn't yield any results.
* All the while, the forest gets darker, yet darker...
* A gust of wind blows ominously through the leaves...
* Darkness, trees, more darkness...
* ...
* Man, this place was boring.
* Bibi felt bad for the missing children, not because of the kidnapping but because Jesusssssss Chrisssstt she'd die from boredom stuck out here.
* Haha.
* Anyways...
* The forest weaved and bent in odd ways, trying to desperately keep out the new, bold intruders.
* But tricks like this didn't work on them.
* The sounds of little masked children filled the air as Bibi and the rest of them glided smoothly through the woods.
* It didn't take long to find a break in the trees, where the moonlight shed down onto the dirt.
* Pushing past the last few trees revealed a small clearing with lush grass and flowers adorning the ground.
* In the center of it all; A stone, hidden in the shade by a single tree.
* It was in disarray, seems like nature has long tried to reclaim it.
* Cracks were covering it and threatening to make it crumble on it's own weight. Vines littered every other free spot available.
* Bibi wandered up the stone and tilted her head curiously.
* Was this the source she was looking for?
* She motioned for her little guys to give her a hand, the kids happily hopped into action.
* Together, they started carefully removing vines, carefully piecing together bits of the rock that'd fallen off together.
* Like a little family doing a puzzle together, kinda.
* Piece by piece, the story became a bit clearer to Bibi, and as she was about to make her verdict on what she was looking at-
* Snatch!
* A small hand grasped her wrist from behind, stopping her.
* Bibi paused, looking up slowly to see the culprit.
* There behind the stone...
* Was a child.
* They couldn't have been any older than... let's say 6? 8?
* Their long brown hair covered most of their dirtied face, and their clothes were incredibly stained and worn down.
* When they realized what they'd done, they released their grip, stepping back fearfully.
* Bibi stood still and gave the child some space.
* Her little guys on the other hand...
* One by one, the group of kids step forward with a flurry of questions.
* "What's your name-?"
* "How old are you-?"
* "What's your favorite animal-?"
* "What about color-?"
* Ah, the excitable bunch, how adorable.
* But this was not the time to coo over them.
* The child had quickly gotten overwhelmed by it all.
* They hid away from them behind the stone.
* Trembling, crying, covering their ears.
* They were so scared.
* So, so scared...
* ...
* Suddenly, a long, gentle shush could be heard through the crowd.
* The chirpy children pipe down quickly.
* They look to their oldest, Bibi, who's taken a step back.
* She simply stood there stoically, letting the moment of silence hang in the air.
* The kids look to each other in confusion, not fully understanding what they weren't doing right.
* But their oldest knew best, they know she did.
* So one by one they stood by her in solidarity.
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* Everything... was quiet.
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* The soft wind blows through the girl's cloak, the vines, the trees...
* There was peace.
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* In the silence, time passes.
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* The sound of crying behind the stone slowly stops.
* Only then does Bibi carefully approach the stone again, carefully inspecting it not that it was clean.
* Small engravings were etched delicately into the rock, prayers for a peaceful rest.
* This, was a tombstone.
* Completely uncared for the longest time, as very few people could make it out this far.
* Sadly, the name had long eroded away, so this child had no name. Nowhere to go.
* A lost soul, so young?
* No wonder they were so scared.
* Bibi slowly walks around the tomb to see the child behind it, who's now curled up into a ball on themself.
* She kneels down to their level and pats their back gently, trying to quietly soothe the kid.
* Shhh...
* There, there...
* It's going to be okay...
* Bibi is here to help...
* She feels a sudden weight hold onto her.
* The child had leaned on her for more comfort, clinging to her cloak.
* She simply rolled with the motions, sitting down, letting them be cradled in her lap.
* They stay like that for a long, long time.
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* One by one, Bibi's little friends peek around to see the two as well, this time keeping the peace.
* Finally, the child has started to calm down.
* With this in mind, Bibi eventually motioned to one of the children, who was now carrying a blank mask.
* There was an offer on the table now, an invitation.
* To not have to wander the world, searching for your story in order to find your peace, alone.
* The child looks up at all of them.
* A sense of curiosity and hesitance laced their innocent eyes as they reach out.
* ...
* The little one eventually takes it.
* ...
* It turns out, their favorite animal was a cat.