Episode 2

The helicopter pilot rubbed his eyes as he saw the young woman at the top of the tree waving her hands.

"I MUST BE HALLUCINATING," he wondered confused.

"SIR... I SEE SOMEONE IN THAT DIRECTION." He notified the officer accompanying him.

"HOW IS IT POSSIBLE?... WHO IS IT?" He asked, astonished to see how the young woman balanced herself on the top of the tree, moving her arms. ""LET'S GO."He ordered him to head towards her."

"WHAT JOY... HELP ME... MY GRANDMOTHER IS IN BED." Artica told them as soon as they landed. Just as she had climbed quickly, she descended from the enormous tree in the same way without problems.

The man who descended from the helicopter was wearing a light brown suit consisting of pants and a warm jacket. He looked at the young woman in a surprising way, he never imagined finding anyone there. He nodded to what she said, accompanying her inside the small house. He saw the old woman lying in her bed and asked his partner to bring him his briefcase.

"I'M GOING TO CHECK HER." He warned Artica, who was watching every movement expectantly.""WE MUST TRANSFER HER... SHE IS VERY WEAK."He affirmed, so he went to the helicopter and brought a stretcher and between the two men they carried the old woman, Artica grabbed her old backpack, saving some things in it, followed them and settled in the seat where the officer fastened her seatbelt and sat holding the stretcher when closing the door."

ARTICA felt unwell due to the trip, it was her first time in a helicopter, they arrived at a runway where the helicopter descended and an ambulance was waiting for them.

"I WILL ACCOMPANY YOU... AND YOU WILL TELL ME HOW YOU LIVED IN THAT INHOSPITABLE PLACE." The uniformed man told her.

They arrived at the high-complexity Hospital to urgently admit the old woman whose state of health was not favorable. The young woman had routine check-ups that came out all right. ARTICA did not want to be separated from the old woman who had cared for her all those years, she was her only family after so long.

"LOOK AT ME... I KNOW YOU ARE DISTRESSED... BUT YOU MUST COME WITH ME... THEY WILL GIVE HER THE NECESSARY ATTENTION." The officer told her, calling her attention when he saw how tears welled up in the young woman.

"I don't want to leave her... I want to be with her." She said between sobs.

"I INVITE YOU TO EAT... MY WIFE MAKES A DELICIOUS PIZZA." He said trying to cheer her up, he felt sorry for having to take her to the station and especially because she wore an outfit that highlighted her feminine attributes, he had given her his coat to cover herself and be in the sanatorium. ARTICA wiped her tears and nodded, not very sure to go with the officer.

Upon arriving at his home, his wife was already informed that he would bring the young woman who rescued with her grandmother from the area surrounding the water.

"LETICIA... WE ARRIVED." Officer Gutierrez announced upon entering his home.

"DARLING... YOU... ARRIVED..." She stopped in the air when she saw ARTICA, a tall albino young woman with an exquisite figure whose parts were covered by knitted garments and her long white hair that was like a coat on her back.

"HELLO... I'M ARTICA." She introduced herself courteously with some timidity.

"Welcome... Before dinner... You can take a hot bath." She told her kindly without being able to stop looking at ARTICA's bright eye color.

"THANK YOU." She responded, observing everything around her.

"EXCUSE ME... I'LL GO CHANGE." Her husband warned Leticia.

"YES... Artica, come with me." The lady asked, feeling astonished by the beauty of the young woman.

"GOOD THING LUCIANO IS NOT HERE," she thought, remembering her eldest son who was studying at the university.

"THIS IS THE BATHROOM... THERE YOU HAVE WHAT YOU NEED... I WILL LOOK FOR SOME CLOTHES FOR YOU TO WEAR." She warned her and Artica, with some timidity without knowing how to tell her, was encouraged and confessed.

"I DON'T KNOW HOW TO USE THAT... WOULD YOU MIND TEACHING ME." She asked, embarrassed, pointing to the bathtub.

"OF COURSE NOT... IT'S NO TROUBLE... TELL ME... HOW DID YOU BATHE?" Mrs."Leticia asked."

"IN THE WATER MIRROR." She replied, looking at the buttons that the lady pressed to load the water into the tub.

"AND TELL ME... IS YOUR GRANDMOTHER YOUR ONLY RELATIVE?" Leticia asked curiously.

"ACTUALLY... I HAVE LIVED WITH HER FOR FIVE YEARS... BECAUSE I GOT LOST FROM AN EXCURSION OF MY COURSE... AND I WOULD LIKE TO FIND MY PARENTS." Artica told her and Leticia turned around, looking at her surprised.

"HOW DID IT HAPPEN?" She asked her to tell her, feeling that she had gained confidence. While helping her take off her clothes and enter the tub and offered to wash her hair. ""LET ME, I'll wash it for you."She clarified when taking the shampoo."

"WELL... IT WAS THE LAST DAYS OF CLASSES... WE WERE GOING ON AN EXCURSION THROUGH THE NATURE RESERVE... THAT DAY A STRONG STORM STARTED... IN THE MIDDLE OF THE EXCURSION... WHEN WE HAD TO RETURN WITH THE GUIDE... I COULDN'T SEE THE WAY BECAUSE OF THE DIRT THAT THE WIND LIFTED... AND I LOST SIGHT OF THEM... I TOOK REFUGE IN A WOLF'S BURROW." Artica told her.

"OH MY GOD!... WEREN'T YOU SCARED?... DIDN'T THE ANIMAL ATTACK YOU?" Mrs."Leticia asked worried while washing her long hair."

"NO... IT SEEMED TO PROTECT ME... AND THEN IT GUIDED ME TO GRANDMOTHER CIELO'S HOUSE." Artica tells her.

"AND AFTER THAT DIDN'T YOU TRY TO CONTACT SOMEONE?" Leticia asked, rinsing her hair with a hand shower.

"THE STORM CONTINUED... IT RAINED FOR A WEEK NON-STOP... IT FLOODED AROUND THE LITTLE HOUSE... IF I WASN'T THERE... THE GRANDMOTHER MIGHT DIE... I HELPED HER IN EVERYTHING... WE ALWAYS TRIED TO SEE IF ANY HELP APPEARED... AND ALMOST EVERY NIGHT IT RAINED... IT DAWNED SUNNY... BUT IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO GO TOWARDS THE ROAD... WHICH AT THE SAME TIME... I HAD NO IDEA WHERE IT WAS." She tells her, shrugging her shoulders.

"AND WHAT DID YOU EAT?... WHAT DID YOU DRINK?" She asked, helping her out of the tub and put on a bathrobe.

"I LEARNED TO HUNT... WHAT CROSSED... AND GRANDMOTHER HAD HER LITTLE GARDEN... WHICH SHE TAUGHT ME HOW TO MAINTAIN... THERE WERE FRUIT TREES... I TOOK CARE OF CLIMBING THEM AND GRABBING THE FRUITS... AS IT RAINED OFTEN... WE COLLECTED THAT WATER... WE BOILED IT... GRANDMOTHER TAUGHT ME HOW TO MAKE FIRE... SHE HAD SOME STONES THAT SHE SCRAPED TOGETHER AND THAT'S HOW... SHE MADE FIRE." Artica tells her.

"AND DIDN'T YOU HAVE A CELL PHONE?" She asked.

"MY PARENTS DIDN'T WANT ME TO HAVE ONE... THEY SAID I WAS STILL A CHILD... THEY GAVE ME A CAMERA... I HAVE IT IN MY BACKPACK." Artica tells her.

"FROM WHAT I SEE ONLY MY ELDEST SON'S CLOTHES WILL FIT YOU... PUT ON THIS SHIRT AND THIS SWEATSHIRT... TOMORROW WE WILL GET CLOTHES LIKE FOR YOU... AND UNDERWEAR." Mrs. Leticia tells her.

"I'M NOT USED TO WEARING UNDERWEAR." Artica confesses.

"AND HOW DID YOU DO WHEN YOU GOT YOUR PERIOD?" She asked.

"THE WHAT?" Artica asked, puzzled.

"THE PERIOD... THE VISIT... THAT COMES TO ALL WOMEN AT YOUR AGE." She says and sees that Artica looks at her in a way without understanding.

"DON'T TELL ME THAT YOU HAVEN'T COME YET... THAT THAT YOU (Tries to explain nervously and the words didn't come out)... DO YOU GET RED STAINS SOMETIMES?" She asked.

"AH... YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT WHEN I'M UNWELL... YES... I USE PADS THAT GRANDMOTHER MADE FOR ME... AND I WASHED THEM TO USE THEM LATER." Artica replied.

"AH... AND WHAT ARE THEY LIKE?" She asked curiously. Artica checked her backpack and took out some knitted pads that had a filling in the center. ""THEY ARE SIMILAR TO THE TOWELS THAT ARE BOUGHT IN THE SUPERMARKET... HOW DID SHE MAKE THEM."She asked."

"SHE USED AN OLD SHEET... THAT'S WHY I TAKE CARE OF THEM... IT COST HER A LOT." She tells her.

"WELL... DON'T WORRY... THEY ARE AVAILABLE IN THE SUPERMARKET... YOU DON'T NEED TO WASH THEM... JUST CHANGE." She informs her.

"ANYWAY... IT ONLY LASTS THREE DAYS... FOR ME." She comments.

"SO WHEN IT APPEARED... YOU USED THAT... THAT YOU COULD HOLD WITH THESE STRIPS." Leticia comments, looking at the interesting design it had.

"THIS IS THE CAMERA, THAT MY PARENTS HAD GIVEN ME... ONLY THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE ELECTRICITY... SO I COULD NEVER CHARGE IT." Artica tells her.

"AHA... GET DRESSED... I'M GOING TO PUT IT TO CHARGE... SO WE CAN SEE THE PHOTOS... THEN I'LL TELL MY HUSBAND... TO FIND OUT ABOUT YOUR PARENTS... BUT THAT'S TOMORROW... IT'S ALREADY VERY LATE." Mrs. Leticia comments, so Artica nods and puts on the clothes that her eldest son had provided.

While she was changing, she heard the screams of a child who ran into where they were.

"MOM... MOM... THERE'S A BOOGEYMAN IN MY ROOM." Shouted a child of about eight years old, scared.

"JOSE... I ALREADY TOLD YOU THAT YOU MUST KNOCK BEFORE ENTERING A ROOM." The mother reproached him, placing herself in front of him, blocking his vision towards Artica.

"IT'S TRUE... I HEARD IT UNDER THE BED... COME ON." He insisted, grabbing her hand to take her.

"JOSE... YOU ARE BIG... YOU MUST STAY IN YOUR ROOM... BOOGEYMEN DON'T EXIST." The mother scolded him because her son always said that to go to sleep with them at night.

"IS THERE REALLY A BOOGEYMAN?... I'LL GO KILL IT." Said Artica, appearing in front of him, who, seeing her, fell silent.

"He only says that to sleep with us." Leticia whispered to Artica.

"LET'S GO SHOW ME... YOU'LL SEE THAT I ELIMINATE HIM... I'M A HUNTER." She affirms, looking at him directly and crouching down to see him face to face.

"COME ON." He said, grabbing her hand and running to his room.

Leticia snorted, following them, maybe if the game was followed, he would lose his fear, she thought.

"THERE... UNDER MY BED." He pointed with his little finger. Artica took a bat stick, entered the room, closing the door "So that it doesn't escape," she told them and walked slowly to where she listened attentively. Outside Leticia and Jose waited impatiently and heard some growls and a dry blow as if Artica hit something, after a while she came out with the sweatshirt in her arms as if she was carrying something.

"I ALREADY CAUGHT HIM... I'LL TAKE HIM OUT SO HE DOESN'T BOTHER YOU ANYMORE." She said and when Jose wanted to snoop, he heard a squeal and the sweatshirt moved, so he ran away so that she could throw it out. Artica came out and made it look like she dumped something in the outside trash can, giving it another blow and returned before Jose's attentive gaze.

"YOU ELIMINATED HIM." He said happily.

"HE WON'T BOTHER YOU ANYMORE... HE KNOWS WHAT AWAITS HIM." Artica tells him. ""I'M SORRY TO DIRTY THE SWEATSHIRT... IT WILL HAVE TO BE WASHED."She tells Leticia, handing it to her, winking her eye."

"YES... I'M GOING TO WASH IT... IT'S DIRTY." She expressed, complicit in the armed treachery.

They entered the house and Jose asked Artica:

"HOW DID YOU HIT HIM?"

"JUST ONE BLOW TO THE HEAD... THAT DAZES HIM... SO HE DOESN'T ATTACK YOU." She comments, making the gesture of the blow.

"ARE YOU REALLY A HUNTER?"

"OF COURSE... WHERE I LIVED THERE WERE NO SUPERMARKETS WHERE TO BUY... AND IF I WANTED TO EAT MEAT... I HAD TO HUNT." Artica comments.

Mrs. Leticia smiled as she listened to them talk, she could notice the way Artica expressed herself, she was innocent, kind, she was quick to create that scene to convince Jose, she was sure she was the one who made those animal sounds, she thought.

"WELL... HELP SET THE TABLE." She said, seeing them so comfortable sitting and talking. Artica stood up willing to help, Jose made a face of annoyance but seeing Artica excited to help, he wanted to follow her.

"THAT SMELLS VERY GOOD." Said Mr. Gutierrez, making himself present.

"DAD... ARTICA DEFEATED THE BOOGEYMAN... SHE HIT HIM IN THE HEAD AND THREW HIM IN THE TRASH CAN." Jose tells him excitedly.

"THAT'S GOOD... THAT MEANS YOU'RE GOING TO SLEEP IN YOUR ROOM." His father tells him.

"I'M STILL SCARED IF HE RETURNS." He comments huddled.

"IF YOU WANT I CAN STAY TO MAKE SURE HE DOESN'T APPEAR." Artica tells him.

"SLEEP IN LUCIANO'S BED... HE'S NOT HERE." Jose comments.

"IF YOUR PARENTS DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM." Artica says, looking at them.

"YOU CAN STAY ARTICA... WHILE YOUR GRANDMOTHER RECOVERS." Mr. Gutierrez assures, looking at his wife who nods at what he says.

"YOU HELPED US WITH JOSE... AND THERE'S ENOUGH SPACE... AND TOMORROW WE'LL FIND OUT ABOUT YOUR PARENTS." Mrs. Leticia tells her.

"YOUR PARENTS?" Her husband, Officer Gutierrez, asked.

"I'LL TELL YOU LATER." His wife tells him.

They ate the pizza happily, Artica after a long time tasted one again, with the old woman they only ate vegetables, fruits and meat. They watched her eat without a problem and she finished a whole pizza by herself.

"YOU ARE A GOOD EATER." Mr. Gutierrez observed her.

"IT'S DELICIOUS." She comments.

"GOOD THING I ALWAYS MAKE TWO." Said the lady.

Artica yawned, she was already sleepy and Jose imitated her.

"VERY WELL... YOU MUST SLEEP... IT'S NINE O'CLOCK." Mrs. Leticia commented, so Artica stood up, took a glass of water, before going to sleep.

"GOOD NIGHT." She said goodbye and Jose took her hand, guiding her to the room.

"YOU SLEEP THERE... THAT'S LUCIANO'S BED... HE SLEEPS NEAR THE WINDOW SO NO ONE ENTERS." Jose tells her.

"WHERE IS LUCIANO?" Artica asked.

"DON'T WORRY... HE'S IN THE BOARDING SCHOOL... HE'S STUDYING TO BE A COMPUTER GENIUS... HE COMES WHEN HE DOESN'T HAVE EXAMS." Jose tells her.

"AH... I UNDERSTAND." Artica replied, settling in bed, she felt it soft and comfortable, she closed her eyes feeling an emotion that she could not explain, she was closer to being able to reunite with her parents.

"Artica... Are you sleeping?" He heard the little one's voice.

"No." She replies.

"HAVE YOU EVER FELT FEAR?" He asked, in that Jose's mother listened through the device she had in the room to hear when he called her, like a babycall.

"YES... IT'S NOT BAD TO BE AFRAID... THAT HELPS YOU KNOW HOW TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF... IT'S YOUR DANGER SENSOR... IN THE COUNTRYSIDE AT NIGHT... DIFFERENT SOUNDS ARE HEARD... AT FIRST I WAS AFRAID... THEN I LEARNED TO DIFFERENTIATE THEM... AND KNOW WHICH ONE TO TAKE CARE OF." Artica replies.

"YOU ARE BRAVE." Jose tells her.

"NOT SO MUCH... BUT AS I TOOK CARE OF MY GRANDMOTHER... THAT MADE ME HAVE COURAGE... THE DESIRE TO PROTECT WHO I LOVE." Artica replies.

Jose's mother listened attentively and her heart ached imagining what that girl went through.

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