Aalia walked through the forest, looking around in confusion. I knew I should have stayed with the group! She thought to herself. She continued to walk in the almost fully dark forest. Then she saw some smoke coming from a campfire. Maybe I found my group! I'm brilliant. She smiled to herself, as her brain did a little happy dance.

Aalia walked closer to the campfire and saw a nicely made wood cabin. Wait! We were camping in tents, not a cabin. She realized as she stopped herself from getting any closer. Aalia then saw a figure. It seemed like a strong boy who was holding an axe and wearing a jacket. Next to the boy was a little girl with two pigtails who was also wearing a jacket. The girl with two pigtails ran up to the fire and warmed herself up. Nobody saw Aalia, since she was hiding behind a tree. "It was so cold outside! I wish I had stayed home instead of coming with you." The little girl said. The boy smiled, hugged the little girl and said, "But you wanted to come with me....so....." "So nothing!" The little girl answered. The boy smiled. Aalia slowly backed up from this family, terrified of the boy's axe. Then, she cracked a branch. The boy heard this branch crack, and let go of his sister. He took out his axe and approached the place Aalia was, in caution. Aalia saw this and began to run away, cracking more and more branches. The boy picked up his speed and began to run after her.

Aalia kept running, not looking where she was going. She smashed into a tree and fainted.

The next thing Aalia knew was she was inside of a warm cabin. She opened her eyes and looked around. It was the wood cabin and she was laying down on a sofa-like thing. She popped up. Once she saw the boy's axe, she screamed. All of a sudden the same boy came out of a room and picked up the axe. He lowered it to her neck and asked, "Who are you?" Terrified, Aalia said nothing. "I said: Who are you?!" The boy repeated, louder. "My-My-My name is Aalia. I-I-I came here with my family to camp and hike.... I lost the group... and found my way here... Please don't kill me." Aalia said, stuttering. The boy sighed and tossed his axe aside. "I won't kill you. You can stay here for the night and tomorrow I'll help you find your family." The boy said, sitting down on the opposite side of the couch. "Th-Thank you, sir." "My name is Aziel by the way. The little girl you saw is Hannah. " The boy said. Aalia nodded, patiently. "Well, you should get some rest, Aalia. You can sleep on this couch and if you need anything from me just call me. I'll be in the room. There are blankets on the couch beside you. That's about it, good night. " Aziel got up and went into the room he came out of. Aalia grabbed the blankets from the couch beside her and went to sleep.

The next morning Aalia woke to the smell of eggs frying. She popped up like she did the day before, and looked to the kitchen, where Aziel was frying eggs on a small stove. Hannah was sitting on a comfortable chair in front of a large table. Aalia stared at the two of them until Aziel realized she's awake. "Get up and sit next to Hannah. I'm almost done frying the eggs." Aziel ordered as he pointed to the chair next to Hannah. Aalia did as she was told.

Once Aziel was done he had three plates full of fried eggs. He placed a plate(and a fork) in front of Hannah, then Aalia and finally in front of a chair which was beside Aalia. He sat on that chair and began to eat with that fork. Hannah did the same. Aalia didn't touch the fork, the plate or the table. When Aziel noticed this, he asked, "Why aren't you eating?" Aalia didn't respond. "God. Is this girl deaf?" He muttered and continued. "I said: Why aren't you eating?"

Aalia quickly said, "I can't eat eggs." "Don't veggie-friendly people not eat eggs?" Hannah asked in a cheerful voice, as she looked at Aziel. "Vegetarians don't eat eggs. Are you vegetarian Aalia?" Aziel asked, looking at Aalia. Aalia nodded. Aziel sighed and moved the plate away from her. "I'll try to get you some nuts and vegetables when I go hunting." "You don't need to. I can get them myself." Aalia responded. "It'll be easier if I get them. I know this place better than anyone else. Anyways I need someone to take care of Hannah while I'm out." Aalia turned her head to Hannah who was stuffing her face with eggs. She then nodded, and Aziel finished off his eggs.

Once Aziel and Hannah were done, Aziel got up and grabbed his axe and a bow and arrow. Hannah hugged him bye, and he was off.

Aalia was still sitting on the chair, so she turned to Hannah, who was looking out the window. "What do you like to do, Hannah?" Aalia asked. Hannah turned around and happily answered, "I usually play with the bow and arrow Aziel made for me or read a book." Hannah said. "Bow and arrow? Can I see it?" "Yeah! Of course! I'm super skilled with it." Hannah answered, smiling widely. The little girl went into her room and came out with a nicely carved wooden bow and arrow. She also brought out a target and hung it on the door. Hannah pulled the arrow back as Aalia watched. She let go and it hit on the lines beside the bullseye. "Wow! That's amazing, Hannah!" Aalia said, impressed by the little girl's skill. "Thanks!" Hannah smiled and took her bow off of the target.

Hannah continued to play with her bow and arrow until she got bored.

"I'm bored!" Aalia was checking the kitchen out while Hannah was playing. "What?" Aalia asked. "I said: I'm bored!" Hannah repeated. "Oh...um....should I read you a book?" Aalia asked, looking at Hannah. "Yeah! I'll get one from my room." Hannah responded, dropping her bow and running to her room.

After a few minutes, she came out with a pile of books, stacked up on top of each other, which was blocking her view. Hannah slowly walked out. When Aalia saw the little girl with that many books, she took a few out of her hand and placed them on the table in front of the couch. Hannah did the same with her leftover books and then sat on the couch. "Can you pick one of those books?" She asked, pointing at the pile of books. Aalia nodded and looked through them.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Warriors: Into the Wild, Midnight on the Moon; Magic Tree House, and James and the Giant Peach.

Then there were books for older kids.

The Hunger Games, Fahrenheit 451, and Little Women.

And finally, there was one more book. A handwritten one.

Its title was: My Story

Curious about this My Story book, Aalia picked it and sat next to Hannah.

Aalia opened the book and began to read.

"March 19th, 2016

I have so much homework from school! They are preparing us for final exams 3 months ahead of time! It's absolutely bizarre. What's worse is that I've got detention for the whole week! The whole week! It's super annoying.

I can't wait until summer starts! I can go back home and relax on the beach. But I've still got 3 and a half months of suffering to deal with.

But I mean me getting detention wasn't the worst thing that happened today. Our rude and unfair writing teacher tried to -"

"-What are you doing?!" Aziel yelled, interrupting Aalia's reading. He came inside of the cabin, grabbed the book from Aalia and read inside of it. His face looked as if it were to explode. He yelled again. "Go to your room, Hannah!" Hannah looked at Aziel, her puppy eyes on, which almost always convinced him. But not this time."Go!" Hannah grumpily stomped off to her room.

Then Aziel turned to Aalia and yelled again. "WHO GAVE YOU THIS?!" "Hannah....she wanted me to read her a book and brought that book and a bunch others. I chose that book." Aalia responded, looking down at the ground. "Hannah! Ugh, that stupid girl. I'll have a talk with her." Aziel said, stomping off into the room.

Aalia could hear lots of yelling, but couldn't tell what was being said. Then she heard someone stomping and Aziel came out of the room, his face red. "Get up, we're leaving." He ordered Aalia. "To where?" "To find your family," Aziel answered. "My family? You know where they are?" Aalia asked, getting up from the couch she was sitting on. "No. But I'll find them. So let's go." Aalia followed Aziel out of the cabin but immediately went back inside. "Brr. It's freezing outside." She said. Aziel went to a cabinet and took out a leather jacket. "Wear this. " He ordered, giving Aalia the jacket. She took it and wore it over her t-shirt. Aziel walked out again, this time Aalia following him.

They walked down from the little hill the cabin was on and past lots of trees. Aziel was a fast-walker, so Aalia had to jog through the forest. But soon she got tired.

Aalia started panting like crazy and bent down. Aziel looked around and saw Aalia way behind him. He jogged back to her, and asked, "You're tired already?" "Yeah! You go way too fast, Aziel." Aalia answered, panting harder and harder as her heart beat faster. "Fine. I'll go slower, so you can keep up with me, sloth. But we're not taking breaks." He said, looking down at Aalia. "Don't call me sloth!" Aalia argued. "I'll call you whatever I want. Now move it." Aalia got up and stomped alongside Aziel.

They continuously walked in the forest until it started raining.

Aalia stopped when she felt a single raindrop on her head. Aziel stopped as well and looked at her. "It's drizzling. It could start raining any moment." Aalia said, looking at Aziel. "And?" "And.... I don't want my hair to get wet." She answered, looking down at the ground. "Aww... the little princess doesn't want her hair to get wet. What: Did you just straighten it?" Aziel said, mockingly. "Shut up!" Aziel snorted. Aalia started yelling right at Aziel. "You don't understand! You're a guy. Guys don't have to deal with their hair getting all soggy and sticky." "OK. OK. Relax." He said, covering his ears. "I'll try to find a cave or someplace we can stay. Just wait there. I'll be back."

Aziel walked away and left Aalia alone. She stood there for what seemed like a century until it started raining.

"God! We don't even need shelter anymore. I'm already wet!" Aalia said, loudly, which seemingly caught something's attention.

A big snake slithered closer to Aalia, terrifying her. She felt like running but didn't move at all. Is it poisonous? Aalia asked herself. It slithered closer and closer, which terrified Aalia even more. She slowly pulled her arms up, when she felt the weight of something in the jacket she was wearing. Aalia went to that pocket and pulled out a dagger. The snake continued to slither closer. Aalia thought for a moment and then waited. Once it was close enough, she stabbed it in the middle of its body and then moved backwards. The snake continued to move, but the dagger was holding it down.

Out of nowhere, Aziel appeared. Aalia screamed in terror when she felt Aziel touch her shoulder. She turned around and said, "Oh! It's you...." in relief. "Yeah..... what did you do to that snake?" He asked, looking at the stabbed snake, who had stopped moving. "Oh! That thing. Yeah...I killed it. No biggy." Aalia said, calmly. Aziel rolled his eyes and smiled. "Anyways. I found a shelter, so follow me. Oh yeah, also your hair looks disgusting." He said. "Yeah! I know."

The two went off(after Aziel took the dagger out of the snake). A little walking later, they reached a small little cave.

"Seriously? This? It's so tiny." Aalia complained. "Well, at least I worked to find it," Aziel responded, going inside of the cave. "Yeah. Whatever." Aalia rolled her eyes and went inside as well.

They both sat on either side of the cave, Aziel sharpening his axe as Aalia squeezed the water out of her hair. "You done, yet?" Aziel asked Aalia, once he felt bored of sharpening his axe. "Dude this takes longer than you think. Try having this long of hair."She answered, angrily. "Then why don't you just cut it?" Aziel argued. "Because my mum says I look pretty with long hair." "Your mom says you look pretty with long hair? You look disgusting and ugly as hell." Aziel said, rudely. "How does Hannah even live with a guy like you?! You're so horrible and mean." "She's a nice, pretty girl. It's easy to take care of girls like her. Not ugly girls like you." He answered, looking at Aalia. Aalia looked away and continued to soak the water out of her hair. "What the heck are you doing now?!" Aziel asked. Ignoring him, Aalia continued to soak her hair, as a single tear ran down her cheek. Aziel crawled closer to Aalia and saw her tears. "You're crying?" He asked, in a slightly worried voice. "Yeah! I'm weak and delicate! I'm an ugly, disgusting, filthy weakling. That's what you wanna say, right? Well, say it! Say it!" Aalia looked right at Aziel, her eyes gleaming with tears. Aziel bit his lip, as he looked down at the ground. "Say it, Aziel! Say it!" Aalia yelled again right into Aziel's ear. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry.... I shouldn't have said that. I didn't mean it." Aziel said, a painful look on his face. "Don't lie. I know you meant it. I deserved being called ugly. 'Cause I am ugly." Aziel sighed and said, "You're right. You are ugly to me. But that doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what someone else thinks of you. It matters what you think of yourself. Love yourself. That's true beauty." They went silent for a moment, Aziel looking at Aalia as Aalia looked back at him. "That was... actually.... surprisingly sweet. I didn't expect a person like you to say something like that." Aalia finally said, smiling.

"A person like me? What does that mean, sloth?" "That's what it means. A person like you means a mean person who calls other people sloth and tells them they are ugly." Aalia answered, angrily. "Oh, so now I'm a mean person?" "Absolutely!" Aalia said, her hands in fists. "I said that whole poem for you! And you call me mean! How dare you?!" Aziel yelled when Aalia's stomach grumbled.

"Well look who's hungry! Little Miss Aalia's gonna crawl back to Aziel! Isn't that right, Aalia?" Aalia looked around on the ground and finally muttered, "Yeah... could you... find some food?" "I won't give or find anything for you until you say the magic word," Aziel answered, crossing his hands over his chest. "The magic word? What's the magic word?" Aalia asked. "You know the magic word, Aalia. P... L... E... A... S... E" "Oh."Aalia said, closing her eyes. She opened them and continued, "Aziel, can you please find some food for you and me to share." "No," Aziel answered, plainly. "What?! I said the magic word! I said please!" "I know you said please... I said "no" because I see no reason to find food when we already have it." He answered, patiently. "What?!" "I still have the food I got for you from the morning."

Aziel took a little bag out of his pocket and showed Aalia the dark purple berries inside. "Are you sure we can eat these? They might be poisonous," Aalia asked, worriedly. "They're elderberries. I've eaten them before. They're perfectly safe." Aziel answered, reassuring her. "Oh! Good." Aalia took one berry out of the bag and eat it. "Mm! That's delicious." "Yeah. I know." Aziel took a berry and eat it. He then put the bag on Aalia's lap and leaned against her shoulder.

"What are you doing, you hypocrite?! I never allowed you to do that!" Aalia said, shoving Aziel away from her. "Chill! I'm not gonna kill you.... I just wanted to rest. I'm tired. I've been doing everything for you, can't you do that for me?" Aalia looked down and bit her lip. She then said, "OK. You can rest on my shoulder." "I was gonna do it even if you said no," Aziel answered, leaning against her shoulder again. Aalia gave him a harmless punch and smiled. He smiled back and eat another berry.

They continued to eat the berries until the bag was empty.

"Wow! That was amazing." Aalia said, smiling as Aziel's head was resting on her shoulder. "Yeah."

They sat in the same posture for quite a while, until Aalia's stomach started hurting. She got up and tossed Aziel on the cave floor. Aziel seemed like he was asleep until Aalia started vomiting.

"What the heck?!" Aziel yelled as he watched Aalia vomit. Once she finished barfing, Aalia wiped her mouth with the jacket and said, "They are poisonous! You lied to me." "No, I didn't! You're just weak. Also, take off my jacket, I don't want your barf ruining it anymore." Aalia looked at the jacket and then ripped it off. She used the jacket to wipe her mouth again and then tossed it to Aziel. "Ew! Just keep it now." Aziel pushed the vomit-covered jacket back to Aalia. Aziel stomach groaned and he ran outside. He continuously vomited for the next five minutes and then walked back inside the cave drowsily.

Instead of acting like Aziel did when she barfed. Aalia went next to Aziel and helped back in the cave. She dropped him at the end of the small cave and started wiping his still vomit-covered face with the jacket. She sat beside him and brought his head to her lap so he could sleep. Aziel relaxed on her lap and slept like a baby until morning.

"Good morning, Aziel," Aalia said when Aziel's eyes started opening. Aziel turned his head around and saw Aalia's face smiling at him. He screamed and popped up from her lap. "What the hell were you doing to me?!" He yelled at Aalia, as she continued to smile. "I wasn't doing anything to you. You were just sleeping in my lap like a baby all through last night and for a few hours in the morning." Aalia said, getting up. "No, I wasn't." "Yes, you were." "No. I wasn't. Your lying. I bet you tried to do some weird thing to me. Or something. " He responded, disgusted as Aziel turned away from me. "Some weird thing? What the hell does that mean?" "Aalia asked. "I don't know! I don't care. Whatever. Just move your useless butt over here. It's time to leave." Aziel walked to the opening of the cave and looked outside. Aalia growled like a dog and walked to him angrily. I help and take care of this nincompoop and he repays me like this! Great! She thought to herself. "Grab my axe and knife," Aziel ordered, not looking at Aalia. "No! I'm not your servant," Aalia responded immediately. Smiling, Aziel turned his head to Aalia and creepily said, "Ok. I'll just leave you here and let you get eaten by the wolves. Not my problem." "There aren't any wolves here." "You sure?" Aalia thought for a moment, and finally grabbed the annoying boy's weapons. She handed them to him and smiled in frustration. "I thought so." Aziel grabbed the weapons from Aalia's hand and turned around again. He walked off as Aalia followed him.

They walked and walked for hours and hours when Aalia's feet started to hurt. "Wait!" She said to Aziel, as she kneeled down against a tree. "What?" Aziel asked, rudely. "I-I'm tired right now." "You have got to be kidding me! I was thinking of being a bit kinder to you, but I guess an ugly sloth-like you doesn't deserve that." Aziel responded angrily. "Ugh! Why am I even with you?!" Aalia got up and looked at Aziel with disgust. "You're with me because you're family is gone. And little Aalia is so scared to be alone. Aren't you little Aalia?" Aziel answered mockingly. Aalia rolled her hands into fists and right when she was going to say something, Aziel interrupted her.

"I think I found your family." Aalia quickly responded, "Shut u-wait...what?" "I think I found your family," Aziel repeated, smiling widely. "How? Where?" Aalia looked at Aziel bewildered when finally the boy grabbed her by her shoulders and turned her around. Aalia saw smoke coming out of someplace, just like when she met Aziel and Hannah. She raised her eyebrow and turned around to Aziel. "How do you know that's my family?" She asked. "Because... I know... Let's go a bit closer and we'll see if they are or not." "Sure." Aalia rolled her eyes and moved closer to the smoke as Aziel followed. Finally, they could hear voices. A group of men were singing a song.

Aalia's eyes widened and then they filled with tears. "That's your family right?" Aziel asked, smiling. Aalia nodded slowly and said, "They're my brothers and my dad." Aziel continued to smile and then he said, "Well then go. Move your useless butt over there." Aalia laughed sadly and said, "I'm going." She turned away from Aziel and walked to the smoke. Aalia continued to walk slowly away from the annoying boy when he grabbed her wrist. Aalia triwled around gracefully, put her hand on Aziel's chest and moved Aziel's hand on her waist. Aziel pushed her off immediately and asked, "What were you trying to do?" "I-I thought you were gonna do something romantic." Aziel's eyes widened and he quickly looked down. "I'm not much of a romantic guy. Sorry." He said to Aalia, which got no response. Aalia looked down as well, saying absolutely nothing. Aziel took a few glances at her, which the girl noticed. Finally, he took out the knife and said, "Take this... To remember me and Hannah." Aziel pushed it forward to Aalia, and she took it. She pushed the sharp half down and held it with her left hand. "Thanks." Aziel nodded kindly and finally gave her a small nudge to the smoke. Aalia nodded as well and walked to her family.

Aalia finally came into sight of her dad and brothers. She walked closer and closer to them when finally her dad saw her. "Aalia!" He yelled, scaring his sons. "Hey, dad." "Aalia." All of her brothers said, getting up to hug their little sis. But their dad was first. He rushed to his daughter and hugged her tight. "Where have you been? Ever since you stomped off we couldn't find you. It's been 2 days. We were worried. " He said, quickly. Aalia smiled and said, "I'm fine now. I just wandered off and got a bit lost." "Then how'd you find your way back?" One of her brothers asked. Aalia stayed silent for a moment and finally smiled as she said, "A mysterious, rude, but funny flame saved me. Oh yeah! The fire was also handsome. " Aalia eyed the forest, knowing the fire was listening. "Ok weirdo." Her brother said. Aalia's smile widened, as she asked. "Also, dad can I cut my hair?'