Chapter 35 Section thirty-fifth

There was a piercing howl of a wolf in the distance, and I sat up suddenly, my body tensed up, but I was not sure if I fell asleep, dreaming of that sound. At this time, there was a second long wolf howl, and I knew it was not a dream. I looked around timidly, trying to see through the night, but the only thing I was looking at was the dark and deep forest.Only a small patch of the night sky could be seen above, with bright stars twinkling in the dark sky. There is no moon tonight, or, if there is, its light does not penetrate the dark forest. Another wolf howled, this time closer to us.

Much closer. A shiver of fear ran down my spine, and I felt the creeps, and I instinctively reached out to comfort the two children.A small hand grabbed mine, and Yiluo said softly, "Anka, I'm afraid." I took her into my arms and tried to comfort her, but my words were not confident. "It's nothing to be afraid of, Ilo. It's just the animals in the forest, they're doing their own thing and won't bother us." Yiluo grabbed my finger tightly: "Can you guarantee it, Anka?" "I promise, Ilo." At this moment, I am so envious of the young child in front of me. My assurance seems to be enough to reassure her. In my arms, she has fallen asleep again.

But for me, I couldn't fall asleep anymore, and my heart was full of fear. For a while, every movement in the forest made my heart jump. Of course, those noises have always been around me, but until this moment, I hadn't heard them.And now, every sound echoed and repeated, leaping out of the blackness to announce their presence, and my whole body trembled with fear. I reached out and touched Ilo and Nicholas to make sure they hadn't been taken away by some nocturnal beast.Of course, they were still sleeping there, unaware of my ordeal.But the peace of the children did not bring me comfort, because at this moment fear had already occupied my consciousness, and my imagination gradually lost control.

Sounds surround me, and I know, I know, that these are not the product of my overactive imagination, they are a signal that some real, tangible evil is soon to follow. It's time to show up. The darkness surrounded us uncompromisingly, and I couldn't see anything, but now I could hear the movement, the jungle predator coming towards us, prowling around us.I'm sure it's getting closer.I could hear the heavy, heavy breathing, and I held my breath, hoping to fool it and not be seen. Is that a wolf?Or a bear?Or some other hungry predator, eager to satisfy its appetite with human flesh?I resisted the urge to get up and run because I knew it was impossible, even without my two young children.Miraculously, they are still sleeping, completely unaware that this may be their last time on earth.

Suddenly, something touched my feet, and my whole body froze for an instant. Fear gripped me completely, and I couldn't even utter an exclamation. However, in the midst of extreme terror, somehow my eyesight seemed to sharpen, and I suddenly made out the outline of the beast that was just about to nibble at my leg.For a second, I could only stare at it dumbfounded. Then, I finally came to my senses, and my body began to tremble, but this time I was not scared, but happy.The beast which had given me a night of extreme horror and torment turned out to be nothing but a harmless porcupine, on its way to quench its thirst by the stream, and had no intention of bumping into us.

The poor fellow was so frightened by my laughter that he disappeared into the night and never reappeared, and I continued to laugh until my ribs ached from laughing and tears came out of my eyes.That smile dispelled the fear that had gripped me, and when I finally stopped, I knew I could sleep well tonight.Even the intermittent howling of wolves in the distance could no longer scare me, and I decided to get a good night's sleep and not open my eyes until dawn.