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COVID-19 was torture for the past two years for Angelina, making her realize how precious life was. Angelina's maternal grandparents died due to the pandemic; they were the only ones who raised her since her parents abandoned her when she was born. Their deaths made Angelina heartbroken, and since she had to stay indoors due to pandemic protocols, her mental health slowly deteriorated. However, with the help of her friends, they motivated her to look into future trips once the pandemic was over.
Angelina earned good money since she worked as a history and choir teacher and decided to research trips abroad. After researching, she decided to travel to Romania since she was intrigued by the country's history.
When the pandemic ended, Angelina bought her ticket, got her luggage, and left for Romania.
It was her fifth day in the country, and she didn't regret her decision. During her travels, everything was what she had imagined. Romania felt like a fairytale if one went to the right places.
Angelina was with a small tour group of ten friendly people in a small tour van heading to the Hoia-Baciu Forest. While on the road, Angelina researched the forest, which had a lot of history. According to Google, there were legends about ghosts and disappearances, and Angelina looked forward to going to the forest.
Maybe she would see with her own eyes if the legends were true.
The tour group arrived at their destination, the Hoia-Baciu Forest. The forest had a strikingly frightening beauty. The trees were long and tall; there were a few bushes of different colors; leaves were on the ground as if welcoming outsiders to the secrecy of the forest.
While walking out of the bus, Angelina noticed the beautiful and mysterious scene. She felt a pull as if the forest wanted her to enter it. "Please gather around," said the tour guide. I will be your tour guide for this event. My name is Floran, and I am licensed to take tour groups to the forest."
"One needs a license? Why?" asked one of the group members.
"The forest is vast, and there are many pathways. There have been many missing cases and legends. This forest is referred to as 'The Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania.' Some legends say this forest is inhabited by ghosts, aliens, and even the devil itself."
Many group members mumbled to one another; Angelina was silent but felt anxious and excited. "Hm, very intriguing."
"I will lead you all to the safer path. Please walk together as a group. If one separates from the group, it can be easy to get lost in the forest." Floran led everyone to a specific path to the forest. Angelina was at the back of the group, looking around the forest. She got her camera and took pictures and videos with her phone.
"The forest gained notoriety around the 1960s when biologist Alexandru Sift photographed a flying object in the sky above the forest. Then, there was the disappearance of a shepherd and his two-hundred sheep who were never found again and a five-year-old girl who reappeared five years later wearing the same clothes and without having aged even one day." Many tour group members shivered, but Angelina didn't seem too bothered. "Another case was of a missing woman who reappeared in the forest with a 15th-century coin in her pocket."
"Woah, are you saying that many people who reappeared from this forest could have time-traveled?"
Floran nodded. "Yes, there are speculations that this forest could lead to time travel."
"Hey man, getting lost here wouldn't be bad," one of the travelers laughed.
"You don't know where you might go or if you will ever return alive. The cases of many of these people were pure luck. Many people who were able to survive were never the same. Would you still take the risk?" Everyone was silent; Floran smiled. "Anyway, let's get a move on."
Angelina slowly walked apart from the group members, wondering if what Floran said about time travel was true. She thought of an insane idea: to venture out to the forest alone. "The forest is visible; it shouldn't be too difficult." She quietly walked to the left part of the forest, away from the path Floran led the group on.
The silence and minimal visibility of the forest made her feel nervous, but she went ahead. There was nothing but many trees with similar and different shapes. The more Angelina walked, the more dizzy she felt. The feelings were ignored; Angelina kept taking pictures and videos of the forest and herself. She stopped momentarily to look at the current video she had made, but there was something off.
The path was gone.
She looked behind her, and the trail was gone. "What in the...?" Angelina walked back to where the trail was supposed to be and looked around, having enough of exploring on her own. "Hello! Floran!? Anyone!?" There was no response. She ran forward, wanting to get back with the tour group. The young woman began to feel a fever, body aches, and dizziness. She tripped on a tree trunk, making her fall to the ground and causing her to lose consciousness.
An hour later, Angelina slowly opened her eyes. It was night, and the starlight shone brightly in the skies, illuminating the dark forest. She slowly stood up, surprised that it was already dark. "Damn it! How long was I out?" Angelina put her phone on to make a call, but there was no service. She cursed while putting her phone away in her backpack. She slowly stood up and walked forward. "What was I thinking? How long was I unconscious?" The young woman regretted separating from the group but hoped all was not lost.
Then, there was a noise: horses. Angelina stilled momentarily but thought that if there were horses, there were people.
She ran where the horses' sounds were and made it to the end of the forest. There were horses tied to tree branches eating grass. "Thank goodness! If only I could find the owners." Angelina saw a light from the corner of her eye and approached it. The closer she got, there was a group of six men, but they looked different. The men had long mustaches or beards. They wore clothing from the 15th century that confused her; the men also had long, curly hair and swords.
Angelina stopped and hid behind a tree, debating whether or not to ask for help. She feared that they couldn't speak English, but any help was better than no help. Gathering her courage, Angelina walked forward and said, "H-Hello. Could you help me?" The men became silent and turned to look at her. "Sorry to bother you all, but I got lost in the forest and need help."
One of the men stood, sword at hand. "She looks like an Ottoman! She could be a spy!"
"Ottoman?" Angelina was confused but remembered reading that Romania was once at war with the Ottoman Empire, but that was long ago. "N-No, I'm from America, sir."
They looked at one another. "What are you speaking of? Where is this America?" asked another from the group
"Uh, everyone knows what America is. It's another country far from here; it's not Turkey."
This further confused the men, who glanced at one another. "What should we do with her? She is speaking nonsense," asked one of them.
"She could be a spy for the Ottomans; we cannot let her leave."
Angelina became scared. She couldn't understand why the men were suspicious of her or didn't know what America was, but that was when she remembered Floran's stories.
Was it possible she was in another time, like many forest survivors?
"I believe we should take her to our Voivode. We don't know if she speaks the truth."
When the young woman heard them, she said, "Uh, that won't be necessary. I'll go back and find my way home."
All the men stood on their feet. "You shall come with us. Come with us lightly, or we shall use force."
Fearing for her safety, Angelina ran back to the forest. The men got on their horses with weapons in hand and chased her. Angelina tried to run as fast as she could while screaming for Floran or anyone. The men yelled at her to stop, but she refused.
One of the men got a bow and arrow aimed and shot Angelina's backpack. The arrow didn't pierce her skin, but the force was strong enough to make her lose her footing. The men surrounded her. Two of them pointed their bow and arrow at her while two others went to her, tied her hands, and forced her back to the camp, where they threw her onto a wooden cart. "We should leave now; we don't know if she is a spy, and we cannot risk a possible attack. Let us go to our Voivode."
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