She's haunting me!

Somewhere on Earth, far away from other cities, there is a small village. This place is hard to find, as it is not on any maps. Those who can't orient themselves in unknown places fall here all the time. And, for better or worse, they end up living here. No one knows where the houses came from, but there's a terrible legend. It says that the very first people who came here were three men who were ordinary foresters. When they came to this site, there was nothing here at all. It was just a clearing surrounded by trees. And one of the foresters shouted: "Let's build a village here!". Surprisingly, the others agreed. Many months passed since they started building houses. They slept outside, ate whatever they could find from the forest, and put their hearts and souls into their work. And, after a long time, they finished. And that's how this village came to be. The men were proud of their work. They lived here quietly, never complained about anything. They said that people would come here from all over the world and start living here. They didn't build all this for nothing! But one day, when the foresters were once again going to look for food, they had an argument. They argued: They would each go to a different side of the forest. One to the west, one to the east, and one to the north. And whoever found more and better food than usual would get the respect of their company. And so they did. Except it didn't end well for them. The foresters went missing. The one who went west was mauled by the forest animals. The other one, who went east, was swallowed by the darkness. And the third, who went north, nothing happened to him. He returned to the village with berries, expecting to see his comrades. But when he came back, no one was there. He thought that way they can't find anything good. He'd wait a little while, they'd come back, and he'd get respect. He waited a day, two or three days, but nobody came back. The third forester became afraid. Spending time alone, he slowly began to lose his mind. He began to see his missing comrades everywhere. And so, either because of his condition or unconsciously, he went into the forest, found a river and drowned himself there. This village has no name, because its creators died without thinking about it. Soon people started coming here. First, a girl, who got lost in the forest and eventually found this village, lived here alone for some time. She went to the forest for food and water, lived in a house alone, and everything suited her. Then more travelers started coming. Adults and children alike. And so, over time, a whole small settlement sprang up. This scary legend is used to scare small children so that they would be obedient and would not go into this forest. The people of this unnamed village are friendly and close-knit. But they're also a little strange. For example, in order to remember the names of the people around them faster, they give them nicknames that represent objects. And they give them different nicknames over time. That because of their character, then by the color of their hair, then by their hobbies or simply by what the first object in this ancient take. To know what kind of nickname to give, you have to follow and observe the behavior and life of a person, and eventually draw conclusions. And if one person has already nicknamed a person somehow, then everyone gets used to it. That's how nicknames are given. For example, the girl who first came here was called Gaty, because her house has a fence and she lets in anyone who wants to visit her. Or, for example, the little child is called Grassy, because his hair is green and long, and the phrase "Quieter than water, lower than grass" suits him terribly well. And, since there are quite a lot of inhabitants in the village, but there are no houses, some live with neighbors, and strictly so that boys do not live with girls. That's how they live. ... And so, relatively a week ago, another lost wanderer came here. When she came here, she looked very slightly stressed, but "bright". She was placed with an old local, Flower. She got her nickname because of her gracefulness and her passion for being beautiful. Over time, the wanderer stopped being afraid of everyone, and became very positive and friendly towards others. She was quickly given the nickname Ruby. It followed her charater and her dark red hair color. Ruby quickly got to know everyone, but still found her best friend. She was a girl named Match. Somebody saw her fiddling with matches at night. She lit one by striking it against a matchbox and watched the fire. And when one went out, she'd take a new one and start striking again. That's what they called her from then on. Ruby and Match met thanks to mushrooms. Yes, yes, thanks to mushrooms! On one hot and unremarkable day Gaty asked them to go to the forest for mushrooms. There they got to talking and became friends. So they consider their friendship to be greatly credited to the mushrooms. Now to our days. Ruby and Match were in a clearing and were chatting about something. But something in their conversation had changed. In all the time they had been socializing, Match had become more withdrawn and sad. Ruby was concerned. So, while they were talking, she decided to ask her: - Hey.. Match? You've been kind of.. withdrawn. Is something wrong? - Ruby put her hands behind her back and looked at her friend worriedly. Match's face changed. From a slight and barely noticeable smile, her expression became blank, tense and.. "Dead". She took a deep breath. - Do you really want to know? - Match asked quietly. Ruby nodded a few times, and there was some interest in her eyes. Match held out her hand to her. - Let's go. - She had the same blank stare. - Where to? - Ruby clapped her eyes twice in confusion. - Into the forest. - Match turned her head toward the woods. Into that pitch black darkness.. Ruby immediately started to panic and backed up a little. - Into the woods? B-But it's dangerous! - Her voice shook a little and she looked around. Match only snorted and looked at the red-haired girl. - Do you really, like, believe in these scary stories? There's no one there, calm down. Ruby sighed. And took her friend's hand. Then they slowly made their way into the woods. - So what happened? - Ruby wondered again. Match was silent at first, not knowing how to begin. Then she sighed, made a serious look and began the story. - Anyway. You're kind of new here, so you don't know about it. There used to be this girl, Bubble. She was my friend. Bubble was.. A little, like, stupid, but that didn't bother me. We used to hang out, we were friends. Until another stranger came here, Pencil. She was my age. - Match lifted her head up a little, still leading Ruby somewhere. - She struck me as so.. Bold. Cool. - she sighed and smiled a little as she drifted off into her own thoughts. Then she came back to reality and made a serious face again. - I thought we were gonna have, like, our own three-person group. But it didn't work out that way. Pencil started bullying Bubble.. A lot.. And sometimes brutally.. I don't know what's gotten into me, but-- - Matchstick looked away guiltily. - ..I decided to mock Bubble, too.. - What? Why?! - Ruby was clearly confused. - I told you, I don't know what came over me! Maybe I wanted to.. Impress Pencil.. Either way. - Match coughed. - It went on for, like, a really long time.. I didn't count. Well, Bubble couldn't take it. One day she disappeared.. The whole village started looking for her. And she was, like, found.. Her body, actually. She killed herself. - Match's voice began to tremble. - There was a kitchen knife next to her hand.. A sharp one.. There were several stab wounds on her.. I saw her body with my own eyes! - the girl wiped her eyes, which were already wet. - ... - As Ruby listened to the story, her eyes were no longer curious, but fearful. And so they came to their destination. There were trees all around, and in front of them stood a large stone, and a little farther on a long river, which from their place they could see neither end nor beginning. Match pointed with the palm of her hand to a spot near the stone. - This is the spot where she committed suicide... - she said in a quiet voice, and it felt like she was about to snap again. Ruby turned white from the fear and tension of the situation. - Oh.. That's what this is all about.. Bullying? - The girl's voice trembled. - Yeah.. - the red-haired girl lowered her head. - I guess you know that not everyone, like, has nerves of steel. But there's another problem.. Ruby looked at her questioningly. Match closed her eyes, not daring to look at her friend. - I've been hearing her voice a lot since that incident.. She's in every dream I have.. I think she's haunting me.. ... There was silence. All that could be heard was the river and the birds singing. Matchstick hugged her shoulders, and Ruby looked at her friend with the same shocked look. - ..What? - Ruby finally said something. Tears ran down Match's cheeks. She fell to her knees and covered her face with her hands. - I'm a terrible person! - she was trembling and sobbing quietly through her tears. Ruby realized at once what had to be done. She sat down on her knees beside her and gently understood, trotting to soothe her. - Shh, shh, shh. You don't have to blame yourself. - Ruby stroked her head a little. - What do you mean "don't blame yourself"?! It's all my fault! - Match started crying even more. - I don't think so. We all make mistakes. Just.. Just accept it as a fact. - Ruby honestly didn't know what to do. Should she judge Match, or should she forgive and accept it? But she knew for sure that at this point, if Ruby judged her and left her here, then not much would happen. Right now it was necessary to at least, for starters, calm her down. Match, though slowly, was somehow beginning to calm down. She moved away from Ruby and wiped away her tears. - I'm sorry.. - she said quietly. - I'm probably disgusting to you now. - No, you're not! It's okay, I won't judge you. - Ruby tried to smile. - What do you mean? Like.. Why? - Match looked at her questioningly. - Uh, well, I'm your friend! I'll always be there for you. - Ruby laughed nervously. - And about that.. You should probably ask someone. Maybe someone who can help. Match sighed. - Okay.. - she got to her feet. - ..Now you know. Ruby nodded and got to her feet too. - ..Shall we go? She nodded, and the friends headed back to the village. Silently. Not saying a word. ... When they got back to the village, Ruby suggested to Matchka that she go to her place and discuss it further, but she refused, saying that she wanted to be alone. She went to her house and shut herself in, leaving Ruby alone. After a little time alone, she decided to discuss it with the very first inhabitant of the nameless village, Kalitka. Ruby had too many worries and questions about it. - Hoi hoi! That's funny. She doesn't know what's in store for them all.. It's gonna be an unforgettable day. (To be Continued...)