Joseph and I were returning from church one afternoon after delivering a message to the pastor on my mum's orders.
After delivering the message successfully, we started heading home when we saw an old man—he looked about eighty or ninety—carrying a heavy load and walking slowly on the road.
"Femos, let's help this poor man carry his load," Joseph said.
"Bad idea," I replied immediately.
"Why?"
"Because my mum always says no talking to strangers."
"My mum also said I should always help people in need."
"Still not helping."
"Come on, we'll just help him carry the load, drop it at his place, and go home."
"Fine… I'll help."
So we helped the old man carry his load and followed him.
We kept walking…
And walking…
And walking.
Soon, we entered the bush. There was a narrow path, but there were no houses—no sign of any neighborhood.
"We've been following this old man for thirty minutes and we haven't reached his house yet," I complained.
"I'm getting worried too," Joseph admitted.
"Remember, this was your idea."
"Let me ask him if we're close."
Joseph asked the man, and he said we were almost there.
Another thirty minutes passed.
Finally, we reached a small house deep inside the forest.
We dropped the load and were about to leave when the old man spoke.
"Wait. Let me give you something."
He went inside.
"What do you think he's bringing?" I asked Joseph.
"I pray it's cold water. I'm exhausted," he said.
"Or maybe sweets and candy."
But when the old man came out…
He wasn't holding water.
He wasn't holding candy.
He was holding a cutlass.
"I am going to use you boys as a human sacrifice to my god," he said coldly.
"SACRIFICE?!" we shouted.
And we ran.
We didn't follow the path we came from.
Instead, we ran deeper into the forest.
"What do we do now?" Joseph asked, shaking.
"I told you this was a bad idea, but you didn't listen," I said, trying to act brave—even though I was scared.
"I'm sorry," he said, almost crying.
"Now I'm going to die at a young age… I haven't even watched Kaiju No. 8 Season 3 yet!"
"Is that what you're thinking about right now?" Joseph snapped.
"At least there's no sign of the man," Joseph added, calming down a little.
"He can't run fast with those expired bones of his," I joked.
Joseph didn't laugh.
"How do we get out of here?" he asked.
"I have no idea."
We kept walking deeper into the forest.
Going back felt dangerous.
Moving forward felt worse.
Soon, we realized the truth.
We were completely lost.
No phone.
No help.
No idea where we were.
"I never imagined this is how I would end up," I said quietly.
"Me too," Joseph replied.
"I'm sorry again."
"It's okay… you were just trying to do the right thing. At least now we can become Bigfoot."
"What?" Joseph looked at me.
"You don't know Bigfoot?"
"I do, but Bigfoot isn't real. It's just a made-up story."
Suddenly, we heard a noise somewhere in the forest.
We followed the sound carefully…
And after some time, we saw houses.
Another community.
We rushed out of the bush and met a man.
"What are you boys doing in that forest?" he asked.
"Sir, please help us. We are lost," I said.
"Where are you going?"
"Home, sir," Joseph replied.
"Do you know your address?"
"Yes, sir," we answered together.
After telling him our address, he directed us properly.
Finally…
We made it home.
We told our parents everything that happened.
They warned us never to do such a thing again.
"So we're not going to arrest the old man?" I asked angrily.
"Definitely not," Joseph said quickly. "I'm not going there again."
"But what if other children make the same mistake and are not as lucky as we were?" I insisted.
In the end, some elders agreed to go with us and find the man.
We led them into the forest.
We walked to the exact place.
But when we got there…
There was nothing.
No house.
No path.
No sign that anyone had ever lived there.
I stood there, confused.
Then slowly…
A cold fear crept into my body.
That place…
Was not normal.
Because I was sure of one thing.
We did not imagine that house.