What if the paths we choose hold far more than what we set out to find?
Somewhere above the small group, a bird sang a long melody Sophie had never heard before. She opened her eyes without a start.
For a few seconds, she didn't recognize the place. Above her, the branches formed a shifting canopy through which the morning light filtered in small golden patches.
Then it all came back to her: the escape, the forest, the fire, the Deer-Man.
She slowly sat up. The camp was quiet. Aria was asleep, curled up in her blanket, one arm wrapped around Jazz, who was making soft, regular humming sounds. Neris was already awake. Sitting against a tree trunk, she was watching the trees, her gaze lost somewhere among the leaves.
Sophie got up without making a sound. She walked a few steps away. The air was cool. The scent of damp earth rose gently with the mist.
She instinctively closed her eyes, then immediately opened them again. This time… she wasn't looking for anything. She was simply observing. An ant followed a root. A drop of water slid down a leaf.
Farther away, a small animal leaped from one branch to another before disappearing. For the first time, Sophie felt as though she was noticing things that had always escaped her.
"You're looking at things differently."
The Deer-Man's voice made her jump slightly. He was standing there as though he had always been part of the landscape.
Sophie gave a faint smile.
"I think I'm only just beginning to really look. Before, I missed so many things… Now, sometimes I feel like they're trying to show me something."
He didn't answer. His gaze swept across the forest before he picked up his bag.
"We're leaving."
Aria opened one eye.
"Already?"
"The sun is up."
"That's no reason."
Jazz let out a small electronic whistle.
"See? He agrees with me."
Neris smiled despite herself. The Deer-Man waited until everyone was ready. Then… he didn't move.
Silence settled over them.
Aria frowned.
"What are we waiting for?"
The Deer-Man looked at Sophie.
"Which path will you take?"
She froze.
"Me?"
He nodded.
Sophie looked around. All the paths looked alike. Instinctively, she searched for a sign, a light, some particular sensation.
Nothing.
Just trees.
She took a deep breath. Perhaps she was looking too far away for something that was right in front of her.
So she took the time to observe: the ground, the stones, the moss, the sound of water somewhere among the trees, a gentle slope, tracks almost erased from the earth.
Little by little, certain details began to make sense.
She pointed to a narrow passage between two beech trees.
"That one…"
The Deer-Man didn't even look at the path. He looked at Sophie.
"Why?"
She hesitated.
"I don't really know…"
Then she gently shook her head.
"No, that's not true."
She pointed toward the trees.
"The moss is wetter on this side. The water must be nearby. And these tracks seem to follow the same direction."
The Deer-Man slowly nodded.
"You observed."
Nothing more. No praise, no explanation. Just those two words.
They started walking.
Aria caught up with Sophie. She glanced back at the Deer-Man, who was walking calmly behind them.
Ever since they'd met, he seemed to pay particular attention to Sophie. He listened to her, encouraged her, and had even just entrusted her with choosing their path.
Aria was happy to see her friend gaining confidence. So why did she feel that small pang of irritation every time the Deer-Man looked at Sophie?
She immediately pushed the thought away.
"Do you really think we're going somewhere?" she asked, a little more sharply than she'd intended.
Sophie smiled.
"No idea."
Aria rolled her eyes.
"Great… Now we're following moss."
Behind them, Jazz let out an enthusiastic little beep.
Aria turned toward him.
"Well, at least he seems convinced."
Aria noticed that the Deer-Man was letting Sophie lead without interfering. She wished she could understand what he saw in her that made him trust her so completely.
Then she quickened her pace to catch up with her friend.
They had been walking for almost an hour when Jazz suddenly stopped. His metallic ears shot upright. A faint crackling sound ran through his body.
"What's wrong with him?" Aria asked.
The little robot remained perfectly still, his gaze fixed between the tree trunks.
The Deer-Man slowly raised a hand. The group immediately stopped.
Silence fell again. Even the birds seemed to have gone quiet.
A few seconds passed. Then a figure appeared between the trees, still far away, barely darker than the trunks surrounding it.
The figure walked at a steady pace, making no attempt to hide, but the slump of her shoulders betrayed a deep exhaustion.
The Deer-Man slowly lowered his hand. He didn't seem surprised.
As the figure approached, the details became clearer: a shoulder bag, clothes covered in dust, strands of hair stuck to her forehead from exhaustion.
Then Neris noticed something hanging from her belt.
A rabbit mask.
Her heart seemed to skip a beat.
"… Soren?"
The figure slowly raised her head. Their eyes met. For a fraction of a second, nothing else existed around them. Not the forest, not the others, not the escape.
Only one overwhelming certainty remained: Soren was alive.
Neris didn't think. She started running.
Soren barely had time to open her arms before Neris threw herself into them with such force that they both stumbled back a step.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke. They simply stood there, holding each other, as though feeling the other's heartbeat was enough to erase the hours of anguish.
Soren let out a small, tired laugh.
"You're alive… And here," she whispered.
Neris buried her face deeper against her shoulder. When she finally looked up, her eyes were shining.
"I thought…"
Her voice broke. She took a deep breath.
"I thought I'd never see you again."
Soren placed a hand against her cheek.
"So did I."
Their foreheads touched. For a moment, neither of them tried to pull away.
Then their lips brushed, almost despite themselves.
More a breath than a kiss.
Soren briefly closed her eyes. When she opened them again, something had changed in her gaze. She gently stepped back, without immediately removing her hand from Neris's cheek.
Neris felt her pull away. She wanted to ask why, but the words remained trapped in her throat.
Aria exchanged a glance with Sophie. Sophie was smiling discreetly, moved by the emotion of their reunion.
"How did you find us?" Aria finally asked.
Soren pushed a strand of hair away from her forehead.
"I walked all night. I know this forest, and I know passages that can save several hours."
"But we left the clearing this morning," Sophie pointed out.
"I know. By the time I got there, you'd already left."
She gestured toward the ground.
"You left tracks. Several people, and some rather distinctive marks…"
Her gaze settled on Jazz.
"Your little companion isn't as discreet as he thinks."
Jazz immediately protested with an indignant beep.
Aria gave a faint smile.
"See? I told you."
Soren smiled too, but the exhaustion was still visible on her face.
The Deer-Man, who had remained silent, finally started walking again. Soren exchanged a glance with him, then turned toward the others.
"We should keep moving," Soren said. "The Watchers are still on our trail."
"Do you think they know where we are?" Neris asked.
"Not exactly. But they're looking for both of us. And I'd rather not give them time to find us."
The Deer-Man nodded and resumed walking. The others followed.
Neris stayed beside Soren for a moment, relieved to have found her again. Yet she hadn't forgotten that slight movement away from her after their almost-kiss.
Soren was finally there, right beside her.
So why did she feel as though a part of her was still slipping away?
The Guardian Angel: Within every being lies a wonderful ability: observation. Turned outward, it allows us to discover life. Turned inward, it awakens awareness of ourselves and the changes we undergo.
Observation, life, and consciousness are three keys capable of opening the doors to a world that was previously invisible.
For when we learn to observe with loving attention, in deep inner stillness, what was hidden slowly begins to reveal itself.