The night was coming quickly and they couldn't find the way to the cottage. The forest was too thick for them to approach, they had to stick to the path. The branches were cracking behind them, some birds were fluttering their wings on the right. The owl cried once. John looked up to the canopies. The leaves were moving, the branches were waving, the forest was loud. Lidia couldn't utter anything. She checked her watch and the rucksack for a sandwich. Nothing left.
"John, we don't have any sandwiches left", said Lidia, already picturing herself eating flies and bugs living on the forest floor.
"Don't worry, we'll reach the cottage in no time. We don't need food"
John tried to keep it together, at least one of them should. He had to find the marks and the way back.
"Lidia, give me the map."
Lidia was thinking of the warm soup she was going to eat in half an hour, maybe, and the hot cocoa she longed for.
"Lidia, Lidia. Give me the map!!!"
John's words seemed to scratch Lidia's ears like a sharp nail. She covered them with her hands, trying to keep the sound out. She bent down.
"Lidia, what's wrong with you? We're close. Just give me the damn map."
John saw her eyes moving from one side to another like small particles. Lidia sat on the cold ground, her hands on her ears.