The two walked for quite a while before they made it to the end of the path, and at the end of the small path, there was a dark, moist pine forest. They walked through the forest for a very long time.
The girl had no shoes, for her elegant appearance and model-like gait, but she didn't even let out a whimper despite the rocks and sharp pines. Finally, they reached a tall house. It had an equally tall metal fence around it, one that was very intimidating. It had barbed tips and electric wire. The girl had not complained even once during their whole walk, but she started shivering at the sight of the fence. The boy put a gently placed his hand on her shoulder.
"My mother does important research here, so she needs to make sure that nobody can steal it. That's why we live in a forest," he explained.
The girl couldn't understand what he said, but she could make out what he meant. She gave him a tiny smile, but her legs were trembling like a sapling in the wind. So, the little boy took hold of both of her hands and squeezed them. When she stabilized a little, he gestured towards the house. The little girl was reluctant, but she nodded warily and they went in. As the little boy led the way in, he didn't see the girl's eyes harden, nor did he realize that she was squeezing his hands very tightly, and he didn't notice the blood that trickled off the tips of his fingers.
When they entered the tall, modern home, adorned with more one-way window than wall, already standing there was a tall woman in a lab coat. She greeted them calmly and simply, matching her neat appearance.
"Welcome. You must've been hungry, walking non-stop through such a large forest. Won't you join us for dinner?" She spoke in a raspy voice, using nothing but sounds and tongue clicks.
"Mother, you can communicate with her? Wow, I've never heard that language before," the boy exclaimed.
"Thank you for the courtesy. He was really nice to me, so please tell him I said thank you," the girl said in a soft tone with equal rasp, using the same group of sounds and tongue clicks.
"She says she's thankful, so I assume you treated her nicely? No need to answer. Let's prepare dinner," the tall woman told her son, before taking the hands of both children and leading them deeper into the house.