You hear the soft snoring of Meredith in the bed next to you. Father and mother are in the next room, but they're definitely asleep. You slowly slide out of bed, and creep over to the closet. You slowly open the closet, pulling out a black cotton dress and slinging it over your shoulder. You creep out of the house, walking towards the woods.


Rose waits there. She leans against a tree, giving a little wave as she sees you approaching. When you reach her, you hold out the dress and she takes it from you, pulling it  over her head and putting it on.


"How do I look?" she smiles.


"Pretty," you admit, before mentally chastising yourself for being so lustful. 


Rose smiles, and gently kisses you on the cheek. You blush, stepping back.


"Rose!" you say, embarrassed.


"What? It was on the cheek, we're just friends! Not even my mother could think that was bad!" she asks, confused. 


"You're being lustful! We're not married, we shouldn't be..."


Rose puts a finger to your lips, nodding towards the house as you remember your sleeping parents and nod.


"You're weird," she says, before walking into the woods. "Come on, I'll show you where I have the hares."


You follow Rose into the darkness of the forest, and you walk alongside her. Soon, you find a dozen hares strung up from a tree by their neck. She cuts the rope keeping them up, and catches the string of hares as it falls, holding it out for you.


"Here," she says.


"That's a lot of hares," you say. "Fair trade."


Rose shakes her head.


"No. If you had just laid down your snares, you would've got a few hares. I still owe you something."


"Like what?" you ask. 


"You're new to this place. I'll show you around."


"Uh, OK, " you say.


You follow Rose around as she leads you through the forest.


"So, do you... have a house around here?" you ask.


"Um... no. I sleep a lot of places. I used to sleep in my mother's cottage, but we don't get on. Now, I like to sleep in the trees. Find a nice big branch, hold on tightly. It's nice."


Over the next hour, Rose shows you the things of importance in the area. The good grazing areas, the most populated hare trails, the wild vegetable and fruit patches. Eventually, you reach within sight of an old, burnt out cottage. Rose stops you before you can get close.


"That's my mother's house," she says. 


"Oh. Did... did she die?" you ask.


Rose shakes her head.


"No, no she's alive. It's just she... well, it's a long story."


"That place is all burnt out. No one should live there."


"She should," Rose says, spitting on the ground. 


Rose quiets up as she leads you away from the cottage. After another few minutes, you come across a mountainous area, with a visible cave further up it.


"And that's where my father lives," Rose says. "Well, sort of."


"Does he move around a lot?" you ask.


"He lives in a lot of places. But he's there," Rose says.


"Is he a trapper, or something?" 


"No, he's a..." Rose says, before pausing. "Yeah, trapper's a good definition. He traps things."


You dismiss her comment, and continue walking. Suddenly, Rose perks up.


"What games do you know how to play?" she asks. 


"Games?" 


"Do you like tag?" she asks.


"I don't know."


"I tap you and you become it, and then you have to tap me."


"Oh, OK," you say.


"So, tag," she says, tapping your shoulder. "You're it."


Rose bursts off, quickly running through the trees.

You stop playing tag

"This game is stupid. I'm not playing!" you shout, as Rose stops, sighing.


"I thought other kids liked games," she complains. "Come on then, I'll show you the way home."


With that, Rose leads you home. You talk for a bit more, but you arrive back at your cottage.


"Well, goodnight," she says.


"Goodnight, Rose," you reply.


"Can we do this again sometime? It's nice to have someone to be around."


She's right. It is nice. Your short time with Rose has been fun and really helped with your loneliness. 


"Yeah. I'd like that," you say.


"Great," Rose smiles. "See you soon."


"See you soon," you say, as you walk back to the cottage to get to bed.