She would stand up happily, then loudly tell Archer, "I’m so hungry, why didn’t you find me?"

Archer would sigh and say with a helpless smile, "I was late, it won’t happen again."

They would walk home together, with her hopping and bouncing ahead like a rabbit, and Archer following slowly, occasionally looking up at the night sky.

But more often, he was looking at the smile on Hannah’s face.

Seeing her smile, he couldn’t help but curl his lips upward as well.

"Archer, I won’t play hide and seek anymore, okay? Stop hiding."

Hannah searched all the secret bases but still couldn’t find Archer.

Her favorite red cape was torn, and her feet were muddied, yet she just stood helplessly in the pitch-black forest.

Like a lost child. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Other than calling out that name over and over, she didn’t know what else she could do.

It seemed like Archer had truly disappeared.

This was the first time Hannah had cried since she was five years old.

She had only tripped on a stone and scraped her palms and shins, nothing compared to the injuries she had suffered before.

Yet she cried, her tears falling to the ground one by one.

The little witch in the red cape truly seemed like a ten-year-old child at that moment.

She lay on the ground, her palms still bleeding, sobbing so hard that she trembled, her wounds aching. She tried to comfort herself by blowing on them as Archer had done before.

But her voice quivered, "Archer, where are you..."

The tears falling on her palms made the pain worse, and she wept bitterly. But this time, she had to stand up on her own and then stumble forward.

Tears kept falling, blurring her vision.

"Archer, I won’t play hide and seek anymore, I won’t tease you, I won’t make you angry, please come out, okay? I’m not playing anymore, I really am not..."

The girl wiped her tears, her words filled with confusion and fear.

She was genuinely scared.

Scared of the night, and of the pain, but even more scared of being alone.

"Archer, won’t you please not leave me alone?" She sobbed, her throat hurting, her words stuck in her throat, turning sour and bitter, tangling with the thick scent of blood.

But there was no response.

Still no response.

The boy who always smiled at her so tenderly, the boy who would always indulge her, the boy who promised he would never leave her, he still did not appear.

All around was pitch black, and the girl’s cries were full of fear and confusion.

It was like childhood games, a sky full of stars, a reencounter with an old friend—after all, just a dream.

Once the dream was over, there was nothing left.

Just like "The Little Prince" says, "If you want to build ties with another person, you have to risk shedding some tears."

That was Hannah’s favorite book when she was eight.

She asked Archer, "What are ties?"

Archer explained to her in simple words, "It’s being together with someone?"

Hannah was even more confused, she couldn’t understand, "Why would being with someone make you cry?"

The boy fell silent.

It took a long pause before he spoke again, "Because, people will have to part ways."

Even the liveliest of feasts must come to an end one day.

Some people pursue happiness in the moment, while others choose to keep their distance from the very start because they are afraid of parting.

But ultimately, many things can’t be controlled as one wishes.

Just like Archer at that time never imagined this day would come.