The road got sparse and the light got darker, as he advanced through the woods, but he was determined to proceed quickly.
“This place is unlike anything I’ve ever seen!” Even though focused on the socks, D’Onofrio observed the landscape too. Trees as tall as tall can be, sparse flowers that were beautiful but odd bushes filled with unfriendly ants. “Look at those plants, they are with so many colors, they could make a nice print for a sock... maybe on the sock land I’ll find socks like this, wow I’m so excited!” He was walking and walking until someone noticed his presence, and spoke:
“YOU THERE!”
“AAAAAAA” Zach screamed and ran away as fast as he could, as he was resilient and could walk and run pretty fast, but the figure was fast too, and said again:
“YOU THERE! STOP! STOP!”
“WHO ARE YOU?! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!” Screamed Zach, slowly slowing down, but still running…
“I’M THE WARNER OF TRAVELERS! BEWARE, MISTER! THERE’S A REASON THIS PLACE IS SO UNVISITED BY STRANGERS!”
“What are you talking about?”
“Oh, now I got your attention! This is good! Like I said, I’m the warner of travelers, that’s my job and who I am, I’ve been doing this since before I could talk. Who are you, wanderer?”
“I’m… Zachary D’Onofrio, and I collect socks! I’m on my way to the land of Socks! What do you have to tell me about?”
“The land of socks, you say?” Said the very tall man, who had very long thin legs and a very long face as well, his nose was a triangle, his eyes were round, he was like a figure that a Math teacher would draw to teach their students about Geometry. He was wearing long boots; they were old but still going. This man didn’t have an evil face, and Zach slowly felt more comfortable.
“Hm, the land of Socks! It’s a place that would be much more famous have not be located in such inauspicious place! You see, these woods are thick and hard as stone, they’re a world of its own, not by their fault in specific, but because they’re so dark and inaccessible. I came to warn you: you could really get lost here if you don’t have a proper map, and also be careful with the creatures that live here. We have a town of small people, they’re not too friendly, and also an uneasy landscape. If you overcome this, you’d still have to travel some kind of considerable distance in order to reach the land of Socks. This is what I have to say to you.”
“Well, mister, I have a map, is this going to be enough”
“Hmm let me see…. It can help you but only partially, it only shows the path not the geography, not now at least, but further away the geography can be a pain. You are next to the town of small people, maybe they’ll help you, but they’re not friendly, so be careful. You can get lost, traveler, be careful.”
“Are they going to attack me or…”
“No, no. But their town is walled with a very tall wall, and to go on the sides will be bad for you… you’ll see when you get there. My work here is done. Wish you good luck”
“Well, thank you for the warning, sir. How can I repay you?”
“No need to repay me, what I do I do for pleasure, even though it’s a job. And here in the forest there’s nothing that would be useful for me anyway. Just be careful, the small people won’t be like that to you. Have to go now, I wish you a farewell.”
The very tall and weird, but kind, man went away, and so Zach thought about the journey. But his mind was set in stone, just as the hard forest, and he was ready to go. One step at a time, the land of socks was getting closer, and closer, and closer.
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