Lost in the woods

It was a fateful morning, and the sun was beginning its journey as time slowly passed.

"Rise and shine, Bella! It's time we go hiking around the forest. I can't wait to get my subscribers up again," Ola said, grabbing his little dog as he began preparing. He packed a bunch of snacks, boots, ropes, and other forest adventure items.

He called his best friend, Bayo. They had previously chatted about the trip, and Bayo had promised on his honor that he would be there. Turns out, Bayo forgot to set his alarm and woke up late—giving Ola a bit of extra time to double-check if he was missing anything. Remembering there was a fishing spot nearby, Ola went to get two fishing poles from his garage.

That was when he spotted a snake hiding right in the corner.

He grabbed a wooden plank, getting ready to smash its head, but the snake gave up on running and entered full battle mode. Ola, who was terrified of snakes, felt his adrenaline jumpstart his teleportation mode. He bolted outside and peeped through the window to see if the snake was leaving through the wide-open door. The snake remained coiled against the wall while Ola threw heavy stones from outside. Fortunately, one hit its neck, sending the snake straight to Valhalla.

Ola looked behind him and found his little dog staring at him awkwardly.

Cough! Cough!

"Bayo is here. I guess it's time we got going," Ola said, embarrassed, as he tossed the dancing, dead snake out of his garage. He grabbed his fishing rods, and they were set.

"Good day, my oga. You've finished all the preparations! I brought extra snacks and the drone," Bayo greeted as they shook hands.

"It's you that's my oga now. We should get going since there's nothing left to pack," Ola replied.

They both got into the truck and began their journey toward the forest. As the breeze blew through the window, Bayo gradually grew sleepy and ended up sleeping through the second half of the drive.

They soon reached the forest campsite. Other visitors were already there for the same purpose—or perhaps just to prove that not all humans share the same taste in hobbies.

"Hello there! Looks like you two are also on your way to fish. Mind if we walk together?" a voice called out.

"Sure! It's nice to have another member in our party," Bayo replied to the beautiful lady who had approached them.

Grrr!

"Woah! Looks like our dog isn't great at greeting new faces... Just give him this bone from my bag, and he'll be quiet around you for a while," Ola said, handing her some wrapped chicken with soft bones. The dog's growl faded as he dragged the meat from her hands.

"Shall we?"

The three began moving forward. Ola suddenly realized he had left his bag of bread—which he planned to use as bait—in the truck. He urged the two to go ahead while they got to know each other, warning them not to start fishing until he arrived. He rushed back to the truck, grabbed the bread and a couple of hand nets, tore open the bag, and ate two slices before heading out.

When he reached the fishing site, his friend and the lady were nowhere to be found. He searched around, but his phone had no signal. Then he remembered Bayo had only been here once—ten years ago with their parents—and had probably forgotten the way.

With a furrowed brow and a ridiculous smile, Ola shouted, "Damn youuuu!"

He recorded a quick video blog explaining his predicament and backtracked to where they had separated. He followed the main trail, knowing the path to the fishing site was just a small side turn.

"Is this guy a monkey or what? There's a literal banner that says F-I-S-H-I-N-G right here! How on earth did he go blind?" he said out loud, half-expecting an answer from the wind.

He kept searching until he got lucky and spotted Bayo's boot tracks. Recognizing the tread, he began tracking them. After a long walk, he thought to himself, Damn... I should have brought a search team. This place is a thick forest.

Tall, dense trees towered overhead, and the distant sounds of unfamiliar animals echoed through the woods. Knowing it couldn't be anything good, Ola picked up the pace while following their tracks.

Suddenly, he heard a cry for help and recognized the girl's voice.

He rushed over, only to find the two of them stuck in a crocodile pond. It was quite obvious their village people had done their voodoo, but Ola couldn't stop pondering one question:

"Howwww?! Hoowwwwwwww?! I know my friend is careless, but HOWWWWWWWW?!"

(As the narrator, I think Bayo found his perfect match... Oops! Sorry, let's continue.)

Just a few minutes earlier, right after Ola went back to the truck, Bayo had gotten completely lost chatting about their university life. Deep in conversation with Sarah, they failed to look sideways for any signboards and walked straight into the deep forest. Sarah had gotten spooked by the sounds of baboons, and what ultimately sent them running was a small snake right beside them while they were trying to navigate back. That was how they slid down a muddy slope and landed right in Daniel's lion den—sorry, I mean the crocodile pond.

Ola quickly found a long stick sturdy enough to bear weight. Sarah gripped the stick and scrambled up. She slipped once, but Ola pulled her up with enough strength to keep her safe while telling her not to lose her grip.

Meanwhile, the crocodiles were closing in on the sacrificial lamb—sorry, once again—on Bayo, who was practically pissing his pants. Two crocodiles opened their jaws wide, but in the nick of time, Ola saved him. One of the crocs barely missed him, taking a piece of his t-shirt instead.

They had both just survived and made their way back to the campsite, having had more than enough fishing for the day. Sarah avoided them for a while out of embarrassment, but Bayo came over to apologize—though honestly, for what, I don't know, considering they were both laughing when they walked into the damn forest. She accepted his apology, but Ola started his own saga of madness, laughing hysterically at the two of them.

"The two of you deserve each other, I swear!"

They both laughed, with Bayo threatening, "Bro, you need cane! But sha, thanks for looking for us. We almost ended up as crocodile dinner."

"You're welcome. Why don't we go take a bath at the warm springs over there so we can set up the drone for the main reason why we came here?" Ola replied. "You too, Sarah. The ladies' spring is on the other side. We'll be here if you still want to join us on our vlog business. Just don't end up in a lion's den the next time I leave you two alone!"

They all laughed as they went their way toward the spring.

(Meanwhile, Bella had sneaked back into the big truck when Ola went to grab his bait. She caught the scent of the half-roasted meat they had stashed for an evening barbecue, and she was still in there, thoroughly enjoying herself.)

Thanks for reading
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