THE LITTLE GIRL
During the night, while the werewolves choose their next victim, the Little Girl may peek through her fingers in an attempt to discover their identities.
However, she must be careful. If any of the wolves catch her spying on them, she will become that night's victim, regardless of whom the pack had originally chosen.
The first time I played, my hands trembled. Not from fear, but anticipation.
I was barely eight years old, almost the same age as the little girl depicted on the card. Unlike her, however, I was far less aware of the danger and far too eager to spy on those macabre creatures that awakened during the night.
Perhaps if the gap between my fingers had been less obvious, that young wolf boy wouldn't have caught me. Startled, I squeezed my eyes shut and hid my face behind my little hands, just as I did every night beneath my bedsheets. Back then, I still naively believed that hiding beneath them was enough to protect me from any danger.
I waited for the final verdict, for death to claim me as the rules dictated. Yet the boy with the blue eyes remained silent. It was a strange, almost intimate silence, one I chose to return. If he wasn't going to say anything, neither was I.
I might have been clumsy, but I wasn't stupid.
Unfortunately for me, it was the Dweller who noticed my mistake and reacted rather harshly. His reaction bewildered me. I couldn't understand why he seemed so angry when everything was going according to the game, wasn't it? My only mistake had been getting caught.
I had simply been terrible at playing my role.
That was what the Little Girl did: spy on the wolves while everyone else slept. A little girl who had disobeyed her parents and ventured into the mist of the night, heedless of the creatures that might find her.
But if the wolves discovered her, she would automatically become the pack's victim.
"You're not supposed to look. What have I told you about cheating, Tania?" he hissed with displeasure, mere inches from my face.
I resisted the urge to purse my lips in annoyance. There was always some reason to scold me, and I could accept that. But being reprimanded for no reason at all irritated me quite a bit.
Just as I was about to protest, a soft voice interrupted the Dweller.
It was that little wolf boy.
He seemed uneasy, his uncertain gaze drifting toward the other wolves.
"Just take her out of the game."
The mere suggestion made the Dweller gasp, as though such an option were unthinkable. His gaze also shifted toward the group standing beyond us.
The pack seemed tense, trying to assess what was happening from a distance, yet none dared approach. It was the first time I had ever seen such hostile looks directed at Professor Jerry.
I no longer wanted to call him the Dweller.
This no longer felt like a game.
All I wanted was to get up and leave the recreation room. The lights had been turned off to simulate nightfall, but I knew that room well enough. I wouldn't bump into anything on my way out once they dismissed me.
The professor cleared his throat softly before turning his attention back to me.
Strangely enough, none of the other children dared stand up or even uncover their faces to see what was happening, despite the game having come to a halt.
One of the younger girls, Elisa, was trembling behind her small, pale fingers. Even Ryan, who was usually the troublemaker of our classroom, hadn't made a single sound. His jaw was clenched, his lips pressed into a rigid line.
"Let me see your card, Tania."
There was something strangely intimate about that request, something deeply wrong about the idea of revealing my role to the professor. And the sight of everyone else certainly wasn't helping.
The little wolf boy hunched his shoulders. His eyes, clouded with palpable desperation, darted from my card to the professor and, finally, to the door.
Elisa let out a small whimper. She bit down on her pink lips so hard they looked ready to bleed, desperately trying to suppress the sobs threatening to escape her throat.
Ryan, who could never seem to sit still, had pressed his clenched fists against his face. His head remained turned away, as though he refused to witness whatever was about to happen.
But what was about to happen?
"I..." I managed to utter timidly.
The professor's expression remained unchanged. He seemed indifferent to everything around him, his attention fixed on the stupid piece of cardboard between my fingers.
"We don't have all night for this," he remarked irritably.
That confused me.
It was daytime outside. I knew that perfectly well.
Why was he speaking as though it weren't?
I didn't have time to answer. I let out a shrill protest as my card was unfairly snatched away.
Jerry held it in his hands, studying it for several seconds.
"Just as I thought... Cheater."
There was disgust in his voice, but something else as well.
Relief?
He showed me the card.
It was a Villager.
I blinked, unable to comprehend what I was seeing.
No. That wasn't possible.
I was the Little Girl. I was certain I had received that card at the beginning of the game.
I stammered a protest and began feeling around the floor, desperately searching for another card. Perhaps I had made a mistake. Perhaps mine had fallen somewhere.
But I found nothing.
It was the only card I had.
I searched my classmates' faces, hoping to find someone who could help me. That was when I spotted James, sitting far from us, his face partially concealed.
He was watching me.
And amid all that unbearable tension, he was the only one who smiled.
A small, trembling smile.
Why was he smiling?
"Go."
The professor's permission was all the little wolf boy needed. He immediately sprang toward me and pulled me to my feet. His small fingers dug into my arm so tightly that I nearly complained. He acted as though he feared someone might snatch me away from him at any moment.
I barely had time to process what was happening.
The other children assigned the roles of wolves had gathered near the exit. As we approached, they stepped aside to let us through.
Among them, I recognized Lila, Nathan, and Paul. Each held their card tightly against their chest, so firmly that the cardboard looked ready to bend.
My heart trembled as I hurried toward the exit.
All I wanted now was to go home and be with my mother.
Professor Jerry made no objections this time and allowed me to leave early.
I remember the light outside the room being as blinding as the morning sunrise.
Of course it was daytime. I knew that perfectly well.
Yet the moment I stepped out of that room, a wave of relief washed over me so powerfully that I couldn't hold back a sob. I was overwhelmed by unfamiliar emotions. Happy to have escaped a place that was supposed to be safe for all of us.
The little wolf boy didn't release me until I crossed the threshold.
He, however, remained inside, as though he feared the light on the other side might burn him.
For several seconds, he simply watched me in silence.
"We can leave together, you know?"
The boy was afraid, and so was I.
His little body trembled at my words, and he shook his head repeatedly.
"Leave."
I wanted to insist.
I couldn't understand why he had to stay when the door was wide open right behind us.
But before I could say another word, he slammed it shut.
I heard the click of the lock.
And I was left alone on the other side.
The last thing I remembered was the pain reflected in those little blue eyes. He had made a decision that seemed to have cost him just as much as it cost me to turn around and resist the urge to look back.
I didn't encounter anyone as I made my way out of the school. Strangely silent, the building seemed completely deserted, and the only thing accompanying me was the echo of my footsteps along the hallway.
Where was everyone?
I didn't want to think about anything else.
Nor did I want to know what had happened.
I clung to the hope that everything would return to normal the following day. I would go back to school, reunite with my friends, and that strange experience would eventually fade into a distant memory.
But... it didn't.
The next morning, I remember being awakened by my mother's strangled cry.
My bedroom door flew open, and, still half asleep, I felt her arms wrap tightly around me. Her damp cheeks brushed against mine as she pulled me close to her chest.
Dad stood in the doorway, taking a phone call. His eyes were filled with anguish, yet there was also a trace of relief I couldn't understand at the time.
It was a morning filled with prayers and thanks to God.
"Mommy?"
Apparently, terrible news had arrived that morning.
Professor Jerry's classroom—my classroom—had vanished.
Nobody knew what had happened to my other fifteen classmates.
My mother insisted that I had been incredibly lucky to escape that room. Even the police seemed to share her opinion.
But had it really been luck?
Everyone blamed Mr. Jerry. They held him responsible for what had happened, although I could never quite bring myself to believe it entirely.
Not that I thought Professor Jerry was innocent. He had always been a strict man, but never before had he frightened me so much.
I wasn't even sure whether that final memory was real or merely a product of my imagination. Everything had happened so quickly that, over the years, I began to doubt my own recollections.
And yet, I had the impression that just before I left that room, he had directed a few final words at me.
A silent message.
Nothing more than the faint movement of his lips, which I thought I had caught when I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye.
"Keep going, and don't look back, Tania."
Had he really been the one responsible for everything?
After all, those were far too many questions for an eight-year-old girl.
So, for once, I decided to be a good little girl.
A quiet, elusive little girl who obeyed without a word of protest and never turned her head when that door closed behind her.
And I never heard of wolves, hunters, or cupids again.
Not until that day...