Chapter 5: Süleyman and the Cingol (Part 2)

Suleyman and the Jingol Part 2 To my wife, Nilfash, I am writing to you before we leave to return home.

I have not been able to write before, for my heart has been too heavy.

But perhaps writing what happened will unburden me.

I am sorry for laying these sorrows upon you, and do not fret if you decide to not read them.

I will not mind.

The morning after I had spoken to the child, I told the villagers what Ömer had seen and that I did not know if the creature that lived in the woods was man or monster, but that we must prepare for either.

As my escort and I were about to head into the forest to look for the traces of a man or manlike being, by the grace of God, we were met by one of the parents of a missing child, Homo.

He pulled us aside and told us that he had once been an outlaw but had fallen in love with a woman from the village and given up that life of sin and villainy to marry her.

He knew the forest like the back of his hand and knew the places where dark things might hide.

I quickly learned that this forest was not like any I had been in before, full of deep caves and hidden chasms.

I nearly fell to my death, but may God bless him, Hamo saved my life multiple times.

I once again seriously considered taking wrestling courses, as my new occupation seems to require more physical strength than I have ever thought it would.

I do not wish to pass the gates of heaven without discharging my duty.

We tried all the common places Hama said an outlaw might hide out in.

Eventually, Hama found a set of footprints that were so big they could have been mistaken for the paw prints of a bear.

Deeply concerned, we followed the trail until we reached the entrance of a cave.