"We did amazing — look how far we’ve come in just one afternoon! And honestly, I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. When you have someone travelling with you, you never feel tired. We chat and laugh, and before you know it, hours have passed and we’ve covered so much ground," Hiroshi said, looking around at the forest on both sides and smiling at Harumiko.
Harumiko nodded in complete agreement. She felt exactly the same way. They were getting closer and closer to the village they had stayed in, but right now, the sun was setting fast.
Night was coming, so they needed to find a safe place to stop — somewhere where wild beasts wouldn’t be able to reach them.
"Hiroshi, we really need to find a spot to settle down for the night. Once we’re set, we’ll have dinner. There are a lot of dangerous animals in these woods, so we need to get up high. Otherwise, we won’t get any rest at all," she said.
Hiroshi nodded and glanced up at the sky. It was already turning dark blue; night was definitely falling. They really did need to find a resting place soon.
"Alright, let’s just go a bit further and then we’ll stop. Tonight we definitely need to find a really tall tree to sleep in — it’s the only way to rest safely. Good thing it’s summer right now. If it were winter, sleeping out here would be freezing," he said as they walked.
Harumiko smiled and nodded. "You’re right, lucky it’s warm. Though even in summer, it gets a little chilly at night. But I’m sure we’ll manage to sleep well tonight."
"Look, there are lots of huge, tall trees right up ahead. Why don’t we head over there? I’m sure we’ll find a perfect place to sleep among them," she said, pointing toward a cluster of massive trees.
Hiroshi looked where she was pointing and smiled — it was an excellent idea. Together, they hurried toward that part of the forest.
After over a year of travelling and exploring the world, they had learned one important lesson: when sleeping outdoors, always choose either a cave or a big tree.
Everywhere else was unsafe. There were too many nocturnal animals around, and many of them would disturb or even attack you.
If there were no caves nearby, tall trees were the best choice — finding thick, sturdy branches to lie on was the safest and most comfortable solution.
"Perfect. I’ve had a look around, and this place is really good. We’ll camp here tonight. I don’t see any animal dens or tracks nearby, so we should be able to sleep peacefully. I’ll go and prepare our dinner in a moment," Hiroshi said with a grin.
Harumiko nodded gently, set her gear down on the ground, and quickly climbed up one of the large trees to check for suitable branches.
"This is great! There are so many thick, strong branches here. We’ll be able to sleep really comfortably tonight. And up this high, there’s no chance of animals bothering us," she called down happily from her perch.
Meanwhile, Hiroshi moved all their packs and supplies to a well?hidden spot, out of sight. He knew animals were naturally curious and would often carry off strange?looking objects, so it was better to keep everything concealed.
"Alright, now I can go find us something to eat. We’ll keep it simple tonight, get a good rest, and tomorrow we’ll be fresh and ready to keep going," Hiroshi said, glancing at the hidden supplies.
He set off to look for edible plants or small game. Finding food in the forest was actually quite easy; the hard part was preparing and cooking it properly.
"We need to eat well tonight — maybe not a huge meal, but definitely something nutritious. We’ll need all our energy and strength for tomorrow," he murmured to himself as he searched.
Up in the tree, Harumiko was busy clearing and arranging their sleeping area. Even though it was just a branch, she made sure it was neat and comfortable.
When you’re travelling, a good rest is essential — sleep badly, and you wake up exhausted and grumpy.
She wanted to make sure they had a place where they could sleep soundly and dream sweet dreams.
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