Danger in the Divine Valley: Yuli's Fearsome Battle for Freedom

The soft lights flickered and danced in the haze. The reds of the lanterns, the blues of the smoke from the incense, and the yellows of the candles.

The smell of the temple was thick and cloying. The incense clouded everything and made it hard to navigate through. There wasn't much space to begin with, but now with all these people and their animals, it was getting harder to see.

The murmur of voices had become a sort of white noise that filled the air. Yuli could see some of them speaking to each other, while others were clearly talking to their idols or family spirits. She smiled a little as she watched them. Some of them were trying to get closer to their gods, while others were trying to get away from their demons, or maybe both at once.

Yuli was here for another reason entirely--to find her way out of her current situation by finding an idol for herself and asking for help. She didn't have any money for a more elaborate offering, so she hoped that one would suffice instead.

"Over there," She whispered to Heho. He followed her gaze, and looked where she'd pointed.

"I don't like this place," He said nervously. "It's too crowded and smoky."

"I know," Yuli replied softly. "We'll just look around, then leave."

They squeezed through the crowd until they found what they were looking for--a small statue of a woman in front of a table covered with offerings for her spirit-children. They hunched down between the statue and one side of the table, trying not to be seen or bother anybody else too much as they did so. Yuli took out a small bag from her shirt that held an amulet that she'd received from her mother when she turned thirteen--an amulet that had been worn by all women in her family before her. She passed it to Heho who carefully tied it around her neck where it belonged before putting it back into his pocket safely again.

"You think this will work?" He asked quietly after he'd finished tying it on her neck again carefully enough so that no one could see it easily without being right next to her.

She shrugged wearily, "Maybe? I don't really have any other options right now." She sighed and rubbed her temples tiredly before continuing, "At least this is something though." A few moments went by in silence before she added softly, "I hope someone will answer us." Her voice trembled slightly as she spoke, "I can't take this anymore..."

Yuli looked up at Heho as if hoping he would contradict her somehow and reassure her that everything would be okay--but he couldn't do that because he knew she was right about everything being horrible right now too... He just wished he knew how to make things better for them... But he didn't know how either... So all he could do was give his friend what little comfort he could--He put his arm around Yuli's shoulder awkwardly as she buried her face in his chest sobbing softly... Neither of them noticed when a few more people approached their idol's table and started making offerings too... Not even when someone behind them started talking softly to them in a soothing tone... They were too busy trying not to drown in their own misery... But eventually they felt someone gently touch their shoulders--making them both jump violently in surprise before turning around quickly once they noticed who it was... Only then realizing that they'd been offered some help after all without even asking for it yet...