Chapter Two: The Grass Forest
On the second day, Muhammad decided to enter the plain. "Is there any other choice? Truly, I can't get water from the river, and I need food." He resolved to go in. Muhammad thought: "Getting lost from this river is nearly impossible. I can walk in the direction where the grass grows shorter."
As he began walking through the grass, it started short and thin, but the farther he went, the taller and denser it grew imperceptibly. After walking about 1 kilometer, the grass began to look terrifying. "I feel like the more I advance into this grass, it's as if it's slowly devouring me. It's already completely covered my shoes and risen past them, reaching the lower parts of my legs. Ahead, it seems like it might swallow my whole body! If I keep this pace, I won't be able to move forward. But I'll keep going anyway... I need to find food and water."
He walked for hours until the grass reached his waist. There, he spotted footprints of a creature. He didn't recognize them—they looked large, possibly from a predator. But desperation drove him to follow them regardless. "Recklessness? Who cares? If it's a predator, I'll kill it with a stone. If it's prey, I'll hunt it with a stone. I don't care!"
He trailed the prints until he saw a shadow moving in the grass. He stared, fear gripping him, but a wild glint flashed in his eyes. Clutching the stone in his hand, swallowing his saliva, he approached, sweating: "I'll hit it... It won't be a predator. Whatever this thing is, I'll kill it!"
As he drew closer, he saw something resembling a rabbit. When it noticed him, it fled in fear. "Why didn't I attack? It let its guard down! I could've struck it..." Fury and madness pooled in his eyes. "Calm down, Muhammad. What's the use of anger?!"
He pondered: "What *was* that exactly? After thinking... It's better it ran. Could I really have fought a rabbit the size of a large dog with a sword-like horn on its head? That would've been suicide. I'm sure its horn was as thin as a blade. It looked terrifying, and the rabbit's size was massive—like a big dog. It vanished before I could focus on other details. Everything was blurry. I only assumed it was a rabbit because of its ears. That's what stood out. It was incredibly fast, even for a rabbit! It really would've killed me..."
Muhammad noticed partially eaten grass. There were leafy plants with enormous leaves—each as large as his head—and thick stems resembling small shrubs. Some had bite marks. "Also... I didn't notice earlier that it was carrying something green in its mouth. I don't know what it was—something green and huge. Who cares?"
He stared: "Is this grass edible? Can I eat these plants? Or is its digestive system different? Is the leafy plant it was eating poisonous? Since the rabbit ate it, it's likely not toxic. They look familiar, like I've seen them before." Trusting his gut, he decided to try eating them. He tried tearing the stems, but their strength resisted cutting. He struggled repeatedly but failed to break them. Instead, he attempted plucking the leaves without detaching the tough stems.
After intense effort, he succeeded in gathering shredded leaves. "Better than nothing!" He tasted a small amount experimentally. They were sour. He continued collecting as many as he could find. "Finally, I've found food!"
He stuffed his pockets and more until the leaves were gone, leaving only the stems. He decided to move on. Over time, feeling no ill effects, he grew more confident they weren't poisonous... Though not entirely sure, his hunger couldn't wait. He ate more. The sourness slightly quenched his thirst.
"I'm proud of my skills, though luck mostly saved me." He thought: "Well, these rabbits are cowardly and find food sources. Maybe I should follow their tracks when I find them. I might discover more of these plants. But there's a risk others might attack—not all could be cowardly, or they might fight in groups. A gamble... I'll do it anyway. What choice do I have?!"
He continued walking. Whenever he saw tracks, he followed them, noticing a pattern: "The more I head right, the more tracks appear." Most led to neither live rabbits nor food, but occasionally he'd spot fleeing rabbits and scavenge their leftovers. "Finders keepers!"
The farther right he went, the more fear crept in. Tracks began converging from multiple directions, hinting at a central point. Dread struck him: "This can't be a rabbit nest!" He hurried away, thinking: "I shouldn't flee so fast! I don't know if these cowardly rabbits would attack if I neared their nest. My stomach's partly filled with grass—or rather, leaves—and my thirst isn't as severe. Though the acidity might ruin my teeth."
After distancing himself, Muhammad pressed forward through the plain. He decided to avoid grassless areas. "Might be more rabbit nests or insects. If rabbits are this huge, what about insects?!" He shuddered at the thought but marched on.
Until he spotted a dot in the distance. He approached closer to see what it was... "Humans!!"