The cheerful chirping of birds filled the air with a start contrast to Helga's panic as she followed the worn path into the forest. She could see his figure in every bush and every tree, her eyes playing tricks on her as her mind tried desperately to will him out in front of her.

"Arnold!" she called out. The further she walked, and the more she called, the louder the birds seemed to become. The louder the swaying of the branches, the rustling of leaves beneath her feet. Why wasn't he answering? Why was he ignoring her? She cried out as loud as she could, but he just wouldn't reply.

Her mind began to race. If only she hadn't run away the other night. If only she had the courage to be honest. It felt like hours as she walked, but even as she could no longer grasp how much time was passing, she could already feel it turning into days—months. She felt as if she would be searching for him forever. Her eyes would always be darting around, searching for him, and he would never appear.

All these years she felt as if she'd been calling out to him. Crying out his name as loud as she could, yet no sound coming from her throat. He never replied, he never looked back, he never stepped out and stood in front of her, looking straight into her face. All those years she was trapped in her own mind as he went about his daily life, never leaving open a space for her in it. Until that night on the roof.

Helga felt tears welling in her eyes. She wanted to go back and hold on to the opportunity she'd thrown away. All those years of silence, and here she was now, too late, crying out for Arnold as loud as she could. She could hear herself, hear her voice finally set free, calling out the name she'd been trying to cry out for as long as she could remember, and all to no reply. She was answered by the stillness of the air.

Helga fell to her feet. She curled up in a ball and squeezed her eyes shut, filling her mind with Arnold's face. She could see his young smile as he handed her an umbrella. She could see his eyes shine as he greeted her at school each day. She could see his mystified expression on her secret date with him as Cecile, his angry look whenever he'd had enough of her, the worry written on his face when she got sick in the tree house. All her life, this was the face she saw when she closed her eyes, and the thought of it staying trapped in her mind forever, never appearing in front of her again, filled her with a dread so deep the very thought threatened to carve a scar in her soul that would never heal. He was a part of her, and without it, she would never be whole.

As she sat on the ground, Helga slowly realized the wind had died down. The singing of birds faded away, and there was an eerie hush in the forest. A faint noise picked at her ears, so faint she could hardly tell if it was real. It was as if the forest had watched over Helga, seeing her despair as she searched desperately for herself as much as she searched for the boy in her heart. And in that moment, it guided her to stand at the noise in the distance. She trotted forward, following the sound that held some kind of power over her. Without being able to distinguish it, there was something to it that struck her. As she neared the source, all the qualities of that sound that had struck her were clarified and polished, until she could recognize she was listening to Arnold's voice.

"Arnold!" she cried.

"Hello?" his voice called out. "Over here!"

Helga followed his voice until she reached the edge of a steep slope alongside the forest path. She peered down the cliff and saw Arnold standing some yards below her, standing helplessly in the ditch so steep it seemed to be made of walls.

"Helga!" Arnold called out in surprise.

"Arnold!" Helga cried back. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he said sheepishly. "Boy am I glad to see you." The relief was enough to push the thoughts of their last meeting from both of their minds.

"What happened?"

"I was just out walking and I lost my footing… It's too high for me to get out."

Helga got down on her stomach and reached down as far as she could.

"Can you reach my hand?"

Arnold, clearly familiar with the cliff before him from his muddy shirt and practiced steps, took a few steps back before plunging forward again with the momentum to propel him up the wall. He grabbed a root he knew was there, and landed halfway up the wall, his hands and feet gripping whatever spots allowed him to get as high as he could. Once he reached that point, however, there were no other knots in the cliffside to give him footing to get any higher, and he reached his other hand up towards Helga, grasping the air.

"I can't… quite reach," he said with frustration.

"Keep trying. Don't stop, just keep running."

Arnold slid back down to the ground and tried a few more times before sitting down to catch his breath.

Helga wiggled forward, as far as she could until she started feeling her own footing give way.

"Arnold, come on! I know you can do it!"

He looked up and saw the determined look on Helga's face. He was no stranger to her ferocity, but there was something else in her expression he didn't recognize. What was that earnest look in her eyes that he had never seen before? It wasn't the compassion or mercy of a person reaching out to someone that needed help. Whatever it was, it shook Arnold to the core. He looked back into her eyes for a moment, until she motioned her outstretched hand once more.

"You can do it!" she urged. "I know you can!"

Arnold readjusted the shirt tied around his waist and readied himself once more. He darted forward, dug his feet into the wall, and grabbed at the dirt as he kicked his way up. Helga could feel her arms and body aching as she reached out as far as she possibly could, grabbing for his desperately outstretched hand. Their hands met, clasping each other tightly, and Helga let out a cry as she felt her body yanked apart.

"Helga!" Arnold cried back, shouting the same rallies she'd given him. She clenched her teeth as she pulled, and Arnold dug his feet into the wall once more to carry his weight up. He slowly emerged from the cliffside until he rolled onto the ground next to Helga, both panting on their backs. As their breath returned, they turned their heads to look at one another, neither saying a word.

Finally, after a long pause, Arnold reached over and hugged her. "Thanks, Helga," he said.

Helga felt her face burn up. She froze for a moment before gathering her courage and wrapping her arms around him.

"I'm glad you're okay," she said.

The long shadows of the trees urged the two to hurry back down the path and reunite with their anxious families before dark.