The Secret of the Forest

Chapter 1: Fascinating Exploration

The verdant foliage, cloudless sky, and fresh air of the countryside epitomized the spring season. Phoebe Anderson was able to inhale the scent of wildlife as she exited the automobile she had previously remained in during her two-hour drive. Her grandmother was in possession of a large sum of land amounting to almost eighteen acres, with which she also had a small home built on. Ever since the tragic car accident that stole Phoebe's parents away from her when she was only eight years of age, she had remained in the care of her kind and caring grandmother.

She stood, her feet firmly planted on the country earth, and gazed out at the expansive meadow and the lush forest that bordered it.

"Don't go running off just yet, you have to help me take things inside ya know," the older woman voiced.

The young girl rolled her eyes and smiled at the remark as she made her way over to the trunk of the vehicle and began to grab all that her limbs could support. The pair collected everything from the car and proceeded to enter the medium-sized, cabin-style home. They set the items down on the kitchen counter and Phoebe began to place the food they had brought in their appropriate places while her caretaker put away all other inedible objects. Once everything was in order, Phoebe took a seat at the kitchen counter and worked on connecting her phone to the house's internet. She sat scrolling through her social medias as her grandmother joined her in the room.

Phoebe was asked whether she was hungry and after an affirmative head nod, the elderly woman began preparing sandwiches for them both. The two ate at the granite counter and were greatly pleased by the nourishment as well as each other's company. Once they had cleaned their plates, Phoebe moved to collect the dirtied dishes until she was suddenly halted from her task.

"Don't worry, I'll clean them. Why don't you go outside? I know you've been waiting to this whole time," her grandmother said amused.

Phoebe was absolutely fascinated by nature, specifically plants, and had been since she was a child. Throughout the years she had spent as much time as she could outdoors, studying and falling in love with all of the plants she encountered. It was her dream to become a botanist and so she had been making sure to take all of the offered biology and science courses at her high school that would help her to achieve her aspiration. Her passion also meant that her grandmother's property was her absolute favorite place in the world to visit. Exploring the forest had distracted her from the loss of her parents and had always brought her great happiness.

A child-like grin appeared on her face and she ran to her room in order to grab all of her necessary tools. The girl grabbed her small black hiking pack from off of a hook and placed inside a filled water bottle. She fondly ran her fingers over the notebook that held all of her collected data from over the years. It had been a birthday present from her parents when she turned six and its cover was decorated with pictures of leaves and a vine that elegantly wrapped around spelling her name. It was quite thick and she remembered how, as a child, she thought it impossible to ever be able to fill it up completely. However, presently only an eighth of the book remained empty. She had meticulously filled up each millimeter of space on every page with information, observations, measurements, drawings, and samples of plants which she taped or stapled to the page. Of course she did use other notebooks as well, although, it was her special gifted one that she kept on her person at all times and used for more significant findings. She placed the item in her backpack with care along with a pen, magnifying glass, her art supplies, and the rest of her plant collecting tools. The female exchanged her converse for her outdoor boots and figured that she would be perfectly fine in her same shorts and t-shirt due to it being warm outside. Swinging the bag over her shoulder, she exited her room and after telling her grandmother she'd return in a few hours, left through the front door.

Once she stepped back out into the warm spring air, she could feel the sun warming her skin and took a moment to listen to the tranquil sounds of the wind blowing through trees and the chirping from the birds residing within them. A smile graced her lips as she began walking merrily towards the woods. The forest extended for miles and the neighboring owners of property that included the forest had given her full permission to explore their own land as well. Phoebe had examined acres upon acres of the seemingly ceaseless woods and so it was always her desire to discover areas she had not yet studied before. As she entered the gathering of trees, she inhaled the clear oxygen deeply and then continued forward. She made sure to do inspections on the plants as she analyzed their growing patterns and wrote down any notable changes pertaining to the specific flora.

An hour passed and the girl had walked quite a distance, as she only stopped once in order to write down information on a sapling she wasn't acquainted with. She was still in familiar territory but was intrigued by a little path she saw to the right of her line of vision. Her eyes lit up and she moved towards the thin path. As she ventured down the route, she was blocked by a large branch that obstructed her vision of what lay further ahead. After making her way past the object she took a few steps forward until she entered a glade, and in the center of the clearing a colossal oak tree was situated. In awe, she trod towards the enormous being and hurriedly ripped open her backpack in order to retrieve her special notebook and pen. The female was overcome with fascination and walked towards the tree as if she were in a trance. Its vast branches spread out like great arms, clothed in green foliage. Its bulky trunk stood powerfully, supporting its massive upper body which cast a cooling shade over the area. It was utterly magical. Phoebe had never seen anything so magnificent and her hand began to feel sharp pains due to how quickly she was jotting down observations in her book. She continued circling the tree, taking pictures and recording information until she paused and looked around the clearing.

"Of all my years exploring the forest, why haven't I ever come across this clearing before? This tree is massive, surely I should've seen it before!" she pondered.

Her ears then detected a creaking sound and as she lifted her head upwards, her eyes landed upon a larger branch pointing downwards. The snapped branch was swinging slowly with the wind and looked as though it would come crashing down any second. Phoebe's mouth parted and eyes widened, and before she could quickly dodge the widow-maker, it plunged down towards her. The tree's limb collided with her temple and hit the ground along with her form. She lay in the dirt and leaves blinking in a daze as darkness spread across her vision until she lay unconscious on the ground, with only the peaceful sounds of the birds and wind remaining.