THE FORGOTTEN GROVE

Two

"It's hard to get through the days knowing they're miles away,
knowing what could've been."
Tom Odell
—————————
(Streets of Heaven)

@.

They stood afront the overgrown, pompous grove, awed by such beauty of nature taled to be abandoned and left for the wandering spirits: the trees glinting at the top from how the sun poured on them and tainted the canopies with every shade of green there is, beneath them was dark but not too dark— something between the golden hour and aurora— as Eamon stepped foot beyond the barrier separating the grove from the road and hummed in satisfaction.

"This place feels alive." He said. Hafsa also hummed in agreement.

"Yes," the swell in her voice unmistakable, "it feels strangely warm here." She moved beyond the barrier and back concurrently to test her theory.

She peered down at her skin, and could see every string of hair ajolt; you would expect that a girl in her early teens should be quivering in her legs from such a sudden bodily reaction. But if anything, it only amplified the unwavering thrill in the hollow of her stomach. "The atmosphere here is kind of like... electrified compared to out here." She jumps in and out again.

Eamon shuddered, "It makes me nervous."

Hafsa snorted, "Nervous as in, you are a chicken duck and want to chicken-duck out?"

"Hell, no way." "Not when we've finally reached the fun part after all these years."

Hafsa pulled out her phone to check what said the time, it's now 5 pm prompt, and in the peripheral of her gaze, she caught a glimpse of the No signal scrawled at the top left corner of her phone. "This place has no signal also." She sighed.

"We better hurry then— don't want our parents blasting our phones and worrying why none is going through."

"I'm not the one who took a whole century to put on his shoes."

Eamon sighed in resignation, "Never are you letting that go, are you?"

"Never!!!" she said with dramatic effect.

They stood there momentarily arguing about which path to take until they finally met a consensus to tread along a narrow tunnel of dark trees eastward that looked to lead somewhere.

Eamon turned on their only flashlight claiming he'd want to savor every sight to behold, but Hafsah seized it from him and tripped it off, "Liar, I know you're just scared to your pants. Don't worry, mom is here to protect you."

They trekked through the dense forest, all seemed to be going well so far, so they filled the eeriness of the forest with chats about the tales they'd read about the place.

"Oh Spirits, place come take Eamon away so he can stop breathing in fear so loudly in my ear," she elbowed him playfully and sent him staggering backward.

"Who says I'm scared." He tutted.

Hafsa nodded jestingly, dancing from her very profound silhouette to Eamon's.

"Besides, it's not like they're real, they're just tales concocted to scare children away from losing their ways here." Said Eamon.

Hafsa gasped, halting dramatically to grip her best friend by his slender biceps, "What have they done to you at your new school?  Who are you, and what have you done with my believer best friend?"

Eamon shuffled himself out of her shake, and continued in his stride, "I'm just saying... There's no way the tales are true. They're probably just fiction."

Hafsa matched steps with him. "You're right, They're probably just fiction. But you know, the rumors are definitely true."

Eamon shrugged.

"The forgotten grove is known for its history of mysterious disappearances," she continued, "The newspapers last year counted fifteen people in total who came in here and never made it out."

"They must still be alive then. Maybe still exploring or looking for their way out." Eamon said, trying to hide his trembling voice.

"No one knows. This grove has always been shrouded in local legends and superstitions, said to be haunted by the spirits of those who vanished."

His hitch was louder than he'd intended for.

"How could you forget all these details we'd pulled an all-nighter to research about?" Hafsa asked, gutted by his reactions.

He chuckled falsely, affecting a narrow stare from her, he was clearly going to shit his pants anytime soon, "No... No way would I ever forget. I suppose— maybe I was just wondering why the cops never did anything to retrieve the lost people here."

"Lost souls. Cops don't work with spirits and souls." She stopped in her steps, and let out a sloppy breath, "Eames, I understand if you're not up for this today, we can always come back next time. Anytime you want."

"No, No way, of course—"

"Eames!"

"Fine," he walked to face her. "I admit the thought of never making it home scares the hell out of me." "It's not every day you explore a place that's rumored to keep people captive," Hafsa nodded understandably as he chuckled timidly. "But trust my words," he rested his hands on her shoulders. "There's nothing I would love more than to defy the norms with you today and crumble the famous reputation of the Forgotten Grove to its feet."

Hafsa did all in her might to hide away the shade of pink threatening to heat up her cheeks. But she failed, woefully, if may add.

There were days when Hafsa would feel a strange kind of warmth in her stomach looking at the ivory eyes of her best friend, days when she would think of him smiling only at her the way he would to no one else, and days like today when she knew he sees her as nothing more than a friend. Albeit she'd prefer otherwise.

"What's that?" she looked down at her feet, cursing herself for being too easy to read.

"It's nothing, just—"

"No, that's not nothing." He tucked his underlip between his teeth. "Looks like—"

"I said it's nothing." She was getting defensive. After all, it was the only way to banish this awkwardness lurking tangibly in the air away forever.

"Oh, can't you see it?"

"What?" She frowned, looking up to meet his eyes anywhere but on her.

"It's over there." She followed his pointing hand, "Looks like a... cabin."

"Yes," she mouthed. How stupid of her to have thought everything was about her.

"It looks like an old one." She said.

"Let's check it out." Hafsa slumped her shoulders forward before calling out to running Eamon, "Watch your steps, stupid."

'Updated— 28-05-24

Hey guys,
I hope you are all doing well. I'm well too, thanks for asking.

Quick question: Which role do you play in your family? do you like what comes with it??'