THE FORGOTTEN GROVE

Four

"It's Black Friday, we're in a black taxi. you take my hand and hold it gently on the middle seat; it's all in my head, it's all in my mind"
Tom Odell
—————————
(Black Friday)

$.

"His name Is Reynold." Hafsa provided after a very loud sneeze affected by blowing dust off the old Journal.

The pair had discovered an old journal sitting calm, or if they'd rather put in the accurate term from the history of the Forbidden Grove, 'Unpossessed' on the skeletal hands of the bony figure they'd all but stumbled upon.

And though the journal had lost most coloring in its facade, the spine still showed off some hint of burgundy that had Eamon suggesting it had to be the original color of the Journal.

"His name is inscribed on the front cover?" Eamon asked.

"More like engraved all over it." She suppressed another sneeze threatening to explode her brain in splatters. "I can only imagine how long he's been here to have had enough time to squander his name all over."

"Well," Eamon drew nearer to her, "Only one way to find out." He nods to the journal in her hand.

It wasn't as though Hafsah didn't know what she had to do, if it could be put literally, her curiosity that's grown to be more of a habit than nature couldn't let her choose hostility or otherwise, there just had been that lurking feeling at the pit of her stomach that reminded her that there would be no going back after she was revealed to what was in there.

Acquainting herself willfully with the thought, she hauled a long, shallow breath; bracing herself for a reveal that hadn't been so ceremonious until now,

She flipped the hard cover open to be met by scribblings that although she'd squinted her eyes almost immediately, she could still barely comprehend.

"What in the Jargons fuck?" Eamon expressed economically, peering down on it, his jaw pressed on her shoulder.

If Hafsa didn't know at all, she'd have thought it a language she hadn't seen nor heard before, she soon realized it required conviction more or less; she flipped the journal sideways, Reynold didn't scribble down things as would a normal person in the perpendicular and orderly format. His was horizontally unique, and yet orderly if she would have to admit it. Cursively fantabulous.

A small 'Oh' came over her shoulder, before 'What a way...'

She sighed, "It looks from here that Reynold was an old man but with the heart and mind of a teenager— he was here to investigate the disappearances and to have a little fun of his own." She flipped back and forth between other pages and returned to the first one. "Wait, let me read it out."

"I can read too."

"Unless you want to return home with a cervical fracture, hush and just listen." She wiggled her shoulders to get him to release his jaw.

"May 25, 1885

"Today, I'm set out for my expedition into the Forbidden Grove, I do not intend to take this adventure of mine lightly, I know I would get some truths if not all. The police refuse to do their job? I'll do it for them, for Riley—"

"Who's Riley?" Eamon interjected.

"Just hush and listen okay," Hafsa said through gritted teeth. "I'm getting there."

"—for Riley, My son.

He was such a good young man, Valiant and enthusiastic.

Something took him, I know it. Something took my precious son from me, and lord, am I going to find it and shred it to pieces?

Everyone thinks I'm an unhinged old man, and that the death of my son is getting to me and thus I'm set for a suicide mission. But what no one knows is that Riley isn't dead, I know it. The monster took him. And I'll save my precious boy from it."

"Poor man." Eamon resigned,

"There's more," Hafsa said.

"I'm here now, in front of the mystery forest, I'm about to set in. for my son, Riley."

"I'm in now, the temperature differs so palpably from the outside, inside here underneath the dense canopy of trees shielding the ground from the merciless sun, the air remains thick, oppressive, chill—"

"It was warm for us," Eamon said,

"Nice observative." Hafsa thumbed up.

"—Each breath galloping, even from the lack of snowflakes to dance around, it feels like a forest of winter, a reminder of the relentless humidity.

There are different visible paths that I'm certain lead to various places. I'm conflicted about which one to take— Riley would follow his instincts— I have an old compass with me, I think it's broken but it's pointing eastward—

"The same route we took," Eamon said, exhilarated.

"—eastward it is.

It led me through a narrow, barely discernible path beneath the tangled foliage.

I came across a lot of strange-looking plants and what looked to be satanic symbols carved into trees, I couldn't put a name to them. They're like nothing I've seen before but I'm outlining each of them here as leads."

"Let me see." Eamon closed the little to no gap between them. "These..." he trailed.

"Did you see anything like these— oof, they are so strange looking— on our way?"

"I thought I saw something like... this one." He pointed to the first symbol. "Right before you knocked the torch off" his underlip tucked beneath his teeth in seriousness.

"Why didn't you say anything? We're here to learn about stuff like these too, dude."

"I wasn't sure. I thought I was seeing things because..." he looked away to hide his dimming cheeks, "I was creeped out already."

Hafsa only smiled,

"Slackness overlooked" "And excuse found worthy."

"The sun is beginning to set, casting long silhouettes through trees. I'm setting camp by a small tributary. My old bones keep getting weaker. I'll retire for the night and kick start again tomorrow."

"That's it for the first page." Hafsa turned to the next and her eyebrows seized together in perplexity,

Jake frowned, "What?"

Hafsa looked around excruciatingly, nervously, grotesquely, and returned her gaze to Eamon.

"What's it, Nancy- Hafs- Drew?"

She swallowed, looking mortified for the first time since they set for this exploratory.

"May 26, 1885

I can't shake this feeling of being watched, Someone or Something's watching me. They know I'm here."

'Updated—01-06-24

Yay!
It's a new month again, you guys!!
Tell me,
What are your plans for Jolly June??'