Mysterious adventures in the shadow of trees

Chapter 9: Double Search

-Sofia-

I hung my head below my shoulders in despair. None of my family members could reach me, and I couldn't reach them.

Great. Just great. Just what I needed.

I, a teen girl who was obsessed with the "normal stuff", couldn't wrap my head around the fact that I missed my family. I used to be so indulged in makeup and my phone and never really took the time to appreciate my family when they were by my side.

Who knew how massive the woods are? How many acres? Probably bigger than ten of me. Definitely bigger. One hundred? Nah. A thousand? Maybe more. The point was I was lost. I felt like I was going nuts by coming up with different ways to remind myself that I was lost. Completely lost. And how lost I was. Actually, that's impossible to calculate.

I give up.

I felt like I was wasting time. If this was a movie...

"If this was a movie, you'd be here by now..." I sang. It was a snippet from Taylor

Swift's song "If This Was a Movie".

Gosh, first I miss my family. Now, Spotify! I'm really going insane, aren't I?!

Anyway, if this was a movie, I could see myself from a third-person point of view of just

me sitting on the ground, leaning against a random tree trunk, just thinking.

However, I knew I should've been thinking about ways how to survive.

Actually, that's a good idea. Let's do that now for however long that lasts until my brain

fries up and thinks illogically and wastes time again and...

Know-it-all: Stop saying 'and'. You're going to drill yourself into a deeper hole.

Me: You're right. As always.

I brought out the loaf of bread that had never been opened.

This bread has no flavor though...I'm not hungry anymore.

CHIRP

CHIRP

CHIRP

SCRATCH

SCRATCH

SCRATCH

I closed my eyes. Again. For however many times I had done this already. I lost count.

At least the sound of nature is keeping me occupied.

I felt as though I should be eating something. It was as if a little stone is glued on top of

each eyelid, pushing them down every time I try to look in the sun's direction, trying to figure out relatively what time it was at a given instant. I also wanted to look at my phone.

Don't worry. I wanted to use my phone at first. It's not like I suddenly changed when I

threw myself into the woods. Maybe that is the case. I don't know anymore.

Days blended together.

I didn't want to waste my phone battery by using it to look at the time a thousand times

day.

Moreover, because of my habits, I've never gotten a watch. I mean, I had a phone to tell

the time.

I still know how to read those analog clocks. It was how I learned to tell the time in

school.

I blinked open once again and rolled my eyes at myself.

Ugh! I'm going off-track yet again! Screw this. I'm going to walk around and hope I find

some hope.

I was about to put my phone and food away when I received a text from Scarlett: are you

ok?

I wish I could say I was..., but she's my sister and has cared for me since day one. I have

to let her know the truth.

Sure, I wasn't hungry because my thoughts kept me busy all the time, but day after day, I

felt more and more insane, and these distracting thoughts kept on going for however long they did. It became irritating.

Thinking for hours about something that did no wonders on my mission here was never

my intention.

I typed: No, I'm lost.

I didn't tell her how lost I was. How I regret so much. How insane I was getting. How-

I never wanted to worry anyone, especially my sister, because I know they can be quite busy and have their own collection of worries and...things — gosh, I've never known I could be this terrible with words — to deal with, but...what if? Just...

This feels so wrong but-

Just what if this text could be my ticket back to my old life?

Know-it-all: Just a reminder...your dad's wallet.

Me; I'm getting there.

Maybe she could gather a team of people to save me and find my dad's wallet. Multiple

minds work better than one!

I was about to press the 'send' button but realized that it wouldn't work just like last time.

After walking around to find someplace with more hope, I found a little house of some

kind.

I pressed the 'send' button.

It worked.