The Red Forest

Love

The next day I was in class again as always and bit on the end of my pencil. I had replaced the eraser with rubber with a coating of skin. It relaxed me in situations I had to sit in one place for a long time. While biting on my pencil, I tapped my feet on the ground and thought about yesterday. Was I hallucinating then? It didn't feel like I was... But the principle... I multitasked, writing notes and thinking about yesterday. That's when a paper hit me. I guessed I was getting made fun of again but I noticed it was a note. The note said, "Come to the red woods at lunch." I looked around, but everyone was on their phones or actually listening to class. I put the note in my pocket and letted my thoughts rest while I continued on with the class.

After class, it was lunch. I wasn't too hungry. I packed my stuff and shoved it in my locker. I made sure my knife was in my pocket before I left the school. The red forest smelled amazing as always. The boys told me to meet at the red forest, but I didn't know where in the red forest. I looked at the note again but it had nothing else on it. I decided to walk around for a while.

I began walking wherever my mind told me to go, when I heard the flapping of wings. Then I felt someone tap my shoulder.  Without looking back, I swung my knife around. The person caught my knife, and I realized who it was. It was that boy from yesterday. How did he come close to me without making a sound? "How did yo-" He cut me off. "Did you get my note?"
"Yes, but-"
"Good. I told you to meet me here for a reaso-" I cut him off back. I wasn't going to let him avoid my question. "How did you get here?" It was a stupid question, but I needed to say what I needed to say.  He eyes looked a little hurt. I didn't care. "I.. I need to tell you why I brought you here." Again. He avoided my question. But I decided to listen to him first. I let him continue. "I brought you here because I wanted to ask you something in private. Can I?"
"Go ahead."
"Okay. So are you that girl that I hear rumors about?"
"What? What rumors?" What is he talking about?
"Oh..fuck.. I wasn't allowed to tell you. Who cares. So there's these rumors going around that someone saw this girl in the red forest with long, brown hair and shorts running around the red forest."
Yep. That's probably me. But how can I trust this person I just met?
"What are you talking about?" I asked.    "Oh, then its probably not you. "       The honest part of me began to bother me again. 'Tell the truth,' it begged. 'Lies will only make you regret your past.' I gave in.   "So what if its me? Are you going to try to kill me? Good luck."     He paused.   "So which one is it?" He asked.    "It's probably me." I answered. He thought for a while.

"I like you," He pointed out casually, "Your cool." He paced around me, observing every part of me. "What's with the knife?" He asked. How did he know about the knife, it was in my pocket... I grabbed it tightly inside my pocket and glared at him. He chuckled, "Hey, no fight. It's fine." He treated me like he was training a dog. I swiftly got behind him and tried to get my knife around his neck but he quickly dodged me. He was the first person that could dodge my knife, next to my brother. Which made me think, was he my brother..? I looked into his eyes which were now brown. He didn't look like my brother, but something about him made me feel relaxed like when I was around my brother. He grabbed my hand and took my knife. I stayed motionless, staring at him, observing him. "Do I know you..?  Do you know my brother my any chance..?"

"Uh.. No? I don't know you. Who's your brother though? I'd like to know more about you."
I sighed. "Well my brother's name is Eric, and he-"
"Died 3 years ago." He mumbled, interrupting me.
"..what?" I asked, confused.
He gasped. "What? Oh, sorry. It's just that I knew this kid named Eric and we were best friends, but...  He died a few years ago."
My eyes widened. "Eric Kato?"
He almost jumped. "You know him?"
"He's my brother."
His eyes turned from excitement to dark grief. "I..I'm so sorry."
"For what?" I asked.
"For your loss."
"Oh. It's okay. Death is absolute. It'll happen to anyone. I'm over it now, but thanks."
He smiled, but I can tell it was fake. I guess Eric was a really close friend of his. "So.. What's your name?" I changed the subject.

He stuttered. "Uh... Let's not change the topic Anon.." I could tell he was trying not to show emotion because his face was pale but his ears were red. He stretched a bit and looked at me. I then realized everything he had done. He killed the principal... I tackled him and pinned him down. My hair got in my face above him, and he casually looked up at me, his hands behind his head. My voice shook,
"Why did you kill him."
".... I told you not to change the topic."
I got my knife out of my pocket and put it against his neck. He chuckled and his eyes shined in the light. I could feel his stomach moving with every breath he took.
"Why..."
His eyes narrowed. Tears formed in my eyes.
"You didn't have to... Why..."

He kept his mouth shut. "Tell me." I fought my tears. He looked me right in my eyes, not afraid of the consequences. I slapped him. It was harder than I thought, but he showed no emotion except for his red ears. His cheek began to turn red, and I regretted it immediately. But I wasn't going to apologize. Instead I continued to plead. "tell me.. Tell me. TELL ME. You.. YOU IDIOT" One tear drop fell from my eyes. And then I realized how hurt his eyes looked. He clenched his fists and looked away. And then he said something. "I.. I had to.. I'm so sorr-" He stopped mid sentence, as if he realized how stupid it was to say sorry for killing someone. As if he regretted every choice he made in his life. As if- his eyes got teary. "I'm...sorry.." his voice was quivering. I got off his body and ran. His warmth left mine, and as I ran, the cold wind swept the leaves off of my clothes and begged me to let my tears flow. I did. My tears overflowed. I tried to run further, but something told me to go back. I stopped, wipes my tears off, and ran back. I almost got lost, but when I got back to the boy, he was holding a knife to his neck and his tears rolled down his face. He hadn't seen me yet. The knife got closer to his neck, and I can hear him mumbling, "I'm so sorry. Sorry. I'm sorry. I want to die.." The knife touched his neck and blood dripped onto his shirt. My heart screamed at me. I sprinted towards him, thinking I would be too late. In a few seconds I had thrown his knife somewhere far and my arms hugged him. His warmth returned to me. My tears kept dropping. "why.. Why would you do that?" I hugged him tighter, and he hugged me back. "I'm sorry." It was his 10th time saying that, but this time I understood it differently. I knew he meant it. "I forgive you..." He hugged me even tighter, and I let out a sigh. "I love you."