the trees fic - joshler

silent in the trees

***MAJOR TRIGGER WARNING***

Josh's life, Josh's meaning, his happiness all began and ended with a knock on the door. Two adults; a husband and a wife, Josh assumed. The wife was much shorter than the husband, clutching his hand in hers.

Josh watched from the top of the stairs as his mom spoke to the family. He tried his best to listen in on the conversation between the three of them, picking up some parts like "son" and "missing" and "unstable". It was enough for him to put the pieces together and, deciding he had nothing better to do, he decided to look for the "missing boy". He silently left the house through the back door.

The air was cool, making small bumps appear on Josh's arms. He stood still for a moment, scanning his backyard. It was mostly surrounded by a rather large wooded lot, the trees stretching for a mile or so.

He had roamed through the lot numerous times. It was kind of like an escape. Once he was in the woods, he was in a bubble, away from the real world. Because the real world was mean. The real world didn't understand others. The real world was hot and Josh preferred much, much colder.

Before he could even realize, he was stepping over underbrush and sticks, locating a clearing somewhere within the trees. Searching for a moment, he decided it was useless and and plopped onto the ground, with a silent 'oof'. The woods were quiet aside from the occasional shuffle of leaves or occasional bird calling to another.

It was silent; the way Josh usually preferred things.

He sat there for a while, eyes shut, listening to the wind whistle through the leaves. Everything was normal until a high pitched noise squeaked behind him, making his head perk up and spin around. The sound seemed to echo in his mind, and the more he replayed it, the more it sounded like a choked cry.

Standing up, he began to walk towards the cry, stopping when he heard a quiet gasp and saw a flash of... a face?

Picking up his pace, he crossed through a patch of trees. His heart was pounding against his ribs as he spun around, looking for the same face.

His face flushed pale as his eyes met with another pair of dark brown ones. They were wide with fear? Josh bit onto his bottom lip, keeping his mouth shut.

The fearful boy was much more than a flashing face. His eyes seemed miles deep, brimming with tears and his face held a softness that Josh couldn't explain. He was younger looking than Josh, but still looked like he was in the same age range.

But on top of the boy's near perfect face, was a mask of red cheeks and tears. The boy stared at Josh for a second before sighing heavily and sitting down.

"I thought you were my parents." He admitted, sniffling obnoxiously and wiping his nose.

Josh's heartbeat sped up. He stood in silence, look down at the crying boy, his throat feeling like it was swelling shut.

"Um, I'm Tyler." Tyler tried to break the tense silence, his voice thick with tears.

This was where Josh was expected to reply. Blood crawled up his cheeks as his mouth hung open, nothing but air crossing his lips. His hands shook as Tyler glanced up, furrowing his brow.

"Can you hear me?" He asked, his cheeks turning a tint of pink as well.

Josh nodded, holding his mouth shut with his teeth. He could see Tyler's reaction; the same as all the others. His eyes softened, feeling sorry for Josh, but his eyebrows remained knit together in confusion. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again.

Josh cautiously sat down next to the boy, sighing.

"Why aren't you talking?" He asked, as if Josh would reply. "Is your throat hurt?"