Forest of Rope

Chapter 4

'Aokigahara Forest.' Vincent Brookes addressed the room, his gentle voice amplified by a microphone as he took his place at the podium, eclipsing the holograph of the overhead projector on his way across the stage. The images displayed on-screen behind him received mixed reactions from the shadowed audience. Some showed signs of discomfort and could be seen squirming in their seats while other expressions remained unchanged: blank and unimpressed.

It would take a lot more than some stills of hanging bodies to satisfy the likes of them.

Vincent waited for the slideshow to conclude before speaking again. He'd allowed the grisly images to sink in first, creating his atmosphere. The final image remained on-screen as a ghostly backdrop to his presentation. It depicted a man, frozen in time, hung from the neck with his jaw twisted at a lopsided angle. His clothes were ragged and wasting away, much like his ghostly pale flesh. Inscribed on the bark of the tree he dangled from was the Kanji “放免” meaning “Liberation”.

'For those of you that don't know,' he declared in a quiet hush though his words were clearly heard even towards the very back of the auditorium.

'A minimum of fifteen point three million people worldwide will attempt suicide this year. That's about the entire population of Kazakhstan or Guatemala. A mere tenth of those will be successful.'

The burning spotlight limited his vision but Vincent could still detect an uneasy frown or two within the sea of perplexed faces. Ignoring them, he glanced down at his papers and continued.

'What does this tell us? Do these people truly want to die? Will they stop themselves, or will they be stopped?' The questions went unanswered as intended.

'We're told that it is wrong, immoral, cowardly. That it's sinful, and wicked. I disagree. You see, these people aren't cowards,' he gestured to the unsettling image behind him and then at his audience.

'You are not a coward. I am not a coward. It takes courage to walk knowingly to your own death, it takes self-will, determination. These are traits favoured by our society are they not?'

He paused again, letting a sigh escape his lips, half-expecting an interruption or an upstaging, but it never came. Today's crowd was surprisingly compliant.

'I chose the forest as this month's focus because it's the second most popular suicide destination in the world next to our Golden Gate bridge. Hundreds go in year by year and never come out. A lot of them go a long time before being found and some are never seen again. Imagine the courage it takes to walk in there, knowing that you won't be coming back out.'

A ripple of murmurs passed through the auditorium, whether of doubt or interest Vincent could not be sure.

'Before I go any further, I'd like you all to think about your life. I want you to remind yourselves of the reasons you came here today.'

Vincent paused to let them get in the mood, finding that slow tactics were twice as effective than hitting them straight with it. A few of them even closed their eyes.

'Many of you are suffering. Some of you may feel lost or, hopeless. Some of you are expecting me to make all that go away. Some of you came here for help, a lot of you doubt that you'll find that here and you're right. Because this is not a place where you'll find just help. I'm not loosening your shackles. I want you to take them off. I want to free each and every one of you, myself included.

'But before we can do this, we must first believe it in ourselves. We must practice what we preach. We are free. Free to act on our own free will, free to make our own decisions, free to decide how much longer we endure our sufferings, our hurts, our woes. It is our right as human beings to decide what to do with our own lives, our right as free thinking individuals. We are free ladies and gentlemen, free to do as we god damn please!'

Eyes wide with wonder, Alexis stood from her front row seat with the others and applauded.