The Forest

Where... am I?

I groan, as my eyes slowly open. I blink as my eyes adjust to the moon light pouring through the leaves above me. Wait, leaves? Where am I?

I sit up and look around. Everywhere I look is trees, trees, and more trees. I must be in some kind of forest. I begin to wonder how I got here, and where exactly 'here' is, when I realize something...

"Who am I?" I say aloud to the empty forest around me, wanting to at least remember what my voice sounds like. Did I bump my head and lose my memories? There aren't any low hanging branches... maybe someone knocked me out?

My thoughts run wild as I try to stand up. I stumble but manage to gain my bearings and stand. I instinctively stretched and tried to get rid of the stiffness the ground put into my back. While stretching I notice something in my back pocket, and take it out. It's a wallet phone case.

"My phone! That's bound to have some information on who I am!" I say, still to myself. I go to unlock my phone, but the screen doesn't light up at all. A second later I try again and a little 'dead battery' symbol pops up on the screen. I groan, and give up trying to turn it on and move to the wallet side of the phone case.

Inside is about $23, a vanilla gift card for $10, a library card with a smudged signature on the back, and finally a school ID.

Name: Jessica Parker
Age: 18
Hight: 5'6

Well... I guess this is me.

It's not a lot of information but... at least I remember my name and age.

As I put my phone away, I find another item hidden in my pockets.

A switch blade.

I open the switch blade and study it. It's silver, and the handle has circular holes in it (though I don't see the purpose of it since it's too small to fit fingers in.) And the blade itself is plane. Or.. it seemed to be. I use the light of the moon to try to read the engraving near the base of the knife.

The moment the moon light lines up with the engraving, something strange happens. My body begins to feel fuzzy and the light around me fades to dark. For a moment I think I'm about to pass out again, but as soon as the light is gone and everything is pitch black, the light begins to fade back into existence.

However, this isn't the same moonlit forest I was in moments ago. My body still feels fuzzy and it's as if I'm floating. I'm in a room. A bedroom. The bed is made nicely, and the desk next to it has a new looking computer with Spotify open and "need you now" is paused 3 second into the song.

The dresser, on the other side of the room from the desk, has a few items on it. Before I have a chance to study the items, two people burst through the door to me right.

"Come on!" Says a deep voice, obviously a man.

My assumption is correct and a man about 5'10 with glasses, short hair, and the beginnings of a beard walked into the room. Behind him, connected by the hand, is a girl.

It's... me.

I look slightly younger. Maybe 15 or 16. I'm smiling brightly as the guy lead me into the room. He quickly taps a button on the keyboard of the computer and the song begins to play. He sits me on the edge of the bed, holding both of my hands and looking me in the eyes.

"Jessica.." he said slowly. Quietly.

"James." She- I mean.. I replied with a small laugh after watching him get all serious.

He smiled at me.

"Look," he began. "I really like you. And.. and I wanted to know if you want to be my girlfriend?" He asks with a smile.

My smile grows and I stutter as I try to answer, obviously caught off guard.

"I- James I-- I---" I can't get the words out, but once James starts laughing slightly at me, it seems to put my nerves slightly at ease as I'm able to speak more clearly afterwards. "I-I would love.. to be your girlfriend." I finally say.

We both smile and laugh for a moment. By the time we both stop laughing, we just look at one another.

James puts a hand behind my neck and leans in gently. I follow his motion to meet him in the middle as our lips connect. It's only for a moment, but I can feel something. Not who I assume to be past me, but actual me who is sitting off to the side watching this story unfold.

I felt something warm deep in my chest. Something comforting. However, as quickly as it comes it leaves. And it leaves the moment other me and James' lips separate. My focus moves back to the sight in front of me.

James and I are just staring at one another for a moment, smiling. He is the first to speak.

"I have something I wanna give to you." He begins as he gets up and walks to the dresser. "It's not really romantic... or expensive or anything..." he says as he searches the top right draw for something.

"You don't need to buy me expensive things. Anything you give to me I'll appreciate." I say as he continues to look for whatever gift he has for me. "Hell I really don't need anything to be totally honest... as long as you're with me I'll be happy."

He turns back to look at me for a moment to show he's sweet appreciative smile. He turns back to the dresser a moment later and soon pulls out a small box. He walks back over to the bed, not taking his eyes off the box.

"Here." He says, handing me the box. I open the box to find a familiar item.

A silver knife.

I seem to recognize it. I take it out of the box and immediately try to give it back to him.

"James stop, I-I can't accept this, I know what it means to you." I say putting the switch blade back in his hand. However he refuses to take it, putting his hands behind his head

"Jess, I want you to have it. Not only does it prove that I care about you and trust you, but you can use it to protect yourself when I'm not there to scare off all the dumb guys hitting on you." He says quickly, before I can continue to insist on him taking it back.

After a few minutes of going back and forth, I hesitantly accept the switch blade and begin examining it. I open it up and see something engraved at the bottom of the blade.

" 'to protect you' " I read aloud as if he didn't know what it said.

"I got that part done a few days ago." He says.

"You really didn't have to...." I said, continuing to study the engraving.

"But I wanted to." He said. "We're finally official, and that's something worth celebrating for me." He replies.

We smile at one another and begin to kiss again. I start to feel that warm feeling in my chest once again, but I only have a moment to acknowledge it before things get weird again.

I look up at James and me kissing, and my vision fades once again to black.

New character:
James Grey
Present day age: 18
Hight: 5'10
Relationship: Boyfriend

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Hey guys! I've decided to pick this story back up and try my best to continue it. I've thought it through more and I have more of a plan going into it. It might not be the best story but practice makes perfect. Please feel free to provide constructive criticize or point out mistakes I've made. I would really appreciate it if you could share this story with your friends so I can get as many opinions on this story as possible, and on how I can improve my writing.

Thank you so much everyone!