A Collection of Mind, Body and Lies

The Forest of Hope

"It has been two full moons since we had meat"

His wife's words echoed in his thoughts as he stood at the entrance of the Forest of Hope. The mythical and probably even mystical forest had too many stories attached to it. Whenever someone was in trouble, they would seek help of the forest. The forest however, could respond in any way it wanted. It could make you happy, make your dreams come true, even make good things happen that you had not even thought of. But on the other hand, it was also rumored to have given pain and suffering, curses that would last for generations, and even death to some.

But all of these stories were from the time before his own. For as long as he could remember, no one from his tribe had gone to the Forest of Hope. The Father of their tribe had placed a banishment on entering the Forest of Hope. Brick had entered the forest last, as the story goes, and he had returned all bloodied and cut. But the story did not end with his return. The next day from his return, he attacked the women of the tribe and killed tens of them before he was put down by the Father himself. The loss was considered unbearable and a decision was passed. But he was past all that. He could not stand his children and his tribe suffering anymore. They needed sufficient food to survive and the sudden drop in animals in their vicinity had led to leafy branches and flowers as food, leading to weak men, lethargic women and feeble children.

He checked his gear once again. He had a long stone blade buckled to his belt, a small iron blade tied to his left foot cover and a slightly larger iron blade in his hands. He carried a sack with him, an empty sack, for he had plans to fill it with whatever he could find. He pushed out a long breath and strode towards the forest.

Dried leaves crushed beneath his feet, with occasional crunch of a twig but he did not consider them a sign to halt himself from entering the forest. Huge tall trees with branches brushing the ground welcomed him. The forest of Hope was dark in the inside at first just as his hope was even now, but then his eyes began to adjust and he saw streams of sunlight penetrating inside through the heaps of leaves and branches, covering the roof of the forest. He looked at the sun, it was not completely on top yet. His shadow had not disappeared under him, therefore leading to assumption that he had lots of time to go in and come back, before the darkness would fell. Confident in his own perception, he stepped deeper and further.

There was no path inside the forest. It was as if no one had passed through it for decades. Some trees were young, some were as old as time itself. Their thick roots were jutting out of the ground, and even twisting and fornicating with nearby bushes and trees, making the path somewhat treacherous. But as long as the sun was up and lighting his path, he knew he was going to be safe. He was now quite far inside the forest, so he used his larger blade to cut a long mark on one of the very prominent trees. Anyone could get lost in a forest this thick. And that too without any myths or magic to curse. He moved slowly to a direction that he felt right about. He was cautious. Not because of the thick trees and bushes everywhere, but rather because of the almost dead silence in the Forest of Hope. He could not hear any birds, animals or even rustling bushes. He actually wanted to hear those sounds. He wanted to hunt. He wanted to take back something for his family. He could not waste his journey. He could not face the Father of their tribe after breaking a sacred vow and failing in the end.

As if the forest heard his prayers, he heard a bleak groaning sound from his left direction. He could not figure out what it was. He waited for a while, hoping to hear more. Hoping to understand what it was. He was not equipped to fight a sabre cat alone neither he had strength to fight men from other tribes. He wanted to avoid any struggle which could lead to his death, so he hunched and crouched himself inside a bush, remaining almost out of sight. He waited for a few moments before he got the courage to move towards the sound. Still crouched and using bushes and gigantic roots to stay out of sight of the unknown and unseen. He held his blade in front, ready to take on whatever comes his way. And then he began to hear soft breathing, someone was hurt. It felt more man as he got closer to the sound, and then he realized it was actually a woman's breathing and sighing sound. Someone was in pain. He moved swiftly now but still cautiously.