FOREST OF THE LOST

PART NINETEEN

35.

Surely Terrence is not meant to live out his days or possibly live out one extraordinarily long eternal day in the confines of a forest like town park of a town he had only intended to go to so he could temporarily get always from he left behind. He can't have this; he can't let it happen regardless as to if his older self has apparently come to terms with it.

No, this is not right. Can Terrence even accept this moment he has come to as a moment of truth? He has accepted everything up to now as such. There is something within him. There always has been from even the moment he first arrived down to this town, something that says this is real... it all is. This is happening whether he believes it or not or whether he wants it to be real or not.

In this moment, Terrence deeply wants to leave this cabin, he wants to go back across that bridge, back along the canal, back up to the entrance by the car park, back out of the town village, abandon the new home he had acquired, get into his Ford Mustang and head right back to where it is he came from. This however and unfortunate as it may be, is not going to happen.

Another 'so what now?' moment hits. Is he to simply accept what has been presented to him or does he go try and change it? Is it at all possible to go change it? Is this why he is here in this moment, so he can make a proper attempt at changing it all?

'You may as well get used to it' older Terrence tells his younger self. 'We are here to stay.'

'If so' younger Terrence replies 'then why are we here together at the same time? Why am I seeing this and not getting to the point where you are, on my own?'

'Think about it. There is no time here. It is not today, it is not yesterday, and it is not tomorrow, it simply just is right now.'

'Alright then so, we can technically run into many alternate versions of our self. There can be infinites going on. Nah. I can accept some things, but I am not accepting that.'

'Suit yourself. You will get here one way or another.'

'What is wrong with you?' Terrence asks his older self. 'You have given up, haven't you? What about mum? You can't be content to stay here knowing what we do?'

'We don't know anything for sure and at that we cannot do anything from in here.'

'Then try to get out.'

'There is no ... out. There is just here. Trust me.'

'No, I am not accepting this. I am leaving this place, with or without anyone else. I am going back to where I should have never left. You know, we had it good, yet we still wanted to leave.'

'Can't change that now.'

'Watch me.'

How odd it is to speak of himself in the plural, everything is odd and twenty-six-year-old Terrence is ready for the oddness to come to an end. Extending an invite to this Jason Ryan fellow to come with him, Terrence is sure he will find a way out one way or another.

36.

On the life path Terrence is on, it would appear that the very place he has come to will claim him, if it hasn't already. He is currently unwillingly to give his life to the park he is in but as it is it appears that he will ultimately end up doing such a thing. Now, he has not foreseen the end of his own life or anything quite like that, rather he has met with an older version of himself and this older version of himself appears to be more than content to stay right where he is.

In fact, this older version of Terrence seems to have abandoned his near-by estate home to find or build himself a home of his own within this town park and it looks like he is not going anywhere any time soon.