Crazy Enough...

Chapter 3

I walked over and sat down on the rock that had once fascinated me so much. The mist had begun to turn to rain, and the ground had begun its transformation to slop. I stood then walked somberly towards the thick line of trees awaiting me. The soft ground squashed beneath my heavy feet. My hair stuck to my face and neck in a wet mess as the rain came down harder, pounding on the leaves of the trees.

Once inside the forest, the ground held my feet, and the rain dripped silently ever so often through the large expansive canopy of leaves above. I wandered through the undergrowth, squashing small weeds that had spurted out of the ground. The shrubs pulled at my clothing and hair, and the trees creakily swayed high above me. Eventually I found a path, though I didn't know if it was the right one. Upon following it, I found myself back in the clearing through from my view point, it looked the same as when I had first entered it. That first memory felt like an eternity ago, though it was barely a few hours before.
I turned on my heel and began walking in the opposite direction. Now heading away from the cursed meadow, I felt confident that I was on the right track to getting home, or as close to home as that house was. A few leaves rustled behind me, and I wheeled around, expecting to see Toby or someone. Foolish as I was, there was no one there. I turned back around and set out on the path again. This time a bit faster, for though I knew no harm would come to me, my heart still raced inside my chest, pounding hard enough, I was sure it would break free of my rib cage. I glanced over my shoulder and did a double take, as a shadow has crossed in my field of view. This time my fist clenched around my keys in my pocket, ready for an attack from anyone, but once again, it seemed to have been my imagination. Speed walking through the crisp air proved to be quite the amount of work, as I was out of breath soon, and still could not see any hints of civilization. My confidence from the meadow had long faded, and I half expected to jolt awake, soaked in a cold sweat any moment. Only this wasn't a dream, and if it was it wouldn't be the kind you wake up from.

I sat on a fallen over tree trunk, and surveyed my surroundings. I thought about climbing a tree, but decided against it. As I got up to begin my journey on the path that hopefully lead back to my house, I tripped over a tree root, and as I fell towards the rich earth, I hit my head on the tree trunk upon which I had been sitting.

When I awoke, it wasn't any darker than before, so I thought it safe to assume I had gone out for a few minutes, tops. As I went to push myself away from the dirt, I heard footsteps. Since the tree branch was off the path, I was hidden behind a shrub. The footsteps appeared to be coming closer, and I peered through the leaves of the shrub to see who it was. Toby walked solemnly towards me down the path, a serious and dark look on his face. Was he looking for me? No, because if he had been, wouldn't its've been concern on his face rather than a cold hard stare? The path veered away from the shrub that gave me cover and so did Toby. I watched him until he disappeared into the deep woods beyond. At least I knew I was going the right way, but I still couldn't shake the odd feeling that bubbled deep inside me. Call it a gut feeling, or whatever else you want, to me it was instinctive, involuntary such as my heartbeat, and it was telling me to get out of there, and fast.

The path seemed to stretch on forever, and it was even longer when you travelled alone. It ended finally, and the subdivision that I barely knew came into view. I stepped through the threshold, and into the front entranceway of my house. Looking around, I noticed that the entire house was put together rather nicely, but my dad was nowhere to be seen. His car was in the driveway, but he did not seem to be in the house. I called out to him, and heard my voice echo back softly in the eerie silence of the empty house.

Dad had hung a sign that read Home is where the heart is above the mantelpiece and I laughed silently to myself. This was not where my heart was, nor would it ever be. We would move soon enough, and this town that I barely knew, but hated, would be gone just like all the past towns. I sat down on the squishy couch, opposite to the small crackling fire inside the fireplace. That sign stared at me, even without eyes, I could feel it watching me. It mocked me in its simplicity, in its incorrectness, for my heart was buried deep within my chest, and yet it roamed the earth completely separate from me.