The Forest

Red eyes

When the light comes back, I find myself in nearly the same place. The park. The only difference however, is that it's surrounded by houses instead of trees. I'm still next to the swings, however there's now a little girl sitting on the swing closest to me. She seems like she's just gotten done sobbing, and is now sewing a button eye to a stuffed bunny matching the one I was holding.

This little girl isn't me... Could this be the other memories that lady talked about? The ones that will help me understand why this place exists? I study the girl further, hoping to understand more. She has straight, light brown hair, and she's wearing a floral print spring dress. She seems to be about 8 or 9 years old, give or take.

"Excuse me?" Said a voice from behind me. I was so distracted I didn't even notice a boy coming up behind me. He was older, maybe around 16 or 17. He was decently muscular and had short dark brown hair. He was wearing jeans and a plain dark blue t-shirt. "Are you okay?" He asked the young girl.

She looked up a little surprised and then back down at her doll. "I'm fine. I just got a little upset when my bunnys eye got messed up.." She replied.

"How old are you?" The man asked as he sat down on the other empty swing.

"I'm 9. I'll be 10 in June." She replies, confirming her age.

"Aren't you a little old to still have dolls?" He asked, motioning to the rabbit toy in the young girls hand.

"It was my moms... She passed away when I was little and my dad got rid of the rest of her stuff." She answered, as she finishes up stitching in the new button eye.

"Im sorry to hear about your mom." The man said softly. "What's you're name, sweetie?"

"I'm Isabella. What about you?" She asked looking up at the man once again.

"I'm Justin, and I'm 16 but I'm turning 17 next month." He states.

They both sit on the swings making small talk for a while. Talking about school and friends and things like that. Isabella was smiling, and seemed like she was enjoying the company. Justin seemed really nice and sweet towards her. Anyone passing might have even mistaken then for siblings. I didn't find out much useful information while they talked. I found out things like they both go to local schools, Justin is an athlete, Isabella is interested in fine arts like chorus and art, neither of them has siblings, and neither of them have many close friends.

"I actually should get going soon, but it was really nice to talk to you Isabella. And you know... I might just have something for you if you want to meet me here again at the same time tomorrow." Justin said, with a warm smile.

Isabella smiled back. "Okay, Justin! I'll be here tomorrow."

Justin got up and waved before walking away, and Isabella began packing up her pocket sewing kit that I failed to notice was next to the swing on the ground.

I'm not one to judge people, but something about that all just felt really odd. At 16 year old boy going up to a 9 year old girl? Granted she was crying maybe he just felt bad and wanted to make sure she was okay. I shouldn't think too much into it until i have more facts, but I'm sticking to the fact that the whole thing felt off.

I watched as Justin walked away leaving Isabella to pack up her things. Now seems like the time a memory usually ends but this one doesn't fade. When Isabella stands from the swing and makes her way out of the park, I decide to follow behind her. She heads down a road going north east as she humms tunes and holds tightly to her stuffed bunny. After a while of walking, I notice a house on a corner that stands out to me. On the front lawn there's a trashcan over flowing with bags and a recycling bin littered with beer bottles, amung other alcohol bottles. The lawn was over grown and poorly kept.