《The Opposite Of Writers Block》

You Are My Sunshine

My fingers ran over the hand-crafted music box slowly, noticing every notch in the beautiful design on top. It was a beautiful sun. The instrument was carved by my grandfather, and when I wound it up, the harmonies within it revealed themselves by playing the beautiful, happy tones of the song You Are My Sunshine.

I set the box down on my kitchen table and left the house, running off to the woods to play. I assumed it was all in my head, but I distinctly heard the song continue playing.

I hummed along with the wonderful song, skipping through the all familiar forest. A soft breeze blew past me as I danced happily.

I jumped in surprise at the sight of a teddy bear sitting on the ground. I lifted it up and hugged it, never stopping to ask where it came from or why it was so close to my house. Instead, I continued to play, now with a playmate. Overjoyed, I spun in a circle.

I screamed. Directly behind me was a hooded figure no taller than me, completely black. It had dark eyes that appeared as if they were bleeding. I jumped back and clutched my teddy bear.

I brushed it off, thinking it was a figure of my overactive imagination. There was no trace of it, so I knew I had simply made it up.

The song continued to play, and I continued to dance. I skipped and jumped, leaping and turning, feeling free and excited.

Another figure appeared, though this one seemed to have better intentions. She had deep set eyes and sharp cheekbones, but somehow, she was less intimidating, and because of this- and her happy nature- I decided she was yet another playmate for the day. She gestured for me to toss my bear to her, and I obliged.  After passing it back and forth, we each held one arm of the plush toy and swung our arms in unison, smiling at each other and swaying.

Her smile turned into a malicious one as she yanked on the stuffed animal, lurching me forward. Catching myself before I fell on my face, I watched her run off. As the music box got louder and louder, more and more figures started fading in and out. I started to panic, trying my absolute hardest to get out of the woods. But to no avail.

When the music got unbearably loud- harsh tones and jagged phrases filling my ears to the absolute brim- I curled into a ball beside the tree. Before I could begin to cry, it went silent. The harsh, jagged tones were replaced with the soft music from the box my grandfather gave me. I stood up and smiled at the sky. I felt an enormous wave of relief.

The figure who played with me hours ago returned, and for some godforsaken reason, I didn't think of her attack; I could only remember us playing and having fun.

The harsh tones returned, and her expression became malicious once again. She ripped the bear from my hands, shaking it teasingly before me, as if she was saying "What are you gonna do, cry?"

I lunged at her, pulling as hard as I could to retrieve my toy. This quickly turned into a game of tug-of-war until we stopped completely, staring into each other's eyes.

She dissipated, and I immediately set down the bear. My previous trust for it was long gone now. I looked up and realized I was in a completely different end of the woods than where I started. In fact, I had absolutely no idea where I was or how I could get out.

Where am I?

The music was nowhere to be heard now, and I was left with an eerie ringing in my ears.

I wandered the forest, touching every tree, bush, and branch. I kept feeling things touching my shoulders, pushing me this way and that. Eventually, I was pushed so forcefully that I completely fell over. I heard myself scream and felt myself slam against the ground.