Short Stories

The Forest

Darkness. Silence. Everything around me falls still. The trees towering high above threaten to fall on me at any moment, their bark matching the coarse texture of the ground beneath my feet. The dead leaves scattered across the floor create an audience to my night of terrors. Pewter coloured clouds cross over-head, blocking out all light from the area. I look down at the ground, tree roots block me into this horrifying place. No birds fly over-head. No flowers provide even the slightest bit of colour. Just darkness and silence.

A strong gust of wind threatens to knock me off me feet but I somehow hold strong. I reach my hand up to hold onto my hat, when I hear it. A feint whisper behind me, but when I turn around to greet the only company I have in this petrifying place... there's nothing there. The wind takes my confusion and turns  it against me, picking back up and sweeping me off of my feet. I land with a thud, panting like I had just ran a marathon while not moving an inch. My heart pounds in my ears, getting louder and louder with every beat, and that's when I realise. I'm truly alone.

I slowly lift my knees to my chest, curling up into a ball. My eyes begin to sting, tears. Figures. I'm stuck in this nightmare and all I can do is cry. I'm weak on my own. Everytime there's been darkness in my life, i've had someone there to show me the light. But now? I feel a tear slowly roll down my cheek, with every millimeter it travels I remember something from my old life. Happy. Peaceful. Bright. But it's over now. it's all over. Upon reaching my chin, the tear hung there for a second before dropping, it falls slowly. I watch it for what feels like an eternity before it hits the dry ground and leaves a small wet patch.

Staring at that wet patch almost makes me miss the earth shaking tremendously. I quickly look around, desperate to find a way out, but theres nothing. No branch to climb onto, no gaps between the tree trunks, no hope in this place. So I sit back down, curl back into my ball, and wait. The ground around me begins to crumble and break away, quickly leaving me stranded on a dirt platform above a black void. I take a deep breath in, close my eyes, and drop.

Screaming would be pointless, wasted breath, so I just fall silently, keeping my eyes closed, my breathing steady, and my body relaxed. Then I see a face, a familiar face smiling at me, pulling my hand towards him and dragging me further into a field. Telling me it will all be okay. That he will be with me no matter what. and thats
when I open my eyes.

The hospital floor is not a welcoming sight. The sound of the life support machine being wheeled out of the room is not the best sound in the world. Neither is the flatline screaming down my ear. I slowly look up, blinking back tears, to see his lifeless body, drained of all colour, life, and hope. More of my tears drop to the floor, my sobs and screams mix in with the sound confirming his death. But then it all goes silent, and I hear it. That same whissper I heard in the forest. 'I love you.' And then the heartrate picks back up. And I realise he was brought back to me. And there's hope. There's light. There's him. And thats all that matters.

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