Forest Games

Everyday she would walk out into the forest behind her house. It was just part of her routine. To get off the bus, make her way back home, place her backpack on the kitchen table and set out for the woods.

She had no intention of where she was going. Each day as she first crossed the barrier between pristinely trimmed grass and overgrown underbrush, there was no end goal. As her sneakers fell into the lush ferns and vines, she just let her body take her. Sometimes she found herself strolling along the lined pines of a long forgotten christmas tree farm or following the twists and turns of the river that churned and bubbled behind the house. Each day had always been somewhere new. A different adventure. But never too far. She had always listened to her parents' rule to never cross the stone wall at the edge of the property.

Until recently.

A few days prior, she had been walking along a path she had frequented before - looking about, soaking in the sights and sounds of spring. The chirping birds. The vibrant green leaves. Breathing in deeply the scent of newly budding trees. It all seemed so perfect. Until she reached the end of the path. The old and beaten stone wall standing in front of her. Every time she saw it she chuckled at how depressing it looked. Some of the stones had crackled long ago. The sun had sucked from it most of it's color - only saved by the few sprigs of moss that clung desperately to it. She couldn't help but wonder at what time had this wall ever kept anyone in, let alone out.

Before she even had time to second guess herself, she was up and over it in a few steps.

Down on the other side, the path looked older, less traveled, and warn -  as if the wall had been built over it in hope of hiding that it stretched on further into the woods. But now that she was there, she continued on. Curious what lay ahead.

It wasn't long before she lost track of time. The deeper she wandered, the thicker the woods became, blocking out the sun, only leaving small patches of sky above her. She was no longer sure how far she had come or how long she had been walking. Her legs were becoming tired and her stomach growled, anxious for a snack. All she could tell was that it was still the afternoon, since the sky had yet cindered. Right as she was getting ready to turn back, something caught her eye up in the distance. The corner of a building, jutting out a pocket of trees. As she approached, she was surprised to not only see how large the structure was, but how old it appeared - transported from some other time. Peeking her head in through a smashed window, she couldn't help but crawl inside - drawn by its dilapidated beauty.

The ceilings had to have been at least twenty feet at their highest. Large pillars encircled the main room. The large dome accented by peeling gold leafing. As she walked around, plumes of dust from each footstep wafted into the air. Everything was absolutely stunning. Plants had taken residency some time ago - leaves bursting in through window panes, roots had crept in through cracks in the wall - certain sections of the floor had been carpeted by moss. The forest was slowly reclaiming what had once belonged to it. But as she kept walking around, she thought she heard something off in the distance. A quiet laughter. Childlike, not much different from hers. Echoing down the hallways from somewhere deeper within the structure. Curious, she crept forward, holding her breath while listening - hoping to hear something over her beating heart. Sure enough, it came again, but this time closer and less innocent. Not sure what to do, she began backing up, trying to be as quiet as she could. But the giggling continued. Each echo closer than the last. As she turned to run, she noticed another set of footprints in the dust, right next to hers. Whoever was there was playing a game with her - one she had no intention of taking part in.

Closing her eyes, she just ran. Weaving down the hallways, around corners, eventually finding the window she came in through - jumping out into the forrest. She didn't waste any time, not even turning back to get a final look of the building - running so fast that outstretched leaves of the trees literally were whooshing past her face.

But even then, through the noise of her pounding feet on the path and the swirling wind, she swore she could hear someone calling for her to comeback and play with them again.





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