She stares up at the natural wall of timber rising above, thrilled and made eager by their beauty. An edge of apprehension and wild rumination tickle the back of her neck and make her only more excited to enter this silently forbidden forest. The tall trees rise majestically out of the mist around her. She looks around in awe at the timberland’s stately beauty. She twirls with a laugh, amazed by the silence of the woods and the slight spookiness of its splendor. The young woman smiles and looked around again, wondering why on earth nobody ever comes here. Again, she feels a slight prickle along the back of her neck.
A small shadow stretches out underneath one of the trees, reaching toward her. She does not notice it at first, until she falls flat down on her face as it spirals around her ankle. The scrape along her cheek does not even match her bewilderment. Shadows and tendrils are reaching toward her from all sides. She stumbles upright, confusion translating into piercing fear as the darkness lengthens at her, seeming to open hungrily around her. Small cracks of darkness open at her feet, and she bolts away in horror as her fears spring to ghastly life all around her.
The young woman’s terrified running brings her sharply to the edge of a cliff. She scrapes to a stop, looking down into the yawning chasm with wide and sickly morbid eyes. A warm whisper of a breeze brushes her cheek, causing her to look around quickly. She steps back from the edge, and as exhaustion creeps into her muscles she stumbles away from the cliff edge and back into the frightening forest.
She can hear water running nearby. Thirst stabs surprisingly through her mouth and throat, and she pursues the sound avidly. Though she fears she cannot escape the horrors and shocks of this strange wildwood, she responds to the need of the moment. She finds a river curving tempestuously around an ancient oak tree. She drops to her knees at the water’s edge and drinks her fill of the cold liquid before straightening again and looking up. The branches of the venerable tree are winding and spreading in almost unbelievable ways. Admiration of the eerie beauty can only last until exhaustion strikes.
Her body sinks wearily down against the gnarled bark. The numbing chill in the air reaches deep into her tired bones. She seems to think she recognizes a vaguely familiar scent, but she dismisses her own intuition. Her journey through these woods has allowed the abstract and imaginary to run rampant already. She closes her eyes, and her toes slip into the frigid water. She can feel the chill of the almost glacially cold liquid spreading up her legs and through her body.
Suddenly, she can sense the warm feel of arms wrapping around her. Tired tears form under her lashes as the tender love of the closest one she has ever cared for envelops her. A smile drifts across her features. Somehow, even after the dizzyingly long adventure with its fears and contortions, she feels content and safe
