The Woods


Leaves danced excitedly with the wind under the watchful gaze of the bare trees that loomed overhead. The sky was clear as crystal and the sun glowed on us gently- the fall breeze flowed through my nose and departed through my mouth like the coming and going of the seasons. I felt the dew from the grass cling to my naked feet like children to their mothers, as I ran playfully after my sister, Elizabeth, who giggled and fled gleefully, as if she were a garden sprite. We had plenty of room to play in our grandmother's large yard that we had at our disposal that weekend in the fall; so long as we did not set foot in the woods that sat ominous and beckoning across the field.

It had never crossed our minds to go beyond the boundary adjoining the wide expanse of grass with the tightly packed forest beyond, as we had plenty to occupy us. The mysteriousness of the unknown might have been tempting if our minds were allowed the time to wonder to the possibility; but they hadn't… until now. As we ran and laughed carelessly, movement reached my eyes, and the crunching sound of brittle leaves crumbling underfoot approached, but did not cross the boundary, as if also under command to not cross the barrier. My eyes followed the sound to see a small fawn, still green and freckled with the white snowflakes of its youth. It stood there - solitary gaze piercing me expectantly.

The giggling of my sister halted abruptly seconds later, leaving an air of silence. The fawns head cocked slightly as if asking a question and then turned around and ran off into the forbidden zone that was becoming ever more tempting.

"Come on!" I shouted tElizabethth as I took off running after the deer slowly fading into the distance.

"But grandma said…"

"Forget what Grandma said. I want to see that deer again, it was almost like it was asking us to follow it..." I pondered this, thinking of all of the horror movies I had watched…

"I don't think that a deer can do that: Mamma says they're dumb as a box of rocks." She stated matter of factly.

"I know, but did you see how it cocked its head?"

"I think your just imagining things," she frowned at me.

"Yeah, well, I'm gonna go follow it."

Elizabeth sighed but eventually followed me cautiously, occasionally peaking behind her, and above her at the overhead trees that mimicked the demeanor of a reprimanding adult.

The sacred boundary was behind us now and we had just enough time to see the fawn disappear behind a thick collection of trees and foliage. We clomped over the leaves noisily lacking the grace of the fawn who had lived his life in the woods. As we rounded the corner, the fawn was waiting for us, watching us impatiently.

"Told you it wanted us to follow it!" I cried triumphantly, as I always did when I won one of our arguments.

"That could be nothing," she muttered; But, the hesitation in her voice stood out like a white marble among black.

We could have argued further but the fawn was apparently tired of our bickering and decided it was time to move on.

We followed it deeper and deeper into the heart of the woods. I began counting my steps one, two… we finally reached a small clearing, where the ground was exposed from the blankets of leaves that protected it from our sight. I suddenly felt, as if I were a small grey, insignificant dot on a vast piece of paper, as I looked around at the seemingly endless row of trees, without their coat of leaves to complete them. I shivered - only the slow moan of the wind interrupted the heart wrenching silence and Elizabeth's worried shuffling in the leaves before entering the clearing behind me.

"Jack, we should go back. We have lost the fawn."

I realized she was right. The small, white dotted creature was nowhere to be seen or heard.

"Maybe you're right," I said, beginning to realize why Grandma didn't want us to come here. It was eerie here, the trees always seeming to look at you from all angles, unblinkingly. It was quiet… very quiet. The silence would sneak up on you, tapping your shoulder, making you turn around to find it had vaporized into the fall air, before you could lay eyes upon it. Thirty-one thirty-two….

"Hey," I said. "Don't you think it is weird that a small fawn would wonder about without its momma? All the fawn I see are right there with the rest of the family, maybe with a brother or sister."

"Maybe it got lost." she answered offhandedly.

The silence was downright scary now, as if it were a puppy, that in a matter of seconds had grown into a massive, bloodthirsty, hound.

"Let's get out of here," I said, voice trembling and cracking.

I walked quickly the way we came, hand grabbing my sister's shoulder - half to guide her, half to keep my hand from shaking. Three-hundred…. We walked quickly in the general direction of the path that had brought us here. We walked for several minutes before Elizabeth asked, "Where are we?"

"I am sure we are almost there," I squeaked, not entirely sure. I looked around at the trees but they were all the same. five-hundered... The same eerie stare from all angles, all sides…suddenly I felt very…

"Loooonnnnneeeellllllyyyyyyy."

What? Had I been thinking out loud? I looked around, and the trees themselves seemed to hold their breath…

"So alooooooooooooooone."

Whispering, coming from everywhere. The leaves suddenly came alive like a nest of bees accidentally bumped, spiraling upward in angry circles preparing to sting.

"Come stay with ussssssssssssssss."

There were more whispers joining in a choir of lonely voices straining to speak; like a man dying of thirst. The trees long, bony limbs reached out at us; trying to close us in there unbreakable grasps.

"It's been so long - so alooooooooooone, please stay with us."

The voices got closer and closer and joined with more and more voices, blocking the sound of my sister's screaming and my pounding heart accelerating uncontrollably.

"We will take care of you…, this can be your new hooommmme."

The words echoed loudly off the skeletal trees, and repeated over and over to us. The wind hissed in my ears like a snake that had been stepped on. The leaves attacked us, blowing against our faces, stinging to protect the nest. The trees grasps were very close now, ready to lock us away forever. I stood there petrified, eyes searching for the source of the whispers but the leaves blew in my eyes obscuring my view.

"Stay with ussss - " I covered my ears and shook my head refusing to believe it was happening

Then, the whispering was suddenly caught off - the leaves dropped like rocks back to the ground as if caught doing something they were not supposed to. The trees retracted to stare at us again - waiting…

"Jaaaaaaack! "

Did they know my name? How could they? I prepared to run.

"Elizabeth?"

That was my mother's voice calling out to me. I answered before I could not speak, "Here! We’re over here!"

"Jack, Elizabeth!" She ran and embraced us, she suddenly became scolding. "You were told not to go into the woods! Don't ever do this to me again!" She lead us out of the woods, the connection to the field was surprisingly close, we could have been out if we had just kept going a few more feet…probably

I suddenly became aware of my cold sweat and rapid breathing. I gathered the courage to look back and did not hear whispers, just the steady drone of my mother's lecture as she guided me to the house. (See!), I told myself, it's gone now. When we got onto the field again, I looked back once more and froze. The white, speckled fawn gazed sadly back seeming to be missing our company. I sealed my eyes tightly telling myself it was just my imagination, just like the whispers… when I opened them it was gone - like a gust of wind or passing traveler.

I don't really know what happened that day in and probably never will, but I do know that I will never set foot in those woods again.