Fantasy

     Having cut through the bushes and having made it to the path that led down into Dark Forest, Leo stood buried in the midst of vine-covered trees, green bushes and wild flowers. He caught a glimpse of the company way down by the edge of Dark Forest and, maneuvering his way through the forest, he ran down to meet them. By the time he got to them he was out of breath. He slipped among them and came and stood by Roland unnoticed.

     “How can it be so dark down there?”

     “Look at the trees,” Angus said. “How’s the sunlight supposed to get through…?”

     Leo had been following the conversation until his eyes fell on the forest. The tree trunks were enormous, stretching many feet into the air so that looking up Leo’s neck became sore. Nothing he had seen before compared to this. The tree trunks moreover looked unnaturally twisted. He couldn’t explain it but it was as if they were suffering. Leo shuddered. The skirt of the forest was more eerie than dark, but farther into the forest Leo noticed the darkness thickened. The longer he stared into the darkness, too, the clearer and stronger his vision became. From the cliff Leo had a strange feeling someone was calling him down but the feeling had left. Now the compulsion returned even stronger. A powerful, cool breeze from the mountain behind them suddenly embraced him, pulling him away from the forest and, when it ceased, it left a painful chill at his heart’s core. Leo was startled by a hand on his shoulder.

     “Coming?” Roland said with a smile.

     Angus, too impatient to wait for a response, started downhill. Max and Roland followed. Crossing the border, they entered Dark Forest. Unease seized Leo upon seeing his friends in the forest. He had a feeling something was waiting for them…but what was it? He made a fist, rested his anxious hand on his sword’s hilt and went after them. Leo stayed in the back while Angus took the lead.

     They were now about a mile into the forest, walking without sharing a word. But while for the three their dread was mixed with awe, Leo went along trembling in pure terror. The moment they entered Dark Forest, to their right, Leo felt a dominating presence following them. The farther they went into the forest, the more intense the ominous presence became. Leo could barely talk. “Amazing,” Angus said as they went along, “Look how high this one’s top reaches!”

     “With such meager sunlight, nothing should grow,” Max said. The company was almost two-miles into Dark Forest. No longer were they walking on grass, but on red-earth. The darkness became walls on either side of them, but there was sunlight shining on the dirt-path. The trees had become bigger and more symmetrical, too, so that everyone of them knew had they not kept to the path they would have trouble finding their way out.

     “Shouldn’t we start heading back?” Roland said.

     “But we’ve seen nothing yet!”

     “Angus, who knows how long we’ve been here…and still we have met nothing but these miserable trees! I don’t think there’s much else to see!” They looked ahead and it was true—as far as the eye could see, there were only grey stumps, their branches so high-up they could hardly see them, much less tell where one branch ended and another began. It amazed them too that Dark Forest should be so wide. From the cliff they thought it wasn’t even a mile in diameter. Now it seemed to stretch on endlessly.

     “Let’s head back.”                 

     Angus looked at Max then glanced around. He couldn’t argue with him. “Fine, let’s go.” Together they took one last look around and turned to leave. But they turned to find Leo’s eyes fixed on the darkness to their right.

      “What are you looking at?” Max said. But it was as if Leo had become one of those trees—neither moving nor giving any indication he heard a word spoken. Max shook him. “Leo, what’s wrong with you? Snap out of it!” But he kept the same posture as if lost in the darkness. “Leo…this isn’t funny!”

     Angus rolled his eyes then shook Leo violently with both hands. “Wake up, man!”

     Roland pulled Angus’ hands away. “You’ll hurt him. It’s okay. I’ll carry him. Let’s just get out of here!”

     “I’ll take his head and shoulders,” Max said. “Get his legs!” But when they tried moving him, they couldn’t. “He’s become as stiff as a rock…”

      They suddenly heard footsteps coming from the direction Leo was facing. “Whose there?” Max shouted. His hand went for his sword. One second he heard the footsteps behind one tree, the next behind another. “Come out!” Both Roland and Angus took out their swords, too, the weapons shaking in their hands. “Whoever you are there’s four of us and we’re armed. Come out now and we won’t hurt you!” But Max’ warning was met with a laughter that started out low and soft but grew to a terrifying shriek that sent terror rushing through their spines. Behind them they suddenly heard Leo. Roland walked backwards.

     “Leo? We have to go…”

     “It’s too late for me. Go before she gets you too.”

     “She?-but how do you—”

     “Run.” The footsteps were getting closer. Leo cried, “Run…!” Roland tried pulling Leo, but Max and Angus dragged him away and they ran. Loraine Forest was far but they were hopeful. The path leading up to the forest was beaming with sunlight. They had an insatiable longing for the warm sun. But while running, the path began receiving less and less sunlight. The trees, too, that were scattered before, seemed to be gathering together in an attempt to obscure the path, though they hadn’t perceive any movement. Whenever they took their attention away from one tree for another while running, when they looked again the original tree had gotten closer to them. This was happening all around. Running as fast as they could uphill, their hearts were beating violently. They strained their mussels, trying to reach the light ahead of them before the small beacon became obscured by darkness. But the light became increasingly dimmer until it was eclipsed entirely. They were now in complete darkness, sweating and short of breath, standing back to back with their swords drawn.

     “What’s going on?”

     “Quiet Angus,” Max whispered, “Maybe it won’t see us in the dark.” They swallowed, their backs touching and their weapons trembling in their hands. For a moment silence reigned and the only sound they heard was their own breathing. Then, all over the forest, dozens of patches of sunlight appeared on the ground—one spot of light resting on them. Roland was facing Leo below when he saw a figure beside him.

     “What do you want with him?” Roland cried. They heard the laughter again, but like before it grew to a terrifying shriek that threatened to fill the forest. Just then, one by one the small spots of sunlight began disappearing until there was only one remaining and it was the one resting on them. Not one of them had the strength to talk as they stood together trembling. They suddenly heard footsteps close-by, but the darkness about them was so thick that they couldn’t see the face. “What are you doing here?” a woman demanded. Not one of them answered. “Answer me! Why have you entered my forest?”

     “We are…s-sons of the men f-from the mountains beyond Loraine,” Max said.

     “Why are you here?”

     “We wanted to to-see Dark Forest. We’ve h-heard stories about it since we were children. Sorry if we’ve o-offended. If you will allow it, w-we’ll take our f-friend and leave. You’ll n-never s-see us again! I s-swear it!” 

     “Fools…you can never leave,” she said and walked away laughing. They stood together trembling, still too afraid to move. Above them they heard the rattling of leaves and the spot of sunlight on them dimmed until they were in darkness. They tried pleading but their lips became stiff, and when they attempted moving, their limbs were frozen. They were suddenly seized by a burning cold so intense they couldn’t even talk. New terror gripped them when the earth underneath them became quicksand and they began sinking. They sunk until they were buried ankle-deep. Now they felt their toes moving like snakes, crawling deeper into the earth. From the time the streak of sunlight was taken from them they had began to see better in the dark, now their visions were keen enough for them to see the myriad of trees whose gaze, as it were, became fixed on them. It was then they understood what would become of them. A gentle slumber came upon them and slowly they began closing their eyes, drifting off to sleep, their hearts sinking when they realized that they wouldn’t leave Dark Forest.  

     Day and night in this part of Dark Forest were both alike. The leaves on the branches were woven so tightly together that sunlight could not get in. An unnatural silence, too, pervaded. There were no birds chirping or the occasional peeping of insects. Nor was there a place for thought, for the silence was far too loud for mediation. The symmetry of the forest, too, was sufficient to lead a man to the threshold of madness. Each tree looked stern and angry. So much hate emanated from one tree to another that the forest became a den of bitterness. Leo released a painful groan at the multitude of dark shapes staring at him in the night. He felt like he had been trapped in the forest for ages. Indeed he had no way of knowing how many days, months, or even years had past. Every second, every minute in Dark Forest felt no different than the one that came before so that time had come to be of no essence. Never could he have guessed the pains of a meaningless existence until now. His past seemed but a distant dream.

     Leo was startled by an unsuspecting silver streak of moonlight on the ground. The brief interruption it brought sent a flood of pleasure to his heart. His joy was immeasurable when light rained all around him and Dark Forest glistened silvery-white. He expected the light to disappear any moment and the darkness to return with a vengeance, telling him this was just a dream, but the light persisted.

     At the heart of the forest, Leo saw a girl covered by moonlight standing near a white lake. In all his time in Dark Forest he had not once seen a lake before. The darkness could not have anything to do with it because, with his dark-vision, he learned to distinguish dark shapes, so that he could discern trees, cliffs, even little holes on the ground. The lake would look no different from tar, but he wouldn’t have missed it. But the girl’s beauty forced away any serious thoughts of the mysterious lake from him.

     The girl was kneeling by the lake. She cupped her hands, scooping water to her lips. Leo’s eyes left her hands for her long, silky, black hair. She turned around, revealing her small, dark eyes. “So strange…so beautiful.” She hurried to her feet and Leo’s gaze fell on her slender waist and the silken-dress concealing her. She now had her eyes his direction and stared at him until he wondered if she saw him. Walking away, she disappeared through the trees...