A Ghost Story - Part VIII
Image: Andrew Teoh
Of course, by the time Jennifer had left Jim on his own in the middle of the forest, she realized she’d made a colossal mistake. She should have stayed with him, tried to move logs and branches around to build some sort of shelter. Surely, once the staff at the lodge became aware they were missing, someone would be sent out to find them. She didn’t have matches, but she could have rubbed two sticks together to start a fire, and then not only would she and Jim have been kept warm, but the smoke might have drawn attention.
But she hadn’t done that. In a panic, she had sprinted off, and now she was even more lost than ever.
She contemplated backtracking to find Jim, turning around to head in the direction she’d come from, loudly calling his name. And that’s what she did -- but there was no response, just stillness, silence, the forest’s vast indifference. She sat down on a rock for a moment to assess her situation. It occurred to her that the wilderness, gorgeous as it was with its crystal clear lagoons and endless legion of trees, was also brutal in its total lack of concern for humans. This was nature at its finest, but it didn’t give a shit about her. With that thought, she stood up wearily and continued walking. And walking and walking.
The further she went, the more things looked alike.
It was getting cold, and twilight was descending upon the forest. Jennifer was suddenly so thirsty she couldn’t stand it. Fear began to eat at her like a dangerous animal taking big bites. What if she died in these woods? What if her children, who were now in summer camp, never saw her or their father again? And what if her own father, stuck in a nursing home that might be as indifferent to him as this forest was to her, drew his last breath without her ever saying goodbye?
Image: Andrew Ly
At the thought of her father, tears brimmed in Jennifer’s eyes and she started sobbing. The forest was silent around her. She tried to gain control of herself, bending to peel some moss from a stone on the ground and using it to wipe at her nose and eyes.
Then she continued forward.
She had to keep moving if she wanted to survive. The only problem was, she didn’t know which way was forward, backwards, sideways.
For all she knew, she was going in circles since wherever she went looked like where she’d just been.
And then, almost like an affront, a deeper darkness began to fall. In a few moments she wouldn’t even be able to see her hand in front of her.
Cover photo: Sabina Music Rich