Regrets Remembered, Once Forgotten
Forest of Life
The slight breeze came in from the west, causing the leaves on the trees to fall off. The forest was deathly quiet. An owl hoots here and there, crickets chirping, but other than that, silence.
Just silence, the way I like it.
I walked past the brown trees, skimming my fingertips over the bark. I hummed quietly to myself while I walked along, every once in a while pausing to pick up a pretty rock resting on the tree roots. Before I made it to my destination, I had thirteen shiny rocks total. I set them in my jacket pocket as I rested on a large boulder.
I calmed down my breathing until it wasn't heard. I peacefully closed my eyes and fell asleep…
"Daaaaa-nyyyyy," My eyes fluttered open. "Oh, Daaaaa-nyyyy. Help.."
Gasping, I sat up quickly. I noticed a hazy light disappearing around a tree trunk. I cocked my head. "Just the wind," I told myself. "Nothing more."
I resumed to my peaceful state, or at least tried. I grew fearful of the wind's creepy whispering. I've grown accustomed to it, but this time it bothered me more than in the past. It felt like someone or something was trying to tell me something important.
"Best not to worry." I stood up and walked through the forest path back to the small cottage resting on the edge of all the trees. Walking up to the front door, I dusted off the dirt clinging to my light blue jeans. I readjusted my jacket and opened the door, walked inside, and closed the door behind me.
I walked down the hall I was currently secluded in and went through the doorway. I found the small living room I grew to love so much. Cozy, yet formal, I designed it. My mother never liked it, but she doesn't come over often, so it doesn't really matter.
I took off my shoes, and my jacket, long forgetting the rocks inside. The window next to the small TV, I noticed, was open and another breeze was blowing the curtains. I quickly closed it and locked it still scared from the earlier episode. I mean, I was pretty sure I closed it before I left.
Walking up the stairs located on the other side of the room, I glanced at the picture frames on the walls. One showed a woman in her fifties wearing a black dress. It didn't look to well on her, not that I would tell my mother that.
The picture next to it showed two girls that appeared to be thirteen. One had her choppy brown hair down and a yellow flower in it. Her wardrobe consisted of a pink sundress that went to her knees, and a white bracelet saying "Best Friends".
The girl next to her had short black hair with a white ribbon in it. She had on a black-and-white dress with a little black bracelet saying "Best Friends", also.
Both were giggling around a large tree that had small steps leading up to the branches, where what seemed to be a tree house was.
I sighed, wishing I remembered the memory to come along with the picture, but no recognition passed through my mind. "My best friend and I don't even know her."
I wish my mother would at least tell me how she was like, but she says it's for the best for me not to know. She says it like my old best friend died or something. I'm sixteen, I should at least know. If I can handle living by myself, I can handle knowing whatever happened to her.
Not that I enjoy living by myself. Being disowned when I didn't even do anything. I growled. No need lingering around past memories, I thought to myself.
I rushed up the stairs, past the pictures, to the second door on the right. I opened the door and collapsed on my bed, not once noticing the white haze outside my bedroom window.
Just silence, the way I like it.
I walked past the brown trees, skimming my fingertips over the bark. I hummed quietly to myself while I walked along, every once in a while pausing to pick up a pretty rock resting on the tree roots. Before I made it to my destination, I had thirteen shiny rocks total. I set them in my jacket pocket as I rested on a large boulder.
I calmed down my breathing until it wasn't heard. I peacefully closed my eyes and fell asleep…
"Daaaaa-nyyyyy," My eyes fluttered open. "Oh, Daaaaa-nyyyy. Help.."
Gasping, I sat up quickly. I noticed a hazy light disappearing around a tree trunk. I cocked my head. "Just the wind," I told myself. "Nothing more."
I resumed to my peaceful state, or at least tried. I grew fearful of the wind's creepy whispering. I've grown accustomed to it, but this time it bothered me more than in the past. It felt like someone or something was trying to tell me something important.
"Best not to worry." I stood up and walked through the forest path back to the small cottage resting on the edge of all the trees. Walking up to the front door, I dusted off the dirt clinging to my light blue jeans. I readjusted my jacket and opened the door, walked inside, and closed the door behind me.
I walked down the hall I was currently secluded in and went through the doorway. I found the small living room I grew to love so much. Cozy, yet formal, I designed it. My mother never liked it, but she doesn't come over often, so it doesn't really matter.
I took off my shoes, and my jacket, long forgetting the rocks inside. The window next to the small TV, I noticed, was open and another breeze was blowing the curtains. I quickly closed it and locked it still scared from the earlier episode. I mean, I was pretty sure I closed it before I left.
Walking up the stairs located on the other side of the room, I glanced at the picture frames on the walls. One showed a woman in her fifties wearing a black dress. It didn't look to well on her, not that I would tell my mother that.
The picture next to it showed two girls that appeared to be thirteen. One had her choppy brown hair down and a yellow flower in it. Her wardrobe consisted of a pink sundress that went to her knees, and a white bracelet saying "Best Friends".
The girl next to her had short black hair with a white ribbon in it. She had on a black-and-white dress with a little black bracelet saying "Best Friends", also.
Both were giggling around a large tree that had small steps leading up to the branches, where what seemed to be a tree house was.
I sighed, wishing I remembered the memory to come along with the picture, but no recognition passed through my mind. "My best friend and I don't even know her."
I wish my mother would at least tell me how she was like, but she says it's for the best for me not to know. She says it like my old best friend died or something. I'm sixteen, I should at least know. If I can handle living by myself, I can handle knowing whatever happened to her.
Not that I enjoy living by myself. Being disowned when I didn't even do anything. I growled. No need lingering around past memories, I thought to myself.
I rushed up the stairs, past the pictures, to the second door on the right. I opened the door and collapsed on my bed, not once noticing the white haze outside my bedroom window.