Jenny Dolfen

Once upon a Haunted Forest: Faces in the Trees

Added 2021-10-07 16:12:07 +0000 UTC

As Agnes plodded deeper into the forest, the darkness deepened until she had to walk slowly to avoid stumbling over low brances and tree roots. All birdsong had ceased, and the silence was like a crushing, choking presence. Gnarled, dead trees stood on either side, overgrown with mushrooms, sinister in the gloom. While she wondered how far the Grove of Faces was and what awaited her there, she heard a squabbling sound far ahead. It did not sound like Peef, but it was a lead, and she braced herself to go towards it.

Something held her back. The hem of her cloak had caught upon a root - no, was it a low-hanging branch? As her glance followed its shape, she hunched down in fright as her eyes fell upon a nightmarish face staring at her from one of the trees, which suddenly did not look dead at all. As she glanced round in alarm, she saw similar faces all around her. The trees did not even move, but there was life and malice in their faces that made all her instincts scream to run for cover.

Then, far off came the squabbling sound again, and she gripped her collar tightly as she steeled herself. Peef needed her.

"I'm looking for my firecrest," she said. "I have no business with you. Let me go my own way, and I'll be gone immediately."

The answer came in a creaking groan, like crumbling wood and wind in leafless branches. "We cannot let you go. The forest guards its secrets. None may leave here to undo what has been for a thousand years." More branches and roots crept out towards her.

The hairs on her ears stood on end at these words. With a tremendous leap, she darted out of their reach, and did not stop running until there was grass under her feet and faint birdsong above her.