Whispers of the Forest: The Tree House

Time stood still, and I felt like I was drowning. I was once again in this realm of dreams, but this time I found myself in total darkness.The air was thick, and I could sense death hanging over my head, looking down on me. A small light turned on, shining dimly in the darkness like a ray of hope. The shadows danced in an unsettling way, like they had lives of their own. whispers from the darkness, the constant reminder that I was not alone.Then I started to move towards the light, as if guided by some master puppeteer, I had no control.The voices became louder with each step. The light became brighter, my vision cleared, and then I saw a woman tied up to a chair. From the darkness, a shadow-like silhouette walks out and stands next to the woman. It slowly lifted the woman’s head, and then I recognized her; it was my mother. The shadow creature lifts her head slowly, and a big white smile forms on what seems to be its face, showing me that she has no eyes. This time, my mother did not scream or call for help; she didn’t show any sign of distress or pain; she just started laughing in a sinister and haunting way.I woke up, and I was shaking. My head was filled with questions."What just happened? Why did I go back to that place? Why my mother?"The questions just kept piling up until a doorbell snatched me out of it. I looked out the window; the sun was already high in the sky, hiding between the clouds."Perhaps it won’t be too hot today." I talked to myself while putting my clothes on and running down the stairs. I opened the door, and Theo and Leigh were outside speaking to my grandmother."Good morning, Adrian. Do you want to eat something before you go?"No, thank you, grandma; I won’t be out long."I said my hellos to Theo and Leigh, and we followed a dirt path that was leading towards the forest. There were many legends about the forest that surrounded this small town. The forest is dense, with tall, ancient trees blocking out most of the sunlight. For most people living in Brezoville, the forest was like a labyrinth, filled with twisted roots and overgrown bushes. That is why almost everyone avoided the forest as much as they could. But not me; I knew every corner of it. The wind moving through the leaves always whispered a new tale, haunting the forest. We went deeper inside the forest; Theo and Leigh were following me, and we didn’t talk much. The forest became even darker, with the rustling leaves and creaking branches playing a song to everyone that listened.Some even believed that the forest was a portal to another realm, and if you somehow went there, you'd never make it back to the realm you came from. A sign that you are really deep in the forest is when, amidst the thick vegetation, abandoned houses start to show up. Their wooden frames were worn out by the weather but mostly by time. They were always there; no one knows the history behind these houses; most people didn’t even know these houses existed. But sometimes I liked to go inside these houses, lay down on the dusty floor, and close my eyes. After some time, the house would start talking to me, telling me its story.When we reached the small wooden house, half eaten by the earth, we went left, and there was our hideout, a tree house. That was always our final stop; we never ventured deeper, or at least they didn’t. They’ll never find out what hides behind the swallowed house or what horrific things lurk in the dark.Our tree house was hidden amidst the ancient branches of an oak tree, hidden within the depths of the forest. It looked like it had grown naturally with the tree. A narrow staircase climbed the tree, leading us to the tree house. My father and I built it a long time ago. The walls are crafted from sturdy timber, and the window openings are large, allowing some fresh air to enter the tree house. The tree branches were hugging the tree house, protecting it. Moss and ivy grew on the outside of it, camouflaging it and making it nearly invisible. It didn’t look big, but inside it was very spacious and cozy. But our favorite place to hang out was the balcony because of its amazing and breathtaking view of the forest below."Anything new about yesterday?" Leigh asked.I almost forgot about what we did yesterday with the smoke bombs."I just woke up, so I don’t know anything.""Neither do I," said Theo, "and we shouldn’t talk much about it."We sat for a moment in silence; no one said anything."Summer, finally!" said Leigh.Yes, finally," I said, I can finally relax.""What do you mean, finally? You’ve been relaxing all year." Said Theo, laughing at me."Oh yeah? Where is your proof?""Your grades are shit."We all started laughing, enjoying the nice, cool summer day.Time was passing by slowly while all three of us got into our own corners to read. The rustling leaves played a nice, calming melody—a perfect time for reading."I wish I could freeze time like this forever." Leigh murmured while leaning back against the wall.Theo chuckled. "As much as I’d love that, I don’t think that’s possible or will ever be."Leigh shot Theo gave a playful glare. "Smartass."Theo smiled and stood up. He leaned against the balcony railing, his gaze fixed on the dark forest below. "We should soon be going. But before we go, while no one is here, I’ll only say this once: We don’t talk about yesterday; we don’t know what has happened."Leigh looked concerned, but no one said anything. The tension in the air began to rise."And don’t worry much about Isaac; we are stronger together. Whatever he tries and throws at us, we’ll face it as a team."Leigh looked much better now; she took some sandwiches from her backpack and gave Theo and me one. She looked much calmer and happier. "Agreed. We will handle Isaac somehow."The sun slowly continued its slow journey across the sky, and we leaned back and continued reading. That day was the best and calmest one. It was just the three of us; everything was simple, and Isaac was our biggest problem.When the sun was slowly starting to disappear from the horizon, we decided it was time to go home. Leaving the forest and my friends behind, real life came back at me really fast. The fear crept inside me while I opened the front door of my house. The question of whether my mother is back was popping into my mind. What should I do if she’s not home yet?Grandma was sitting in the living room, watching TV. Again, I was greeted by a big smile. "Food is in the kitchen.""Is mom back?" I couldn’t wait to find out; the nightmares I had were crushing me."Not yet; I guess it is one of those days. We shouldn’t worry; it is not the first time, right? Go eat."Grandma was right; she probably had a meeting or something. Who knows when she’s getting home? I ate my dinner, took a nice long bath, and went to sleep. When my head hit the pillow, I immediately dozed off, hoping to leave my problems and worries in this world while trying to escape to my dream world. But since that day, my problems, worries, and fears have followed me everywhere I go.