The Trees' Hollow

As I’m going down the streets of my childhood town, watching the kids in their cheap but adorable costumes, holding heavy and over-the-top plastic jack-o-lanterns, knocking over every single door, I couldn’t help but remember the time in which I was one of these happy and excited kids.

I’m on my way to visit my family, as every Halloween night. It’s what I have been doing every single October 31st when the moon casts its glow on the asphalt streets and the brownish roofs of the neighborhood. I recognized most of my old friends as I was getting closer to home and I felt a nostalgic pang in my chest by just seeing some of them so close to me. Everything had changed since that particular Halloween night.

***

The day before Halloween, my friends and I were sitting at the cafeteria, planning all the things we were going to be doing the next day besides eating candy and feeling sick. I considered my group as neutral. Overall, we loved to talk about music and movies and all kinds of stuff, but something I never really liked about them was that they mocked people. Maybe I should have left them long ago, but the truth was that I really enjoyed being with their chill side.

That morning, Collin Wingbarrow, had approached our table and asked us if he could join us for our trick-or-treating the next day. He didn’t have many friends and was completely overlooked by many people. Our group leader, Henry, just smiled. The kind of smile that showed, to those who truly knew him, the twisted, evil knobs and turns that were turning in his mind. Collin, though, was oblivious to this, and I, even, admired him for being so brave to stand up and talk to him. But then, we were all so overlooked, just like him.

“Sure, we’ll be… at the Trees’ Hollow. Ten sharp. Don’t be late.” Henry’s words sounded sincere but everyone at the table knew that they really weren’t. We were also shocked about the place that he mentioned because only horrible rumors emerged from that place. The grateful look and relief on Collin’s face betrayed his lack of knowledge about it. For me, it was quite painful to watch.

“Really? It’s a deal, then! Thank you and I’ll see you tomorrow night!” He strolled off the cafeteria, while I felt a lump in my throat.

“I don’t think you will.” Henry laughed, as Collin was gone.

After school, I decided to research on the Internet all about the place and I was surprised to find a lot of articles about it. Trees’ Hollow was called like that because it was an area surrounded by trees, that ended up on a deadly abysm falling off the side of a cliff, ending to jagged, pointy-rocked bottom.

The majority of the hikers who had gone there had, allegedly, died and the minority had survived miraculously, returning with serious injuries. Studies have been made about the place and they claimed that once, it was safe but due to erosion it had become highly dangerous. It was meant to kill you. Of course, there were serious warnings about going there but it seemed like there was no type of restriction to the area. Just as you go in, the path lined with rocks continues until it reaches a huge willow, which is the disguise of the huge void that followed. People may see the willow as a beautiful element of nature but in Trees' Hollow, it represented the end of your life.

There were other articles about how at eleven o'clock on Halloween night, all the ones who died there rose up as ghosts and roamed the surroundings, crying and wailing, until the morning came. It was weird, though, that ghosts were only visible to humans that were precisely there, meaning that if you were not at Trees’ Hollow, you wouldn’t see them. Their screams and screeches were not lovely at all, as some reports said. There were some pictures of it and though, it looked a bit relaxing, there was something gloomy and creepy about it all.

I really couldn't believe that Henry didn't hesitate when choosing this place as a prank out of many others. I was not going to let Collin go there. Tomorrow night, trick-or-treating would be left on hold for an impromptu rescue mission.

On the awaited night, the wind blew dead leaves on the streets and the moon was shining with a menacing glow. There was no time to waste.

Trees’ Hollow was a ten minutes’ walk away from home. It was not until I recognized the same spooky trees around me and the landscape I saw on the Internet, that I managed to sort out his figure. As I looked on, he was stumbling very close to the “spot”, the point of return. And to worsen matters, a gray and heavy cloud had started to pour a light rain that promised to turn into something stronger.

“Collin! Don’t move a muscle!” Desperation crawled out clearly from my voice; he was close to the willow, now. Another step and it was all over.

“Oh, hi, George! I thought you guys were not going to come after all. But I see that at least you did.” Then, he narrowed his eyes, portraying a suspicious look on his face. “Wait, a second. Did you just tell me not to move? Oh, I get it. This is a prank, right? The others are hidden behind this wicked tree and you are like the guardian. Well, let me tell you that...:”

“Collin, no! This is not a prank. Or… at least not that kind of prank. Now come here real quick.” I was getting frustrated.

He crossed his arms and with a defiant but comical look on his face, he said: “No, I won’t. Come on, guys. Just admit that I found out your little act. Or do you want me to surprise you, huh?” Then, he gave another step, and just as I had inferred, he tripped on a rock and fell.

I yelped loudly, as I ran over to the edge, where the willow’s trunk hid everything, but I made the mistake to not look where I was stepping on. And at that moment, all went horribly wrong.

I ran straight into a puddle of mud that had formed with the rain, and I slipped, falling down into the ground, rolling and rolling, scratching my face and hands with the soil, until I, too, fell off the cliff and into the abysm.

My hand grasped a rocky but strong ledge, and my whole body dangled over the pointy rocks at the bottom, where life ended even before reaching them. I knew I was not going to resist for much longer and that soon I was going to be the one who wasn’t going back home. Over my head, the uneven ground was very close but, considering my strength, there was no need to try to lift myself up. Concerning Collin, he was nowhere to be seen. Not even down below in the rocks, which was quite weird. But that was wrong, I was seeing Collin after all.

My eyes were not completely focused, due to the sudden shock. That’s why I hadn’t seen him so close to me, right there, sitting on the ledge, trembling with fear.

“George, no! Hold on, let me see if I can-”

And just when the last of my fingers were about to let go, he held my wrist and kept me from falling once again, into the void. Our breathing was ragged and strangely, synchronized.

“Collin! How did you…? I don’t understand.”

“When I… fell… I landed here and I… tried to… lift me up. But then… you fell.” Slowly, we were both doing the best we could to survive, but given our physical conditions, we were not doing much good.

Then, suddenly, my watch made a beeping noise, indicating that an hour had passed. It was eleven o’clock. I felt scared, as I remembered the rumor about ghosts. And just as if my thoughts had summoned it, a destructive wind swept over us, shaking the trees and scaring off the birds. Wails, screams, and cries started rising from the rocks from down below, bombarding our ears and minds. The ghosts were instantly visible and they were floating everywhere, distracting us with their sounds and dizzying visuals.

Collin and I were completely unfocused, all our effort wasted. It was in a moment of confusion that a shiny ghost passed just between us and it was just enough for him to lose his concentration and gasp. He let go of my hands. I felt like a ghost, falling through the air and passing among many, precipitating to the jagged rocks of death. I heard Collin screaming my name when it happened. It was quick and painless.

I felt myself rising and feeling light. I looked down at my body. It was transparent and shiny. There was no ache or discomfort. All around me, the other ghosts, were looking at me, amazed at how fast I had died and become one of them. In a second, they returned to their usual screeching, ignoring me.

Collin was so pale and had tears in his eyes, as he saw me. He gulped. “George?”

Instead of having an awkward conversation with him, I decided to help him, once and for all. For some reason I didn’t know at the moment, I managed to channel a gust of wind that lifted Collin and landed him safely, far away from the edge, in the clearing above.

When he stood, Collin and I looked at each other for a long time, not sure what to do or what to say. But we managed to reach a silent agreement, in which no words were needed. We had barely known each other, but these few minutes had felt like a lifetime. And now, whether we liked it or not, we were bonded forever.

***

Since then, for fifteen years, every single Halloween night I have risen from the spot where I had fallen and had visited my family and my neighborhood. The good news was that after my death, Trees’ Hollow had been thoroughly fenced and secured so that no more pranks or careless hikes ended in tragedy.

No longer afraid of its dangers, Collin waited every Halloween at the “right stop” for me to appear. He had even brought, all grown up, his wife and daughter, who was always so eager to see me. I never really felt any type of revenge against him. Instead, I was happy and glad that on that Halloween night he had returned home alive.

As for now, I’m content with floating around in Halloween and lightly scaring kids with boos. There is nothing more fun than being a ghost. But definitely, it’s not something I would recommend you to try.

The sun awakens and slowly I feel myself fading…