Becoming

The sky held an eerie hue as Sarah navigated down the wooded path. It was reminiscent of the bloody ooze of an infected cut, a sickly beige with streaks of crimson along the edges. She heard the crunch of dead leaves beneath her feet with every step. Behind her, she sensed a presence, the only sign of it in the form of a subtle electricity buzzing through the ground. An uneasiness over came her and she suddenly had to fight the urge to run, desperate for the safety of her living room.

“Keep your cool”, she said to herself as she stopped, listening intently for any sounds that might confirm her intuition. There were none. “No one is there, you are being ridiculous.” She thought, while glancing at her cell phone. “Crap!” She yelled out as she realized it was down to 12% battery life. She had several miles to go, and the sky was getting darker with every passing moment. She thought of the battery backup her mother had gifted her for her birthday the previous year, sitting on her dresser at home. A lot of good that would do her. She picked up the pace, realizing that she would not be able to use her cell phones' flashlight when it got dark, at least not for long. She needed to make it through the dense woods to the barn by the old Sullivan place on the edge of town, while there was a little light left, or risk tripping and falling on one of the many mangled roots or fallen trees in the woods. 

An owl bellowed a great “Whooooooooooooo Whoooooooooooooo” from its perch just ahead, with an intensity that seemed to warn, “beware, danger lies ahead”. She wanted to listen but knew that there was no turning back now. She could not shake the sense that she was not alone, as she glanced over her shoulder expecting to see a dark shadow in the distance, but instead she saw only the leaves of the trees rustling in the wind. There was something off in their rhythm. As if their movements were out of sync with the breeze. The trees themselves seemed almost human-like in their stature, standing tall reaching their limbs up toward the dark sky. The knots in their rugged trunks resembling eyes or mouths, screaming silently in the night.

Sarah felt her heartbeat quicken and fear constrict her throat, as she thought about Petey Jackson who had vanished 3 weeks earlier. His parents had been on the news almost daily begging for help in finding him. The police had found only one clue, his backpack laying on the road on the edge of the woods. Her breathing became heavier as she felt panic settle upon her. She had been in these woods a thousand times, but lately she had felt a sense of foreboding every time she had gotten close to them. She had a feeling of being both drawn into them and repelled by them. It was as if a force was pulling her in to be consumed by the vastness of the forest. With every step that brought her closer, she became more terrified of the possibility of being lost to it.

The sound of a broken branch to her right snapped her to attention. She whipped her head toward it and saw the eyes of a large wolf reflecting back at her. Sarah froze, afraid that if she moved a muscle, the wolf would pounce upon her. Instead, the wolf walked slowly toward the path ahead of her, never breaking eye contact, as if beckoning her to follow it. She stepped out toward the wolf, powerless to resist its call to her, succumbing to its will.

She followed the wolf as it moved down the path. It seemed as if she had been walking only a few steps when she realized that the wolf had led her to a place she had never seen before. She was very confused, as the woods had been her playground for most of her life. She had explored every inch of it between Cantonville, where she attended Penrose School, and St Maude where she had grown up in the house her Great Grandfather had built 100 years ago. She knew these woods, but she had never been to this spot. Sarah had no idea where she was or how to get back. Her cell phone was down to 2% and she had no signal. She stifled the tears that threatened to roll down her face.

Sarah looked around, to her left, a pond shadowed by the blackness of dead trees. To her right an open glen area riddled with branches, and rocks, straight ahead, a mound of stones as tall as she was rounded at the bottom and flattened at the top, erected next to a small wooden shack. As she edged closer to the shack, she realized that it had no windows, but that she could see the brightness of candlelight coming from the crack beneath the door. The wolf was nowhere to be seen. She smelled the scent of food cooking over a wood fire, and suddenly she was famished. As she made her way toward the door of the shanty, she noticed a tree stump with a rusty axe buried in it, next to a pile of wood. And a large tarp covering what she assumed was a cord of firewood to warm the hearth of this place through the cold Winter. 

Sarah took a deep breath as she knocked on the door. “Hello, is anyone there? She asked. She heard movement from the other side of the door but after a few moments, the door remained closed. She said, “My name is Sarah” as she rapped once again on the wooden door. “I’m afraid I am lost, can you point me in the direction of St. Maude?” She asked. Slowly the light poured out from the little house, as the door opened. Before her stood a disheveled woman. She must have been about 4’10, dressed in a raggedy cotton dress. Her hair was matted and her face covered in soot. “Come in my dear. You must be freezing.”, said the woman. At that moment, Sarah realized she was. 

Sarah stepped into the shack and welcomed the warmth of the fire, “Do you have a phone?” She asked? I need to call my parents but my cell phone has no signal out here. “No dear, I don’t. But don’t worry, my son will be home soon and he has a phone. take a seat and warm yourself.” The woman handed Sarah a cup of cocoa, and Sarah sipped on it, grateful for the warmth, but uncomfortable in the presence of this strange woman. Nevertheless she was glad as the hot liquid warmed her inside and out. Sarah looked around the room, every corner filled with saplings in various stages of growth. Some were barely sprouted, others a foot tall, ready to be transplanted. She felt as if she were in a greenhouse. “Are these all trees?” She asked the woman who looked at her and smiled, with an almost sinister curve to her mouth. “They are BECOMING. Aren’t you Peter?” she said, speaking to both Sarah, and the young tree in the corner. 

“Peter?” Sarah said, quizzically.

“Yes, Peter is a good, strong boy. He is going to be in this forest for hundreds of years. We all start off as something, don’t we?” She said.

As Sarah enjoyed her cocoa a strange humming sound seemed to come from the potted tree before her. "Did you hear that?" she asked the strange woman. Her question was met with a sinister smile, "Oh, it's just Peter." she said.

“Ooookay” Sarah replied, suddenly wishing she had kept walking past this peculiar woman’s home. “I thank you for letting me warm up, but I had better be going. If you could just point me back toward St Maude? My parents will be so worried.” 

“Nonsense my child.” said the woman. “My son will be home any moment. He can help. Besides, you are not ready for these woods yet. Is she Peter?” 

It was then that Sarah noticed the pot that the woman was speaking to. In the ceramic container, was a sapling. It appeared to be a baby oak, based upon the shape of the tiny leaves. It had been lovingly tended to and looked to be a strong and healthy plant, well on its way to becoming a 100 year old tree. Sarah realized that there was something at the base, protruding from the soil. She leaned forward to get a closer look. Panic completely overtook her as she recognized him. It was the face that had been all over her television for the last several weeks. With horror, she realized it was Petey Jackson, looking up at her, sapling tendrils growing from his nostrils and ears.

Sarah tried to jump up and run out, but instead felt a heaviness that kept her in her chair. Sarah remained still, unable to move as the old woman took her cup from her hands. She was helpless as she felt her eyes grow too heavy to keep open.” 

“Look Peter, I found you a friend, I am sure she will grow on you.” The woman said, as Sarah lost consciousness, destined to become consumed by the forest, just as Petey Jackson had.