The Forest Trip of a Fun Guy

“Kara, you do realise how crazy you sound right?” said Miles in exasperation. “You need to turn back and take me to the hospital right now.”

“Your crime against the forest will be met with vengeance,” Kara recalled. “That’s what the old woman said, Miles! I know you felt it too. She wasn’t normal. That forest wasn’t normal. And look! The blue mark has already spread up your arm. It was just a patch on your hand like two hours ago. No medical condition would do that.”

“So…what? You think I’m turning into a mushroom or something?” Miles sniggered. “Come on, Kara. It’s probably just some sort of rare allergic reaction.” The thing is, Miles did feel what Kara felt. The woman’s haunting green eyes were etched into his mind. And the restricted area of the forest that they trespassed into seemed so…alive. But Miles didn’t believe in the supernatural. It was just some creepy woman in an eerie forest, nothing more.

“Look. My gut is telling me that we need to go back to that woman. And my gut is never wrong. So I’m taking you back to that forest whether you like it or not!” Kara stepped on the accelerator and they sped down the winding highway.

They headed toward Captown’s forest reserve, which was about an hour drive away from the city center. It was a familiar route for Miles and Kara, having travelled this way to the forest just yesterday.

“What makes you think she’ll even be here today?” grumbled Miles as they got out of the car in the forest reserve carpark.

“She’s known to always lurk here. Homeless, probably,” Kara replied distractedly as she scanned the area in search of the woman.

“There she is!” Kara exclaimed after a few minutes. Miles looked toward where Kara was pointing, and true enough at a rest area sat a woman with long grey hair. They were quite a distance from her with multiple groups of hikers in between them. And yet, her gaze was pinned on him, he was sure of it.

“Back so soon?” asked the green-eyed woman as they approached her. Her lips curled into a knowing smile that made Miles’ skin crawl.

“What did you do to him?” Kara demanded, grabbing Miles’ right wrist and pulling up his sleeve to reveal the blue discolouration.

“Didn’t do nothing, did I? The boy did it to himself. He knows it. Warned you too, I did,” said the woman, looking amused.

“What did I do? Is hiking in a forest a crime now?” Miles snapped.

The woman’s expression twisted, smile dropping into a scowl. “You ignored the warnings. You intruded into the sacred land. The untouched area of the forest meant to be preserved. You ripped away a rare mushroom from the earth, took your pictures and trampled it.”

Miles tried to hide his surprise that the woman knew of this. He was sure that no one, aside from himself and Kara, was there. He had started to feel bored on his hike along the forest trail yesterday. And being the fun guy he is, he had dragged a reluctant Kara on a little adventure off the beaten track and eventually entered a restricted region of the forest. Miles had known that there was something different about that area the moment he crossed the barrier. Flowers of unimaginable colours dotted the trees. Birdsong filled the air like a symphony, playing a soft, sweet tune like a soothing lullaby. But the iridescent blue mushroom had caught his eye and his mischief overpowered his wonder.

“I don’t know what–“

The woman yanked Miles’ wrist and examined his arm. The blue was almost to Miles’ shoulders now. “Three hours,” she said softly, her smile returning to her face.

“Three hours till…?”

“What is stolen from the forest, the forest mother will take back. Oh yes, she will. Three hours. A life replaced, it’ll be.”

There was a moment of silence as Miles processed her words. Then he broke into a chuckle.

“Hey Kara. Sounds like I was right. I am turning into a mushroom.”

“Miles, this isn’t a joke. I think…I think she’s serious,” Kara looked at him with watery eyes.

“No joke,” the woman grinned and started tapping her head. “Top of head, touch it. You feel the cap, yes?”

Miles raised a tentative hand to his head. Right in the center, he felt something strange. It was small, the size of a coin perhaps, but unmistakably squishy. Shit.

Miles exploded into a flurry of panic. He tried ripping off the small growing cap, but it hurt as though he was pulling on his own skin. A litany of curses flew from his lips. Kara stared in disbelief, her hands over her mouth.

“That won’t work now, will it?” the woman gave a laugh. “Only way to stop it is to get forgiveness from forest mother.”

“How?” Kara pleaded. “How do we get her forgiveness?”

“You ask for it, yes? Forest mother listens to those that journey to the mother tree.”

“Yes…yes,” Kara started. “The Captown Oak. It’s one of the oldest and largest oak trees in the world. It’s what hikers come to Captown for.” She whipped out her phone.

“You said we had three hours, right?” Kara asked the woman.

“Twenty-four hours from the evil deed, in fact,” the woman crinkled her nose.

“Twenty-four…when did you…oh! I took that picture of you at…3:21pm yesterday. Now’s…12:38pm. So we have-“

“Two hours, forty three minutes,” Miles finished. He had been immobilised in disbelief at his predicament, but the mention of the time limit jolted him back to his senses.

“Two hours, forty three minutes,” Kara repeated in confirmation. “We need to go. Now.”

Having checked the navigation app, they established that the winding, gentle hiking trail would take far too long. And as the saying goes, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. So through the forest they went, with branches clawing at their clothes and roots tripping their feet. Although they were hindered by the terrain, according to Kara’s calculations, they should take approximately two hours if they kept a brisk pace.

“We’re gonna make it,” panted Kara, an hour into their race. “We’re making good time. You’re gonna be alright, Miles.” Miles figured she was probably trying to comfort herself as much as comfort him. They were only halfway there but the exhaustion was already sinking in. Although every step felt harder than the last, still they trudged through the dense undergrowth with urgency.

“Wait,” said Kara, stopping suddenly.

“What?” Miles replied, annoyed at having lost his momentum.

“Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Miles strained to listen. Then he heard it. A high-pitched whine somewhere to his left.

“It’s probably just some animal. Come on Kara. We don’t have time to lose.”

“No wait!” Kara grabbed onto Miles’ arm. “There it is!”

Miles looked over to see a small animal, flailing around wildly. It was moving in a strange way, like it was being restrained.

“It’s a raccoon! It’s caught in a net,” said Kara. Then turning to Miles she continued, “We have to help it.”

“What?” Miles blurted. “We don’t have time for that. In case you forgot, I’ll be turning into a mushroom in like–“ he checked his watch, “–an hour and a half. So unless you think that raccoon’s life is more important than mine–“

“Miles, listen to me. What if this is some sort of test? You got into this mess by upsetting the forest. What if we get to the Oak in time, but the forest mother doesn’t forgive you because you placed yourself over her creatures?”

Miles groaned and covered his face in hands. Seriously? All this over a mushroom?

“We have time,” Kara insisted. “We just need another hour, I promise.”

“Fine. Let’s get this over with.” Miles knew he could never win against her.

Catching the raccoon was the first challenge. At being chased, the raccoon thrashed around, baring its fangs. But exhaustion eventually took over the creature and Miles nabbed it. Getting the net off was the second challenge. In its panic, the raccoon entangled itself so tightly in the netting, there was no way it was coming out without cutting it. Without proper scissors, Miles had no choice but to use the car keys to slowly saw through the net.

Finally, the net fell away and the raccoon scrambled out. It scurried off, but not before gazing directly at Miles. It could have been Miles’ imagination, but he felt some sort of understanding pass between them. Was that appreciation he felt from the creature? Whatever it was, it gave Miles a sense of pride, and he smiled.

Kara pulled Miles in for a hug, but broke apart after noticing the blue marks which had spread across his body, and the mushroom cap that started to peek out of his hair.

Miles checked his watch. “It’s 2:04pm. We need to move.”.

With the tighter timeline, Miles and Kara kicked their pace up a notch, adrenaline from their encounter with the raccoon driving them forward. Their clothes were smeared with dirt and soaked in sweat. Miles couldn’t wait to return home and sink into a hot bath. This desire seemed to energise him even more.

They pushed through for around forty minutes, only slowing down for quick swigs of water. But just then, something caught Miles’ eye. A vast field of purple mingled in the green.

“Are those…flowers?” Miles wondered.

“Wildflowers! They’re beautiful,” Kara remarked. And so they were. A sea of graceful flowers, each a palette of different shades of purple. The petals swayed tenderly in the breeze, wafting a sweet scent into the air. They also blanketed the entire route to the Oak.

“We need to go around it don’t we…” Miles sighed resignedly.

Kara nodded, obviously trying her best to hide her worry. “We need to hurry.”

The wildflowers seemed to go on forever, expanding on either side. A wave of anxiety flooded Miles. Was he going to make it? It was already a quarter to 3:00pm. His entire body was blue, and the bright blue mushroom cap had grown to the width of his head. Kara took his hand, and led him down one side of the field.

The detour had cost them dearly, cutting out at least twenty minutes of their precious time. At the end of the flower field, Kara recalculated their route. They broke into a run.

“We can still do it, we’re close,” Kara shouted over her shoulder as they sprinted as best as they could over the rugged terrain. Miles had to be at that oak tree and ask for the forest mother’s forgiveness by 3:21pm. Even while running, his eyes darted to his watch repeatedly.

3:11pm. Ten minutes left. The tree has to be around here somewhere.

3:15pm. Come on now. Where is that damn tree?

3:17pm. Is this really how my life ends?

3:19pm. I’m not going to make it…

“There it is!” Kara cried hysterically. “I see it! There’s people there! Just a few more steps Miles. Miles?” She stopped and turned around. Miles had stopped a few paces behind.

Kara rushed towards him. “What are you doing? You have two minutes. You can make it!”

“I…I can’t move. Kara, I can’t move!” Miles’ voice trembled. His entire body had grown stiff. He exerted every ounce of strength in him to move his legs, but it was as though his nerves had been severed. Only his head allowed some sort of movement.

3:20pm. I couldn’t make it.

“Miles, no. You have to!” Kara desperately tried lifting him, but he was rooted firmly to the ground.

“I’m sorry Kara. We tried. You were right about everything. I’m so sorry.”

“Miles, please!” Kara begged, tears flowing down uncontrollably.

3:21pm. Miles’ world went dark.

~~~~~

Miles had never felt so comfortable in his entire life. It was like he was floating on a puffy cloud, snuggled up in an embracing warmth. Complete peace and tranquility engulfed him. Except for his hand. It was being squeezed by something, he realised. Wondering what was the cause, he tried opening his eyes to have a look, but was met with blinding lights overhead.

There was a gasp, followed by a shrill voice.

“He’s awake! Miles can you hear me?”

“Kara?” Miles tried to ask, but he wasn’t sure if any sound came out of him. Suddenly, his memories surged back into him like a tidal wave. He didn’t make it to the Oak in time. He was going to become a mushroom. He didn’t have time to tell Kara everything he wanted. Like how sorry he was for putting them through this ordeal. Or how thankful he was to have had her by his side the entire time. His eyes began to adjust to the glare.

“Miles, you idiot,” said Kara as she flopped over Miles in a half-hug.

“Kara…what happened? Where am I?”

“What happened? What happened? You ate a freaking mushroom from the forest floor is what happened. What were you thinking?”

“Wait,” Miles said, his senses slowly coming back to him. “Ate a mushroom? I didn’t eat the mushroom. Even I’m not stupid enough to do something like that. I became a mushroom.”

Kara stared at him blankly. “Yeah you’re still out of it, aren’t you. I’ll go get the doctor.”

“Wait, no. Kara!” Miles tried to get up but started to feel dizzy. He watched as she left the room they were in. He was in a hospital room, lying on a soft bed and connected to all sorts of tubings and monitor screens.

I ate the blue mushroom? Miles pondered. All of that was just a hallucination? That can’t be. I wouldn’t do that. I think…?

Kara returned to the room, bringing along with her a masked-up female doctor with grey hair up in a tight bun.

“Awake now, are you?” said the old doctor with a chuckle as she walked up to Miles. “You must have had one hell of a trip!”

Miles couldn’t reply. All he could do was stare into those familiar green eyes. Eyes that perfectly captured the magic of the forest.