Missing in the Forest

Missing In The Forest

"This is a tale of a time when things are so different, and I must record it in my book of memories." Fawn

One sunny spring afternoon, my neighbor Sharron knocked on my door, then stepped into the chaos of our home. Our three children were in school. Two cats slept on the sofa, and Miss Piggy, our rescued little pup, yapped and danced for her. The usual piles of books, magazines, and toys lay sprinkled about the living room.

"I wanted to take a walk, Annie, and it's such a beautiful day. We have at least an hour before the kids get home." Sharron said.

"In the forest or on the road?" I asked.

"Today's a forest kind of day, the long way." she said

 "Sure, anything to get away from this! I waved my hand over the cluttered room". I let the pup out to pee and in again, and off we went.

We live in a rural area surrounded by thousands of acres of forest at Wilderness State park in Michigan. We often took walks along a trail maintained by the state, and a local horse ranch used it for their riders, so it's a straightforward path to find and follow. It curved around and came out at the road again, about a quarter mile from the start. We set off down our dirt road onto the path with a sign saying, "Wildlife Protection Area."

Sharron laughed and said, "How are the deer and rabbits protected, exactly? Hunting season is a few months away."

I sighed and shook my head, saying, "Well, the DNR guy told me they have to thin the herd because overpopulation leads to a lack of food and also spreads disease. But it still hurts my heart to see the dead carcasses hauled out in the back of pickups."

We entered the path, barely wide enough for us to walk side-by-side. A blue Jay squawked from a sugar maple, and we watched squirrels and a chipmunk scurry across in front of us.

We chatted away while walking the familiar trail. A slight breeze kept the mosquitos away.

Then Sharron stopped abruptly and pointed to a large patch of Trillium, a swath of white loveliness spread out just a short way of the trail. "Let's go take a closer look!"

"Okay, but don't touch them, Jen says they're protected, and we could 'GO TO JAIL!" if we disturbed them." I shook my head and laughed, saying, "I'd dug up three and put them in our shade garden, and she nearly dialed 911!"

"Citizens arrest!" Sharron said, and we laughed. She pointed to more flowers a bit farther from the Trillium. "Oh my goodness, those are daffodils and tulips! How did they get way out here?"

"Well, Jen says this whole area was once a small farming community that died out because of some kind of blight or fungus, I'm not sure," I said. 

"Your daughter is a smart one! Do you think she'll be a teacher like you ?" Sharron asked.

"No, she wants to be a forest ranger. She showed me her report about what this area was like a hundred years ago. She says there are still remains of fruit orchards and even a few old houses way in the back. So there are all kinds of perennials: asparagus, rhubarb, berries, whatever the farmers left. People rarely go that far, especially now that motorized vehicles aren't allowed." I said.

Sharron yelped, "Ow!" Something just hit my head, a walnut!" She pointed to what looked like a green golf ball on the forest floor.

"We are standing beneath a huge old black walnut tree," I said and looked up.

"Yep, damn," she said and touched the spot, and when she took her hand down, there was blood on her fingers. "I'll put some hydrogen peroxide on it when we get home. It sure hurts, though."

A large shadow swept over us. "That must have been an eagle," Sharron said, looking skyward, but the forest canopy only allowed a view of small areas of sky. "It sure cast quite a shadow. This place is starting to creep me out, and we need to get home anyway."

 "We should see the Trillum and the path soon," I said.

"I hope so. If I don't get home when the kids get off the bus, there will be hell to pay. I told them I was ordering pizza for dinner tonight, a special treat." Sharron said.

We both turned all the way around, looking for the Trillium. Then we jumped as we heard a loud 'CRACK!" and the rustle of leaves and a thump as a tree fell a few yards in front of us, shaking the ground.

"Well, that truly fell because we heard it. Right?" Sharron issued a weak little laugh.

"Sharron, are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just a wee bit out of breath. My asthma must be flaring with all the forest funk." Sharron said,

"Asthma! you never told me you have asthma!" I said.

"I never had a reason to. It's rarely a problem in my sedentary life, and

 I usually don't walk this far," she said and gave a little chuckle. "Maybe you should go ahead and come get me when you find the road."

"Oh, HELL no!. How many shows have you watched about that? Never leave your buddy. There's a big tree stump right over there, see ?" I pointed to it about twenty feet away. Let's sit down for a minute, get our bearings, and let you catch your breath."

She nodded and said, "Okay." and walked toward it.

 I turned as I heard another tree fall behind me. This one was much smaller. I turned back around, and Sharron was gone! She had been only a few feet away, and now she had vanished from sight.

"Sharron? Sharron!" I called and searched for a long time. She did not respond, and I couldn't see her. This was the worst walk ever.

 It was too quiet. Even if some crazed serial killer got her, she would have screamed, or I'd have heard the sounds of a struggle. I closed my eyes for a few seconds hoping that when I opened them, I'd see her smiling face framed in curly red hair. But no.

 I had to get help and fast. The sun was low, and I ran in its direction until I couldn't run anymore. There were still no Trillium or bright spring flowers. And no sign of Sharron.

I stopped to catch my breath, and the scent of roses wafted past. I heard what sounded like someone singing. A bit off-key the way a woman sings to herself while folding clothes or puttering in the garden. 

"Hello? Where are you?" I called out.

No response, but the rose scent was more robust now. I walked toward the singing as it grew louder. A large row of overgrown yew bushes blocked my path, and I forced my way through them. I saw a flower garden and the back of a little woman in a long blue dress. She was barely four feet tall.

"Hello?" I said.

She turned and a little apple doll face crinkled into a smile. "Well, hello there!" She said in a stereotypical granny voice. "How did you end up here?" She asked. "We seldom see any strangers'"

"I don't know. I'm lost," my voice trembled. I felt so tired and confused.

"Well, never mind, you look exhausted. Come sit down and I'll get you some water." She said,

"Thank you, but I'd really need to use your phone. My friend has gone missing, and I need to call my kids." I said, trying not to sound as frantic as I felt.

"All right, come on in," she said and motioned for me to follow her.

We walked to the front of a small stone cottage. The wooden

 the front door was low, and I had to duck a bit to step inside. 

 Two green, worn wing-back chairs faced a small fireplace. A calico cat watched me from the mantle, then jumped down and sat next to my feet. Like the ones we'd seen earlier, a vase filled with red tulips and yellow daffodils also sat on the mantle. The thought of Sharron wandering in the forest, or worse, made me suck in a deep breath. How did she just disappear like that? Was she all right?

"My name is Eira," she said and handed me a ceramic mug of water.   It tasted wonderful, almost sweet, and I drank it all in nearly one gulp, realizing how thirsty I was!.

"The phone, please?" I asked,"

"Oh, of course!"

She brought me an old black phone with a long cord and a rotary dial. I was relieved to hear a familiar dial tone when I lifted the handset. Help at last. But when I dialed, the phone just rang and rang. The answering machine didn't respond with our message. I let it ring about twenty times, hoping someone would answer. But no one did.

My hands shook as I hung up, and I felt the beginnings of a migraine.

"Are you all right, dear?"

" Nobody answers, not even the machine!" I said, trying not to cry.

"Well, it's probably something wrong with the lines." She said and patted my hand. "You can try again later," she said as she took my empty mug.

" I have to find my friend and get to my kids. They'll be frantic!" now I was panicking."What time is it?" I asked, and redialed the phone, but just heard ringing. 

"Oh, six, I'd guess. I keep forgetting to wind that old clock, and that bird makes so much noise!" She said and pointed to a cuckoo clock on the wall next to the fireplace. The pendulum didn't move.

"Do you know how to get back to the main road? Or any road!" I tried not to panic, but it wasn't working.

"Oh, you're about five miles from Ridge Road," she said,

"Five miles?! And what is Ridge Road? I never heard of that one, and I"ve lived here for several years."

"Hmph," was her response.

I stood up, then sat down again, hard. I felt so dizzy. 

Her wrinkled face puckered look of concern. "Oh my, you're worn out, aren't you?  I bring you some of my special applesauce that I made this morning, that will perk you up." ``````````````````````````````````````````                                                                                                   

Applesauce? We were several months away from apple season. I shook that thought off, "My friend is missing, and I can't find her or my way home." I said and started to cry, which was not like me at all. This, in turn, made the migraine come on full force.

She didn't answer and gave me a wooden bowl of applesauce and a wooden spoon which was odd, but I was starving, and it tasted wonderful. I noticed cinnamon and another spice I didn't recognize. Anise?

 Eira took my empty bowl and spoon. I leaned back in the chair, closed my eyes, and took a few deep breaths. 

When I woke up, my headache was gone, and I felt rested. Then I remembered Sharron and sat up. A small window beside the door showed darkness outside.  Inside, a candle glowed on the table next to me, and the fireplace flickered.

I heard clicking and turned to see Eira knitting with yarn the color of moss.

"Well, you've taken quite a nap!" she said, "Do you feel better?"

"I picked up the phone and dialed. Again, it rang and rang for what seemed like forever, but no one answered.

"I'm so worried about my friend! She disappeared, and I tried to find her, and then I found you . . ."

"Shh," Eira said and put down her knitting. "Your friend is fine, and she's home."

"What? That's great, but how did you know?" I felt relieved and confused at the same time.  " I need to get home too."

"Well, that's not part of the plan." She said, starting to knit again.

"Plan? What plan?!" I said, now in full panic.

"We need you here, Fawn. You're part of us now." Eira answered in a matter-of-fact tone. You're special and were chosen."

"CHOSEN? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?"

"No need to shout," she said in a scolding tone.

"THE HELL, there isn't! They need me, and I have to get back!"

I'm afraid that's not possible, Fawn."

"Fawn?" Yikes, I'd wandered to a crazy old recluse's house.

I stood up, with some difficulty, and walked toward the door, relieved to find it unlocked. I stepped out into the cool night air, and darkness surrounded me. Stars showed more brightly than I'd ever known, but the constellations looked all wrong. I took several steps forward and noticed more stone cottages with candles making the tiny windows glow. The air smelled so sweet of roses and fresh hay. I was distraught, but much less so now.

I had something important to do. What was it? No memories came to me. Then everything went black.

I woke up in a comfy bed that smelled of violets. Wisps of memory caused me to sit up quickly. Then they were gone, and peace washed over me.

I pushed back the silky blanket and got out of bed. A white nightgown embroidered with violets felt soft against my skin. My feet were bare but warm. It was so lovely here. So calm. I listened as birds sang outside, wrens? Finches? I vaguely remember something that had troubled me, but again it faded.

 Sometimes I have strange dreams about another time and place, and I write about them in my journal. My students love to hear them. A fantastic futuristic tale of a world with carts without horses, boxes that showed stories, and stoves that cooked without fire.