Into The Unknown

'The beginning to this might also be the end to something that has been not seen nor heard of before.'

Michael woke up early in the morning, he usually never did so but today he did and he went for a walk outside to get some fresh air after all those days of work and overtime, he went to walk at around 6.30 in the morning and the environment was so full of freshness and cool, he never felt so full of happiness before. He saw various trees - pine, European beech but a lot of oak trees which was rather rare and he thought he hadn't noticed them before.

He used to live on the outskirts of the town in the house where he grew up as a child, his father had died in a car accident that hit an oak tree earlier this year and he always wanted Michael to stay with him but due to his job, Michael had no time at all and every time his father requested, he had to disagree with him due to his helplessness.

Growing up as a child, he did not like that place because of the weird incidents that took place there, he used to tell everyone about seeing lights in the sky hovering around, strange creatures and even voices mumbling around everywhere. He was always told to not play such pranks by the people living around when he told his friends and they further told their parents.

His father however believed in him and he said, "Son, People who have seen, they speak and believe and the ones that have not seen, call it the unknown." As time passed, he grew older, started college and he had almost forgotten about it until one day, he got the news of his father's death and all he left behind was a note for Michael.

"Dear Son,

I really wished you were here with me, after your mom passed away giving birth to you, I really thought that everything was over but you made me happy and we both have been more of friends than father-son. I know my time has come and I have to go now, this feeling of loneliness and horror creeps on me every single day.

I might not even be alive when you read this letter but all I wanna say is after I no longer exist, please come back and stay here with the memories we all have created.

'Be not scared for the unknown'

Dad"

He was walking in happiness and joy being close to nature until he saw something eerie, he saw a wooden embarking on a tree that read 'walk straight', further he saw 'almost there', further he saw 'walk 60 steps and take a left into the forest'. He thought it must be a prank but what he couldn't make sense of was the way it was written on the same species of trees - oak. He felt that as if someone wrote it for him specifically. Curiosity got him and now he wasn't walking in merry but walking searching for something.

He walked for half an hour until he reached a spot where there were two oak trees as if they were making an entrance into the forest, he walked in with courage. He walked through an oak forest and reached a cave that was guarded on all sides by oak trees, he had his flashlight with him because he went out early in the morning, and he walked inside the cave. This was deep, silent and a really dark cave, it felt as if no soul had entered this cave for decades. He walked in deep until he reached a dead end, he was confused and thought that he was simply wasting his time, as he turned back to go out of the cave, the cave was blocked, it was blocked as if there wasn't any path there ever, it was covered on all four sides and he was stuck in the middle.

He panicked and got scared to his nerves and he started shouting for help, but no one heard him at all. Just as he got himself together and started figuring out a way to get out, the ground beneath him broke and he fell down endlessly until he saw light, he squeezed his eyes in fear of falling on the ground as he was about hit but he did not fall, he was rather floating.

He was floating in darkness and it was as if he was in space and all he could see was a tiny light from up above and in the split-second of time, there was light all around him and he saw glimpses of his father, himself as a child, his mother, his father sitting lonely after he went away, him working etc. It was as if he was seeing through his life once again, everywhere he saw, there was something going on about his past experiences of life and then suddenly, it all went black and he started falling down and black-out.

He woke up in his house lying on the ground and his girlfriend calling out his name, "Michael, wake up, wake up, wake up Michael."

He felt dizzy and woke up and sat down, he drank a glass of water and remembered the incident, he instantly ran outside. His girlfriend called from behind, in confusion, not knowing what had happened and he ran and ran on the path he went for a walk, just this time, he could not see any oak trees, no embarking, nothing that he saw before. He was scared and confused until came to a stop because he was exhausted running and his body ached badly and as he caught his breath and looked to his left, he saw the same entrance into the forest but with no oak trees and in the distance he saw where there should've been a cave but was an oak tree with his father's car crashed into it that was burned down and all that was left was scrap metal. He saw the unknown.