Whispering Woods

"Another summer at Grandma's house", I thought to myself as mother and I pulled into the yard with her grey oldsmobile. Summer's were magical. I remember when grandma and spent the last few summers together. I loved how she would sit me down at night and tell me stories about her childhood. "People ain't like they use ta be child. This world has changed alot" she said as she stared out the window towards the trees. "When I was ya age we had these get-ta-gethas in the wood there yonda. We had some good ol' times back there in them woods. "Really?!" I exclaimed facing her to to tune in. "Yes child. We cleansed our spirits.", she said softly with the biggest smile on her face. I saw how her face glowed. That sounded intriguing to me. Every summer grandma and I would walk the woods and pick black raspberries to make pies with. Her pies were delicious. Each bite always seemed to tickle the insides of my cheeks. I loved it! "Can you tell me about it grandma", I said. "Another time" she said as she finished combing my hair. The next day came and I was excited about what grandma had to tell me. "Let's go for a walk" she said as she walked into the kitchen to greet me good morning. I wondered where to, but at the same time I want the element of surprise. I followed her out of the cozy little cottage. "Have ya heard birds sang so pretty child?" She said as she closed her eyes. "Let's bake a pie t'day!"Overjoyed, I ran to the treeline! This was the 3rd week of summer. Everything was alive. As I crept into the woods, I saw blue Jay's circling the trees. I smelt the strong scent of pussywillows pass my nose. The woods had looked as if they had grown since last year. "When we walkin, watcha step. Matin' season." She said. The woods were full of life-like energy. The ground was soft as if it had rich soil underneath. Hmmm hm hmm hmmmm...she hummed quietly and there was a shift if the wind... "Annnnnniiiiieee" I heard a whisper. "Yes grandma" I said softly with an eery look on my face. I didn't call ya child but cha missin' all da berras. You know nowadays yall children miss too much. You don't pay attention. We use ta come deep in yunna and cleanse our spirits. Some spirits would jump out the body when the songs took over. Some would get stuck in trees and neva really be the same afta'." I was curious to know more but grandma was in her own world. She didn't pay me much attention. She hummed quietly. Suddenly a guest of wind blew by. "Uhh grandma" I said running closer to her side. "I'm ready to go now." I figured we had enough berries and something just didn't seem right here. "They there's otha' worlds in these woods! Grandma exclaimed. " I wouldn't know how true that be tho." As we headed out of the woods I noticed my scarf had slipped off my head. I stopped suddenly looking back at the woods and then down at the ground. "Oh no! Where's my scarf?! I yelled. Granny insisted on helping me go back to look for but I figured since I was 12 (practically a teenager) I could go in alone. Face my fears. As I got deeper into the woods, I heard my name once more. "Aannnnnnniieeee!" Something whispered. Creeped out I ran and fell to the ground. While getting up I noticed fury paws crouched down beside me. A beautiful black wolf appeared, almost as if it were majestic or magical. "Good wolfy" I said softly, slowly standing to my feet. He had my scarf in it's mouth. "Now how did you get that" I thought. The wolf just stared as if it could see through my soul. Suddenly an overwhelming feeling of comfort came to me and something told me to follow. With each step the woods got thicker. The air felt lighter. I noticed a change. My body was aging with every step. All of a sudden the wolf stopped. The wind started howling and low and behold a Bush morfed into a portal. The wolf looked at me as it were telepathically speaking. I suddenly felt the need to get closer to the swirling mass of energy. As I stepped closer I felt the atoms separate in my body and all of a sudden I was in another city. "Where am I?" I wondered. All of a sudden a handsome gentleman walked to me and planted a kiss on my cheek. "There you are honey!", he exclaimed as he walked away from the fruit stand. "Who are you?" I said, feeling confused. "It's me Jimmy! Ya know...the fella u skipped the broom with last year. Happiest moment of ma life!" He exclaimed. I was confused. Every thing was awkward. All of a sudden my ears started ringing. "Are u alright luv bug?" Jimmy said to me. I passed out in his arms. Once I woke he been standing over me! "Where am I?", I said in a raspy tone. "Well darlin your in our room. Custom built by hand only for the most special woman in the world. You just gone and get some rest." As I layed there thinking, the only Jimmy I had known was my grandma's mother. "It can't be!", I said to myself. As I looked around the room I noticed pictures of my great grandpa on the wall only much younger. As he walked in with the freshly cut fruit, I started bombarding him with questions. "Who are you exactly? Why am I here? You said we skipped the broom? " as I looked down at the wedding band on my finger. "Don't be silly Annie!" he exclaimed while laughing. "What's wrong darlin. We woke up in this bed this mornin' and you was fine." Looking outside I saw the woods. They looked exactly like they did at grandma's. Come to think of the bedroom was very familiar looking as well. All of a sudden a little girl walked into the room. As she sat on the bed and ate her pie, know for sure that she was my grandmother.... I couldn't believe. The woods took me back in time! I jumped out of bed quickly and ran to the woods. "Grandma!" I yelled. "Grandma!" Still no answer. How would I escaped this place? I instantly dropped to my knees and began to sob. The feeling was overwhelming. I began to pound with my fist, still hoping that I was dreaming... To be continued...