NEVER SUBMIT TO THE DARKNESS

Many years ago, I was a young lonely man who loved hiking through the forest because for the fact that I never did like people. I either found them extremely annoying or extremely boring to the point that I would dread waking up and talking to my neighbour, Mrs Hudson. She would always smile like everything was fine in the world and she would always offer to give these cookies. Well, nothing was okay. My girlfriend had just broken up with me. My father had just passed away. I got fired. So, I decided to go into the forest and I came back with a tale that would change me forever.

It was a rather chilly night. I lay in front of the fire, holding a stick with a marshmallow stuck at the end. I could barely keep my eyes open after a day of aimlessly walking through the forest. The funny thing was that as the fire was blazing in front of me, I still felt cold and hollow. Suddenly, I felt something touch me. I was startled but it was just a rabbit. Nothing to be alarmed about. It hopped towards me and sat next to me.

“You will not find what you are searching for here, my dear human”, said the rabbit calmly.

I ignored the rabbit but it kept speaking.

“My dear human, the forest will not give you any answers but will only swallow you whole in its entire darkness..”, said the rabbit.

“What do you know? You’re just a rabbit”, I said with much annoyance. I wanted to be left alone with my devices.

“I know that look that you have on your face for I have seen it a long time ago. I know you humans look down on animals that are below you but please listen to my story. It is rather lonely in this forest”, said the rabbit.

Exhausted, I let any resistance fall and lent my ears to the rabbit’s story. This is his story below.

“A long time ago, there was a girl. Her name was Olivia and she was the middle child in a family of 7 where she was frequently ignored by her parents. She was often treated like she was part of the background not only by her family but the villagers who did not speak to her. Olivia felt like a shadow and every single afternoon, she would often disappear into this forest that we are both sitting in now.

The first time that my friend, The Great Bear, and I ever saw her was on a warm afternoon. She was playing with the flowers that sprouted at the feet of this humungous oak tree. Her smile was the most beautiful that I had ever seen but I was reluctant to approach the child. However, the Great Bear had no fear in approaching Olivia. I pushed against him, trying to stop him from talking to the child of the devils that once plagued our forest. The Great Bear continued to walk towards her and when Olivia caught sight of this humungous chunky mountain that stood before her, I braced in fear that my friend would be dead. However, all I heard of were giggles from this girl who started playing with his claws. The Great Bear patted her head. I hopped to my friend’s side and suddenly, she patted my head. I winced back and snapped my mouth at her which only led to more giggles.

Over the years, we became close friends with Olivia but she always had a special place for The Great Bear. Why wouldn’t she? Every animal in the forest loved him for his gentle nature and swayed them into an era of peace and happiness. It was quite infectious that it made me partially forget the monstrosities that the human race had inflicted on the forest many years ago but I could not help from my skepticism to seep through from time to time. I constantly reminded that this girl would leave him and would become like the rest of them. However, as I got to her, she was quite similar to the Great Bear. Gentle and happy, she and The Great Bear would often roam around this forest and play in the shiny lakes and would often listen to the stories that the foxes would tell about the great beyond. They would help around and play melodious tunes which brought the forest dancing about and rejoicing in the fresh air of the forest.

As the years passed by, we only saw her in the evenings and when she entered the forest, she would often talk to the Great Bear about her problems that she faced in the village. She longed to belong in the forest and hated being in her village but she could not be a part of the forest for she was a human. The Great Bear often listened to her troubles and gave her strength to go back to the village. From what I had heard, she had become a shop seller and often had to stay there for long hours. Her father had died and her siblings who were paid more attention in their younger years had gone to other cities, leaving her alone. Her mother would scream at her and would berate her for being slow. She longed to be free. A few weeks passed by and eventually, we no longer saw her.

The Great Bear eventually grew old and died without saying goodbye to his friend. The forest grew quiet and most animals started leaving for they had lost their hope for a better happier future and for the fear of humans who would come back. I begged them to stay and tried to bring an atmosphere of happiness back but I simply could not. I was not the Great Bear.

The forest slowly grew silent as the last animals left the forest. I was the only one that remained.

One day, I decided to go to the outskirts of the forest where I saw Olivia. She looked like a corpse as she trudged across the soil and she lit up as she saw me. It was as if she transformed into the same girl many years ago. We went back to the forest and she said that she wanted to find the Great Bear. Things had gotten much worse for her for she was betrothed to a gentleman that she did not love. She had become extremely lonely and longed for him. I told her that the Great Bear had died and all the animals had left but suddenly, she cursed me and call me a liar and a cheat. Like one of her fellow humans. She wanted to leave and go deep in the forest to find the Great Bear. I warned her that if she went deeper into the forest, she would lose herself in the eternal darkness and become a ghost but she did not listen. I could only stare at her helplessly as she trudged through. I never saw her but to this day, I can hear her cries of desperation. I really miss her.”

That was the end of the rabbit’s story.

“Whatever problems you are facing, my dear human…do not fall into the eternal darkness,” the rabbit said.

I stared at the rabbit who cuddled up against me and I fell asleep.

The next day, I bid farewell to the rabbit and hoped that we meet again. However, that was the last time that I ever saw the rabbit ever again but the message that he had given me has stayed with me forever.