The Castle in the Woods

Wet soil crunched beneath his feet as he made his way through the woody underbrush of the forest. Small sticks and moss covered rocks slipped and cracked under his heavy brown boots, and his walking stick left little imprints in the soft ground before he was about to step, warning the unseen critters in front of him where his heavy feet would land next. The steely gray day was damp, and had the warmth of a late spring morning in the north, just clinging to winter’s last breath. It had rained the night before, and that meant the conifers above him were still sending little droplets of water down to the ground. Birds were now awake and in full chorus, their songs echoing around the woods in sharp, warm melodies. 

He sighed, noting his breath just barely fogging in front of him. His pack felt lighter today - tighter across his waist and floating off his shoulders. His gait was swift and sure, and the twisted ankle he’d been dealing with for the past week seemed to have healed. Michael O’Donoghue didn’t know what to attribute this sudden change of fate to, but in the fun, playful areas of his mind he thought it was because of his dream last night. 

Though he couldn’t remember much, he remembered running down a path like this one, though the forest was dark and ominous. Every shift in the shadows was a beast stalking his movements. He flew along the path, without any care for the uneven terrain, or the trees in his way - they all seemed to melt in front of him. Eventually, he’d come to the edge of a small drop - nothing which would kill him, but something to take great care in descending. His breath caught in his throat as he stared out into the valley before him. 

Right in the center, on a raised plateau, stood a castle. Its white walls met the gray stone of the sharp edges on which it sat, and though Michael could see only one side of it, he felt he knew the insides already. Rows of little windows, some lit with orange light, peeked out at him. The tall conical spires had little smokestacks rising from them, and from what he could see there was only one way to get in - a little road which snaked its way up the side of the plateau. His dream ended as he began to make his way down the edge and towards the castle. 

“Michael, slow down,” called a female voice from behind him. 

He stopped in his tracks and turned back, looking at his wife’s small face pinched in concentration as she traversed the path herself. Her black hair, tied in a cute ponytail, was frizzy from the humidity, and her normally pale cheeks were rosy from the effort of the early morning hike. When she’d agreed to come on this journey with him, he’d told her it would be hard, but here she was, on the eighth day of their hike, still moving with her bag on her shoulders and determination in every step. 

“Okay,” he called back, taking the time to admire the trees around him. Their dark brown bark was saturated with water from the storm the night prior, and soft moss grew freely along their north side. He put his hand on the tree to his right and almost felt its life beating through his hands. Here was a creature who had stood for decades longer than he’d been alive, and could be standing decades after he died. He took his hand and wiped it on his polyester jacket, frowning. The tree looked oddly familiar; even though it was nearly identical to all those around him, he felt it was different… unique. 

He looked down and noticed that one of its roots was forming an arch on the ground large enough for a squirrel to pass under without care. Why did that ring a bell? Just to that root’s left, there was a strange bend in the path, as though it bulged out there. Michael  used his hand to clear away some of the small plants growing there and found… padded dirt - the likes of which would only be on a trail! 

“Thanks for waiting babe,” said his wife, wiping her forehead. 

He stood up and stared ahead. Indeed, there was a dip in the landscape right where that bulge was pointing, though it was covered in small, leafy plants. “Emily,” he said, scratching his head under his hat, “I think we should turn this way.”

She frowned. “But… there’s no path.”

He shook his head. “Look there, see? There’s a dip, and if I’m right, that means there’s a path… and I think I’m right.”

“How can you be sure?”

“I… I don’t know, but there’s just something about it… we need to check it out.” There was desperation in his eyes and in his voice.

Emily remained unconvinced. “But what about this path? The one that’ll get us home in two days?”

Michael looked at it and suddenly felt repulsed. However, knowing his wife’s hesitation he controlled his tone and said, “Look at the compass… see how that path goes west? Our path goes north. Now, if we walk down that path for a day and don’t find anything, then we’ll turn right back. We’ll keep an eye on the compass the whole time.” He met her hazel eyes with his own brown ones and said, “We’ve got plenty of food, a map, satellite phones, bear repellent, a gun, and shelter. We’ll be fine.”

“Okay…”

He kissed her on the cheek and set off down the new path, feeling his boots break through the thinner underbrush. Michael couldn’t walk as fast here - he needed to be careful to stay along the path, but his instincts let him move much quicker than Emily, who kept one eye on the compass the whole time. There was something about this trail…  something familiar which made his feet feel lighter with every step, as though he was an explorer returning home after a long voyage. 

Soon, they came upon an interesting site. A massive tree, at least eight feet in diameter, was laid out across the path. It was not decomposed, and its bark was still hard to the touch under Michael’s hand. Emily caught up with him and said, “Woah… that’s a huge tree.”

“Yeah,” said Michael, putting his foot on a nearby branch. 

“What’re you doing?” she asked incredulously.

“What does it look like? I’m getting over it.”

“Michael, it looks dangerous-”

He cut her off with a grunt as he hoisted himself up onto the top of the tree, his bag feeling almost effortless at this point. He kneeled and extended his arm. “Here, Emily - put one foot on that branch there… yup, now grab my hand… alright, now push off on three. One… two… three!” He grunted again as he pulled her up, almost slipping and falling off the back end of the tree. After regaining his balance, the two stood at the top, noticing the path was much clearer up ahead. Michael made his way down the other side by gracefully sliding down, and Emily followed him after a little sigh.

The air seemed clearer on this side of the tree, as though it hadn’t rained last night. The wood was still wet, and some drops came down from the canopy as before, but everything felt less close, less damp than it did on the other side. They both took a deep breath in, feeling a warm breeze rejuvenate their muscles as they continued along the trek. 

“So, you excited to get home?” asked Emily, now keeping pace with her husband. 

“Uh… yeah,” he said in a small voice, smiling at her. 

“Hmm. Doesn’t sound too convincing.” She looked almost worried, though his smile assuaged her. 

“It’s just… I like it out here, I really do. I know we’ve only gone on a few vacations since we got married, but this… this has been my favorite.” He looked around and savored the forest. 

“You like this more than our honeymoon in Hawaii?”

He grinned. “My favorite part about Hawaii was the trails, honestly. The beach… to many people. The hotels, too modern.”

“Didn’t know I married a wolf,” said Emily jokingly. “Yeah, this is nice… no civilization… no problems.”

“Exactly,” concurred Michael, “And it’s cost us next to nothing compared to our other trips, right?”

“I guess…” She was hesitant to give her full support. “Aside from the packs and the equipment-”

“All of which we bought for a few hundred bucks combined,” interjected Michael.

“Yeah, aside from that, nature is free to stay in.”

He bumped her arm. “Well, since you like it so much, we gotta do it at least a few times a year, okay?”

She bumped him back. “Yeah, we might as well quit our jobs then, right? Like either of our bosses are gonna let us take this much time off multiple times a year.”

“Hm.” He grimaced, his eyes turning sour as they stared ahead. Emily coughed to dispel the tension, and though he smiled and took her cold, pale hand in his dark, warm one, he felt his mind churning with the idea of going back. The last seven days had been a blessing for him. No sixty hour work week, no rat race, no bills coming every day, piling on top of him like a blizzard of envelopes. Here, there was only his heart, his senses, and nature. They’d seen deer, they’d seen all sorts of small creatures, and they’d even seen a bear from a distance. On their third night, Michael had found an old locket buried in the side of the trail, with the engraving, “Ma cherie”. The picture inside was missing. Emily had gladly accepted it, though she knew its origins. It was the first piece of jewelry he’d bought her since their wedding ring almost eight years ago. These days, he couldn’t afford to walk by a jewelry store. 

They kept walking until around 11:00am, at which point they decided a small snack was in order. There was a small collection of boulders by the side of the trail, which Michael again found familiar. They sat on those and ate one protein bar each. It was something Michael took great comfort in eating, even though they tasted almost pungently sweet and a little unnatural. 

A couple hours later, they decided on lunch. There was some freeze dried food left, so they heated that up on a small stove and took it down with a little coffee. They didn’t talk much - over the past seven days they’d grown increasingly more comfortable in each other’s silence, which Michael appreciated a great deal. He remembered meeting Emily for the first time in college and being unable to think of enough things to say as he desperately tried to keep her engaged in a conversation. Later, she’d told him his bumbling advances were cute, though that didn’t detract from his embarrassing memories of them. 

“The sun’s gonna get low soon,” observed Emily as they shouldered their packs again. “Should we head back to the main trail?”

Michael looked west. There was something out there. Something which was almost… calling out to him. He turned to her and said, “Babe, I don’t know how to say this… but I really think we should see this path through?”

Her eyebrow furrowed. “What d’you mean, ‘see it through’?”

“I mean… I don’t know what I mean, but if you trust me…”

“I trust you,” she said quietly. 

Without another word he launched himself forward and began walking swiftly down the path. She could’ve caught up with him but kept her distance, unsure of why she’d agreed to stay on this strange road, except it felt right in her own heart. 

A couple hours later, Michael rounded a ridge and gasped, falling to his knees. He felt Emily’s hand on his shoulder as she too gasped. Before them was the castle from his dreams, its white walls shining in the orange glow of the setting sun. It was just as Michael had envisioned it, perhaps more pristine here. Without another word, the two made their way down the steep slope and journeyed through the dense forest to get to the small road which led up to the castle gates. All tiredness or concern for the time of day was wiped away as they moved further and further up the road, eventually reaching the gates, which were guarded by two large gargoyles perched on white pedestals. The gate was open, so Michael walked in easily, stopping only when he heard his wife cry out behind him.

“Michael,” she said, “I can’t get through!” She tried to take a step forward but her foot froze as soon as it landed on the other side of the gargoyles. 

“Ah, well… don’t worry about it, just come in,” he spoke not to her, but to the dark sentinels. 

“What, I - oh!” Whatever was holding her back disappeared, leaving her to fall on her hands and knees as she crossed the boundary of the castle. 

Michael felt a rush of nostalgia as he stood inside the entrance hall, though he had never been here before in his lifetime. As far as he could tell, no one had been here in quite some time, though somehow the corridors were all well maintained and clean. Emily followed him nervously as he walked along, his feet sure of where he was going. A smile was on his face, and had been since the moment he’d walked through the gate. He remembered these halls from somewhere… Was it another dream? Must’ve been.

Finally, they got to the Great Hall and found a feast there - not a decaying, rotten feast, but a feast of fresh turkey, venison, even some fish from a lake Michael knew to be nearby. There were many round tables with seats unoccupied, though one table at the front of the room had two chairs, more ornate than the rest. Michael turned to Emily with elation in his eyes, putting his bag down next to the massive oak double door at the entrance. 

“Babe, do you want to stay here?” he asked quietly.

Her eyes were frightened. “What… why?”

“Why? Because we never have to work again! I mean, look at this place! Why would we return to our two bedroom apartment with a leaky bathroom sink in New York, when we could live… here!” He grabbed both of her hands tightly in his own. 

“Michael, I think someone already lives here,” she said nervously. “I mean, look at the food! It’s fresh. We should probably go before they realize we’re here.”

“No one else lives here… at least, not in the conventional sense.” He smiled wider, showing his white teeth. 

“What does that mean, Michael?” 

“It means… it means this is my home,” he said with surety, “And it could be your home!”

“What, how-”

“Emily, listen to me,” said Michael, “If we stay here, I promise we’ll never have to work another day in our lives. We can… we can make new friends here - I know there’s a village nearby, and I know how to get there-”

“How do you know these things?” asked Emily forcefully.

Michael looked at the empty hall, lit up by lanterns and the pinkish hue of the sun. “I know it from a dream… a dream from a lifetime ago.”

“What?”

“If you’re worried about the modern amenities, we’ll have them brought up from the village, I swear! And as for family, neither of us as one of those we’d want to see again-”

“What about our friends?” asked Emily, “John, Beatrice, Danny, Chris, Jasmine… What about them?”

“They… we’ll still see them occasionally. But trust me, the friends we make here will be stronger than any we make in New York. Those people you just listed - if the chips were on the table, none of them would be there for us. But the people here would, and I know that.”

There was such determination in his eyes, such a wild, unbridled knowledge and strength that Emily found it hard to disagree. From what she’d seen, the castle would be an amazing place to live. In truth, she hated her job in New York, and she hadn’t had many friends since college because she worked so much. To leave all that behind… well, it would be hard, but when did an opportunity like this arise? Besides, there was something about this place… something she could sense as well; as though her own mind had wandered these halls in a byegone dream which was just percolating under the surface her whole life. She tightened her grip on Michael’s hands and smiled widely. 

“I think I know that too. I’m ready.”

He pulled her in for a hug and they heard a chorus of clapping erupt from the hall. The seats were suddenly filled by dozens, perhaps over a hundred, men and women clad in old fashioned suits and dresses. Their faces were jovial, their cheers genuine. One gentleman came to their side and lifted the bag off of Emily’s shoulders, and another came to Michael’s left side and stuck out an arm to guide him. 

“May I see you to your seat, my lord?” His voice was old, steady, gravelly, and jogged a deep memory lodged in Michael’s brain… a servant, a prophecy, a curse… He shook his head to clear these thoughts and smiled as the man, whose name Michael knew to be David, led them to the ornately decorated chairs at the head of the Hall.

“All hail King Michael and Queen Emily O’Donoghue!” called David, causing another explosion of cheers and clapping. A tear rolled down Michael’s cheek, matched by Emily. At last, he thought, I’m home.