A standalone piece that was part of a 15 minute writing prompt exercise.
Lost.
It was the worst possible thing I could imagine. Lost, in the forest, with no stars to guide me. I could feel the darkness pushing in on me like a being, wrapping me in its folds, drawing me deeper and deeper in.
I had to get out.
Shadows leapt out from the darkest corners, jumping and darting like the flames in my lantern. I gazed around me. Was there no life in this wretched place? No living creatures scurried from my path, no moths ventured close to my light. Was I the only thing alive in this forest?
Dead branches cracked underfoot, but that was the only sound I could make out. No wind. No chirping bugs. No owl’s call. Just my ever-faltering steps, growing slower and louder in the night.
I drew my cloak around my shoulders. As if the flimsy fabric could protect me from the darkness. Cold seeped through the weave, sinking into my bones. My joints were growing sore. Every breath fogged my lantern’s glass.
I paused, standing as still as I could. Turning my gaze upward, I searched for something – anything – that could show me the way. My eyes were met with nothing but branches and blackness. No pinpricks of light, no twinkling stars.
I was alone.
Completely alone.
Blood pounded in my head; I could feel each heartbeat pump blood through my veins. I could hear it in my ears. Thump. Thump. Thump. Like the heartbeat of a hunted rabbit. Like the heartbeat of a frightened dove. Like the heartbeat of a child.
I struck out again, changing direction. Forests did not go on forever, and neither did the darkness of night. The sun would rise, the trees would end, and I would be free. But my treacherous thoughts whispered otherwise.
I was trapped.
My steps grew faster and longer, and I broke into a run, loping across the forest floor. It wasn’t long before my ragged breaths forced me to slow. Cold tendrils of pain spread across my chest. How far could I go, injured like this? Could I go on at all?
I sank to my knees, sucking in deep lungfuls of cold air. This was hopeless.
Injured.
Trapped.
Alone.
Lost.
I had to get out.
Interesting, Jasmine. What’s that about.
Thanks for posting something, BTW. We’ve been silent on this website for two months!
It was just a writing prompt, just to write whatever came to mind in a 15 minute period. Quite a refreshing exercise, and I liked how this piece came out. It’s more of an emotional or symbolic piece rather than a story. I decided to break blog silence and post it. 🙂
Interesting. I love forests, silence, being alone, all that. I love the peaceful and unmatched beauty of the outdoors, lakes and mountains, trees and sky, they all bring a sort of happiness to me. But this. This is looking at it a different way. Your character was looking at the forest around him/her as if it is a prison, a trap, a place he/she wanted to escape from. This perspective is something that I still have yet to explore in great detail, but even so, I thought you did a good job with this, especially in fifteen minutes.
-Patrick G.S. Shugars