"Hello," she said, and motioned for me to follow her. "It's okay. I'll protect you." 

I knew it was a lie but I followed her into the woods.


It was just after noon but the forest was dark; not even the tiniest sliver of light shone through the canopy of leaves above. It was silent as well, too silent--there should have been the sounds of birds flying above or nesting in the trees, of land-bound animals scurrying across the forest floor, but there was only the laboured inhalations of my own breathing; I was scared and trying not to show it--I knew was in a dangerous place. 

It seemed I knew a lot about the things that could harm me but was trying my hardest not to avoid them. 


The girl suddenly stopped and so did I. She turned around and looked directly at me. Her pale, oval face shone in the darkness, a small smile reflected in the lower half--she seemed happy at first glance, but when you looked into her eyes you could see the vast, emotionless brown. She was staring so hard I thought that she could read my mind. What she said next only further cemented these thoughts in my mind: "You have nothing to be afraid of. The forest is always this quiet. It's normal." 

I nodded my head slowly but kept quiet. 

As she spoke, the silence around us had amplified--her voice had been the only sound in the forest and it sounded wrong and terrifying without the background noises accompanying it. I didn't want to hear my own voice in the same light.


"Follow me," she said again. I did, of course--I couldn't stop and turn back now; I had come too far. Being in the woods still felt unsafe, but the urge to keep followingr the girl was too strong. I ignored the voice in my head telling me to turn back and moved forward.


As I continued on this strange hike a thought went quickly through my head--I've been here before--but it vanished as suddenly as it had appeared. As I looked around the clearing,though, I realized that this place was familiar. I had had a recurring dream about this place often over the past year.


In the dream I would always move toward a large pond or lake situated at the far edge of the clearing, except I would always wake up the minute my feet reached the edge of the water. I moved forward. I wouldn't wake up before hitting the water this time. When I reached the edge of the water I kept going until I sunk, and kept on sinking. I shut down my body, the voice in my head screaming for oxygen, and I allowed myself to drown. 


A sense of calm enveloped me and I relaxed; white hot pain burned in my lungs with the lack of oxygen, but I did not struggle or attempt to swim to the surface. I don't think I wanted to. This was my happy ending.