Forest Story- Chapter 1

Instructions

Sitting on my bed, I stare out the window. Outside, the night is dark, only a sliver of the moon casting a soft glow upon the grass. I should be asleep at this hour, but... I can hear noises from the forest. The tall, dead trees spread their skeletal limbs towards the sky, casting ominous shadows. And yet, the sounds I hear are beautiful. I can't quite figure out what I'm hearing, but there is a melody to it, almost like singing without words. Whenever my mind begins to figure out what the sounds remind me of, they change. The first time I heard the noises, I was four years old. My parents awoke to the sound of my laughter, and when they rushed to the nursery they found me pressed against the bars of my crib, staring out the window. They say I screamed when they closed the blinds, cried as they drew the curtains shut. I don't remember it whatsoever, but I know the reason for my actions that night. The sounds... they call to me, draw me in. There are nights I have watched the forest, entranced, for what seemed like minutes only to realize hours have passed by. When I was a child, I asked about the noises from the woods. When my parents brought me to the village elders, I didn't understand why. I didn't know that they would be afraid, didn't realize they would get angry and backhand me across the face, accusing me of being a demon. I was shunned, labeled as unstable and insane. They tried a multitude of techniques to try to "fix" me. I was forced into solitary confinement, sent to therapists and exorcists, and so much more. I tried sleeping with earplugs in and the windows closed, but nothing worked. As I grew, I quickly learned not to speak of the noises. I didn't understand why, but I knew the reason I was being treated differently was because of what I said. When I was asked if I heard anything during the night, I lied and said no. I didn't dare tell them that I had begun hearing the noises during the day as well. I began to pretend I forgot what had happened, and people believed me. I was still an outcast, but at least the punishments stopped. Once I began school, my first lesson was not to go into the woods. I foolishly asked why, and was sent to the principal's office. The first day of school, and I already had a mark on my record. After that, I never asked questions. I learned that it was taboo to mention the woods, forbidden to go into the forest, and illegal to enter the forest and return. It was drilled into my brain, and yet... the noises remained. I am sure now, that I am the only person who hears them. Otherwise, somebody might have stood up for me or told me why I shouldn't mention them. I still don't understand why I hear what I do. There was a period of time I thought I might be insane, but could a madwoman think as logically, as sanely as me? Without the noises, I am just like everybody else. There is nothing abnormal about me, so why am I hearing things? Observing the forest now, I make up my mind. In exactly three weeks, on the night of the full moon, I will journey into the woods. I know in my heart that these noises are more than figments of my imagination, otherwise the elders would not have reacted the way they did. They are hiding something, and I am going to discover what. To be continued... Chapter Two: