Hello! Today's flash fiction is another faerie oriented piece. Hope you enjoy. Happy reading !
The Path into The Forest
Flash fiction
When we were little
girls, we use to go down this path. We use to pretend this wooden path led to a
magical place where princes and princess lived.
One time we even heard
noises coming from the far end of the path that sounded like clip clopping
noises. Our imaginations went wild.
We stared down the path
that led deep onto the forest holding out breaths. For sure we thought we would
see a horse drawn carriage come right toward us.
But as the noise got
louder we ran back down the path to where we started. When we looked back
panting. The clip clop sound was no more.
Days after we forgot
about it and went down the path to take a shortcut to our friend’s house. We
heard the clip clopping noise again. This time we didn’t run.
We waited.
The sound got louder and
louder and even the boards underneath us trembled.
Just as we thought they
were going to appear, we ran off the wooden path and into the forest and never
stopped until we got to our friend’s house.
But I did look back once
and I saw this white blur. It looked like someone on a white horse and the
horse I thought for sure had wings? It had to be my wild imagination. The one
sitting on top looked very ethereal.
Now, all these years
later that image has never left me. This is the first time that I have been on
this wooden path since I was with my friend.
I’m older now and not
full of the imaginations of my younger self.
The path looks serene and
inviting. It’s a beautiful fall day.
My boots echo on the
boards as I take it into the forest. Some of it felt familiar and parts of the
forest I had forgotten but one part where I stopped was not forgotten.
This is where I saw the
winged horse and the strange creature on top.
For some reason I was
hesitant to go on but shook my head and told myself I was only seeing things
back then.
So I placed one foot in
front of the other and went on. I don’t think I had ever been past this point.
I tried to tell myself it was because our friend lived not far from that point.
Today I was going all the
way. I knew I would not meet any winged horse or any such thing.
But this path went
farther than I thought and I wondered if I would get lost. It was also in the
thick of the forest so it was dark.
My imagination started to
come back to life. I was looking everywhere. The smells of the earth and
dampness filled my senses.
The trees started to
shake ever so slightly and beneath my feet I could feel a slight vibration.
I stopped and listened.
It was all silent for a moment and then I heard it.
My eyes flew wide and
suddenly I froze. My feet wouldn’t turn me around to take me away.
There was someone coming
towards me. I sighed. It was another person out walking.
Now my feet let me turn.
I started to walk back
but glanced back to see who was coming. It was a young fellow with boots that
clip clopped on the wood.
He was coming quite briskly.
I thought I better get over before he runs into me as his focus was down on the
path and not up to what was in front of him.
I cleared my throat
before he got to me. His eyes whipped up and I gasped.
They were not human eyes.
At least to me they weren’t.
He never wavered and
smiled at me. He stopped not more than three feet from me.
“Hello, I’m sorry that I
didn’t see you. I should have.”
I couldn’t speak as he
looked at me with those strange eyes that were a pure emerald green with black
pupils like a cat.
He nodded and proceeded
to go past me. But not before he said something.
“I missed you and your
little friend who use to play here. I wished so much that you would have went
further. There was so much more for you two to see.” He laughed softly but
sounded like the trees moving in the breeze.
“Maybe you will get brave
now that you are all grown up and come see what is there?”
Before I could answer he
was gone, just like that.
I wondered for a moment
if I had just let my imagination go.
Taking a deep breath I
started back but not before my foot hit something on the wooded path. I bent
down and picked it up. It was a clump of wild asters with some hazelnuts
entwined into the little bouquet.
He left it for me?
I picked up my pace and
just as I stepped off the board walk, I heard the clip clop sound. I watched
and through the darkness I thought I could see a white blur. I blinked a couple of times and shook my head.
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