Loving Death

Chapter 25

My heels clicking on the stone pavements were the only sound that could be heard from the garden. The noise that came from the party was turning into a quiet dull as I travelled further. I should be feeling cold with how my dress was barely giving my body coverage, but I could only feel warmth travel throughout me as my heart pumps faster than usual.

I took a deep breath as I walked aimlessly towards the forest. I tilted my head up greeting the magnificence of the dark sky with millions of twinkling stars decorating the darkness.

I ventured deeper until my feet felt the softness of the soil and heard that all too familiar melodious sound gracing my ears. My head snapped to my right as the same wisp from earlier was flowing in the middle of a pathway that was too dark to be noticed at first glance. But now that light was shining the way, I noticed how eerily similar it was to something I saw previously.

I thought hard about what and finally it clicked.

My door.

The way the trees formed an arc and how I was positioned in the middle of it felt like dèja vu.

Fireflies were suddenly scattered all around, inviting me to take this path. I don't know if taking this route was a stupid idea given that I was a girl alone in the woods at night, but even if that was the case, something compelled me to walk through it.

So I psyched myself and took the step. It was unnoticeable at first, but when my feet didn't feel the softness of the ground and instead, a hard concrete feel, I looked down to see that there were actually stones that lead the pathway. The moment I took one step, one by one the path glowed a vibrant cerulean. In a flash, I remembered my favourite secret place and how the stones back at my cave were similar to the stones I was walking on. They were like glowing marbles that showed me the light in the darkness.

I was still following the blue wisp who occasionally would look back at me to see if I was following. And I was, even though I didn't know what lied ahead of me.

I couldn't see much, aside from the little light the fireflies were giving and the glowing path I was taking. And although I couldn't see what laid within these woods, I could feel eyes following me as I moved forward.

I hugged myself internally reprimanding my mind for thinking of such thoughts. I was only scaring myself.

At last, the path ended at a big old tree, the wisp waiting patiently until I finally arrived. And just as I stepped directly in front of the enormous oak tree that screamed 'ominous', the wisp dispersed into thin air, leaving no trace that it was there to begin with.

I looked to my right and to my left, but there was no sign of any living thing. It was so quiet for a wide forest that it was creeping me out. There should be at least an owl howling or crickets making sounds that filled the night, but no, there wasn't a single noise.

The wind blew ever so slightly, making the leaves of the tree rustle. I took a proper look at it, and that's when I finally noticed how this tree was so different from the rest. And definitely not an oak.

Comparing it with the other trees that stood a good distance from this one, the difference was now noticeable. Besides the size that greatly defeats the others, this one possesses a unique mix. It looks to be on the verge of death yet it was still very much alive. Like death and life was in a perfect harmony. The bark looked so dark and almost close to rotting yet the leaves that grew from it was so abundant. Moreover, the leaves were the ones that truly caught my attention. I thought it was only a trick of light, but as a single leaf flew down on my palm, the leaf that fell was shining a vibrant gold.