Grave Rock: Cemetery Stones

A Dream Like Memory

I was in the forest. Not sure if it was Glenwood Forest or not but the trees were dense and the midnight fog thick. The darkness was illuminating and inviting as I walked deeper with my friends. We were not ourselves, rather we were much younger. Children on a mission to find our fears and strengths.

Eden and Zoe held hands as they hummed a tune out of key. Their soft song was like static as I followed them into the woods. Benji was farther ahead. I could hear his young voice calling us all guppies. There was a sudden whisper but not from the wind. Like a spirit calling out just behind my ear. I stopped in my tracks.

I could suddenly sense the glares from the creatures unseen. Their eyes like burning fireflies hidden amongst the bushes and fallen trees. They even hid in the branches high above. Yellow eyes that no one else seemed to see. I wanted to call out to my friends. Tell them to stop going. The void of darkness swelled around me and the forest seemed to blur.

My mouth was painfully dry. It was as if cobwebs had sprung from my throat and foamed over in a mess of anxiety. Panic set in as I tried to scream but my throat shredded as the sands of dread stopped my voice. I could no longer see my friends. I was alone with the whispers and the glances. The eyes of uncertain evil gazing deep within my spirit.

There was a hand on my shoulder. I went to scream but it was Tye. He smiled his warm smile before asking if I was ok. We walked together, away from the quiet and wicked things that lurk in the shadows. Tye decided to scare the others. He asked me for a rock before tossing it towards the nothingness.

It hit some distant trees and sounded like an animal moving through the forest. The others ahead of us screamed and we both laughed. My fear faded a bit but I still felt uneasy as we made our way to the clearing. In a forgotten part of the woods we stood around an abandoned well. Together we would take turns tossing things in.

Suddenly, voices could be heard in the forest. They approached us as we froze like mannequins, full of dread that it was cops or monsters. Two voices coming closer with every passing second. Terence grabbed my hand. Eden almost screamed but Zoe stopped her. Now two shadows could be seen growing ever bigger. They were almost upon us when one of them said my name.

Tye squeezed my hand and the shadows pierced through into the clearing. It was Missy with Renee Stone. Now the seven of us stood in an uncomfortable quiet as we pitched random items down the well. I tossed in a book and my comics. An old stuffed dragon and a candy corn hat. Eden and Zoe flung items gifted from one another.

Benji and Tye threw in action figures and wrestling posters. Benji tossed in a skateboard from his brother and Tye some video games. Missy cast in many things including a jump rope and ruby slippers. Renee only threw in a large carved rock. A single item that sent chills racing through my body. The rock itself seemed familiar but not right like a missing memory filled with extra pieces.

The dream started to crackle and we were looking deep into the well. I felt the stares of the woods but no longer saw the items we had tossed in. Only a deep and heavy nothing that seemed to look back. There was a voice softly singing and I woke up in an uncomfortable sweat.

It was close to four in the morning. I would not fall back asleep. Was it a memory or a dream? Glenwood was surrounded by forest and as kids we explored much of it. Sometimes at night. My memory was faded but it felt so distinct and real. I looked at the corner of my bedroom.

Just near the door something stood. Not anything I could see but something that could see me. It was watching me sleep. Waiting for me to close my eyes and drift back to that place and those memories. I turned on the light and waited for morning to come.