The Forest Monologue
The Lonely boy in the Forest:
I believe it was mid-afternoon when mother and I decided to have a picnic lunch near the forest. The sun smiled at us with its golden radiance, and the scarlet poppies greeted us as me and mother set our picnic on the flower bed.
“Simply lovely today, isn’t it Charles?” mother asked as the two of us rolled out the checkered picnic blanket and finally gave our feet some rest.
“Yeah.” I replied in a tranquil yet blue voice.
“Oh! Here!” mother exclaimed, as she handed me a whopper of a chicken salad sandwich and poured me some sparkling, zesty pink lemonade.
“Thanks.” I replied back, with sorrow …show more content…
in my eyes..
“What’s the matter dear?” mother asked with concern.
“Sigh… well… you know…” I replied back, trying to restrain myself from finishing the answer.
“Oh Charles...You’re all blue because you have to leave tomorrow, isn’t it?” mother asked with a small, warm smile on her face.
“Sigh…” I sadly answered her back.
Mother sat herself next to me, and in an assuring voice responded, “It’ll be okay sweetheart. Although we only have one more day together, we can make the most of it by just spending time with one another today. Right?”
I only stared at her with gloomy and somber eyes. It’s true, a day seemed like a long time. However, being a day consisted of 24 hours or whatnot, it was still only 24 hours with my real mother, and the rest of the time was with father and my other mother, who I shared no special bond with.
For the longest time, me and my mother have had an indestructible bond that exceeded anything on this very earth. Days like today were very rare to the two of us; we hardly ever got to spend time together ever since father decided to fall in love with someone else. Even though my other mother made adequate efforts for the two of us to become closer, she was not my mother. She didn’t laugh at my jokes like mother, didn’t smile at me the way mother did and most of all didn’t love me as much as mother did. If a day like today could last more than 24 hours, it would be a true gift to me and my mother, but sadly days don’t last that long.
“Well, shall we indulge ourselves?” mother asked with a fiery appetite.
“Yeah, I guess..” I replied with content as the two of us devoured our scrumptious sandwiches and washed them down with some refreshing lemonade.
*Rustle..rustle…* Huh? What was that, I wondered? Me and my mother turned around and faced the thick wood before us.*rustle...rustle…*
There was the noise again, and with great suspicion we slowly approached the rustling sound. When the two of us got close enough, whatever made the sound made its escape back into the forest.
“I’ll go check it out mother!” I exclaimed with a face of pure curiosity.
“What?! Wait Charles, wait! What about our picnic?” my mother asked gravely as I made my way toward the forest.
“Don’t worry mom! I’ll be back before long!” I exclaimed as I dashed into the forest with little idea of what was waiting in store for me.
Upon entering the forest, I was fascinated. The forest seemed to have a mysterious aura emanating throughout the atmosphere. Wandering through the forest, my eyes caught glimpse of several strange sights: forest creatures such as fluffy bunnies or greedy racoons appeared translucent, mysterious wisps of sapphire hovered from one place to the next and an eerie light shone through the tops of the sheltering trees, forming pools on the forest floor. It almost felt as if I was wandering through the depths of time itself. Before I could observe the forest even more, my ears caught cries of some unidentified being hiding behind a shrub.
I approached the being hiding behind the shrub and in a soothing voice I asked, “What’s wrong?”
The being only hid itself even more and continued to weep. As I looked more closely, he appeared to be a human like me, looking about 12 years of age.
“Go away...please…” the boy cried, covering his tear-filled eyes and turning away. “Just leave me alone... Leave me before it’s too late!”
“What?” I asked confused. “What do you mean ‘before it’s too late’ ? I don’t understand-”
“Hurry!” the boy pleaded. “Hurry before it’s too…! Oh no!”
The boy looked straight ahead and stared horrified at some invisible figure who was not visible to the naked eye. Could he had been seeing things, I wondered? I glanced back at him, and the look in his eyes did not fade away; he was cowering in fear.
“What is it? I don’t see a thing-” I asked, still confused by the boy.
“I don’t have time to explain!” the boy pleaded. “We must seek shelter in the forest cave! Hurry!”
The boy grabbed my arm and urged me to follow him. This was ridiculous, I thought. He must have seen some kind of illusion...huh?! Not noticing it earlier, I noticed a dark shadow on the forest floor slowly approaching me and the boy. Shadows couldn’t move on their own, I thought. I stared at the boy in disbelief, and finally hurried along with him, with the shadow chasing us from behind.
“Phew, we made it.” huffed the boy gasping for air as the two of us settled in a dank, dark cave. “We should be safe in here.”
The two of us sat across from one another, giving each other a relieved look of survival. The boy wore what appeared to be a worn-out old shirt with a pair of torn trousers, and his face was as pale as a ghost. Many questions had raced through my mind, but the first question was the most obvious one.
“What’s going on here?” I asked, with no idea what of just happened.
The boy only stared at me with somber eyes, but finally replied, “We’re trapped.”
“Trapped?” I asked, now even more confused. “I don’t understand…”
“You shouldn’t have come into this forest.” the boy explained with grief.
“Anyone who enters this place becomes a spirit. This place is basically a gateway between the world of the living and the world of the dead.. Here, all spirits of creatures like you and me are trapped in a purgatory of sorts. You could say it’s a graveyard for those who have yet to move on to the next life. Also, as for the shadow… he is the creature who watches over this forest. He collects the souls of those in this forest, whether they be dead or alive, and delivers them to the world of the dead. Thus, we call this place the forest of souls.”
I stared at him dumbfounded, almost unable to believe what was coming out of his mouth.
“Forest of souls? Does this mean I’m dead!?” I replied, still confused by what the boy was trying to explain to me.
“...Well, it’s a rather long explanation, but...huh?! Oh no!” the boy suddenly cried out in despair. “He’s here! Hide!”
The shadow from earlier slowly approached the cave; it treaded closer and closer with every movement. Although the two of us had hidden ourselves well, the shadow seemed to have had a sixth sense and detected us hiding behind a stalagmite.There seemed to be no use in hiding after
all.
“Drat!” the boy exclaimed. “It’s time for plan B. Follow me!”
The two of us sprinted out of the cave and into the open. Following the boy’s directions, we came to a tunnel of luminous light, a place I recognized as the forest entrance. Yes, I thought. The two of us could escape!
Just as I was about to dash out of the forest entrance, I stared back at the boy. He hadn’t budged an inch.
“Hurry, c’mon! We’re almost out! We can leave!” I continuously exclaimed as the boy continued to stare at me with somber eyes.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t go…” the boy explained, looking at me with nothing but sorrow.
“What? Why!” I questioned him as the shadow was nearly upon us.
“It was ages ago.” the boy explained. “That I ended up following a rustling noise in the forest. Poor mother...she never found me. She tried and tried, but was never able to enter the forest of souls. For some reason or another, I had entered this place by accident and the shadow managed to detach me from my body, but my spirit remained. Ever since that day, I’d been running away from it and refused to move on toward the next life. Then you arrived, and found me weeping behind the bush.I felt that just for that single moment, I was no longer lonely. I was glad to have met someone who was willing to come to my side and soothe my despair. Sigh... Now, enough of that! Hurry! The gate to the world of the living is closing my friend!”
“No!It’s not fair!” I exclaimed, with tears streaming uncontrollably out of my eyes.
“You must leave my friend...” the other replied as he stared at me with much sorrow. “Thanks for helping me rest in peace... ”
“No!” I choked with tears streaming down my face. “We can go back together! We can find your mother and-”
“I can’t go back my friend. My body was taken long ago, and a spirit with no vessel cannot leave the forest of souls. Besides, my mother has probably already departed for the world of the dead and It’s time I did too. Sigh...farewell my friend. Maybe one day we shall meet again in the world of the dead. Please, continue to walk the road of life for the sake of me…” replied the boy, showing me a slight smile.
The shadow was nearly upon us now, and as I raced toward the exit, I turned back and looked one last time at my friend waving goodbye.With tears flowing down my cheeks, I returned to the world of the living, and spent the last hours I had with mother. Until the day I would see him again, I would follow his wish for me to walk the winding road of life.
~~~
I believe it was mid-afternoon when mother and I decided to have a picnic lunch near the forest. The sun smiled at us with its golden radiance, and the scarlet poppies greeted us as me and mother set our picnic on the flower bed.
“Simply lovely today, isn’t it Charles?” mother asked as the two of us rolled out the checkered picnic blanket and finally gave our feet some rest.
“Yeah.” I replied in a tranquil yet blue voice.
“Oh! Here!” mother exclaimed, as she handed me a whopper of a chicken salad sandwich and poured me some sparkling, zesty pink lemonade.
“Thanks.” I replied back, with sorrow …show more content…
in my eyes..
“What’s the matter dear?” mother asked with concern.
“Sigh… well… you know…” I replied back, trying to restrain myself from finishing the answer.
“Oh Charles...You’re all blue because you have to leave tomorrow, isn’t it?” mother asked with a small, warm smile on her face.
“Sigh…” I sadly answered her back.
Mother sat herself next to me, and in an assuring voice responded, “It’ll be okay sweetheart. Although we only have one more day together, we can make the most of it by just spending time with one another today. Right?”
I only stared at her with gloomy and somber eyes. It’s true, a day seemed like a long time. However, being a day consisted of 24 hours or whatnot, it was still only 24 hours with my real mother, and the rest of the time was with father and my other mother, who I shared no special bond with.
For the longest time, me and my mother have had an indestructible bond that exceeded anything on this very earth. Days like today were very rare to the two of us; we hardly ever got to spend time together ever since father decided to fall in love with someone else. Even though my other mother made adequate efforts for the two of us to become closer, she was not my mother. She didn’t laugh at my jokes like mother, didn’t smile at me the way mother did and most of all didn’t love me as much as mother did. If a day like today could last more than 24 hours, it would be a true gift to me and my mother, but sadly days don’t last that long.
“Well, shall we indulge ourselves?” mother asked with a fiery appetite.
“Yeah, I guess..” I replied with content as the two of us devoured our scrumptious sandwiches and washed them down with some refreshing lemonade.
*Rustle..rustle…* Huh? What was that, I wondered? Me and my mother turned around and faced the thick wood before us.*rustle...rustle…*
There was the noise again, and with great suspicion we slowly approached the rustling sound. When the two of us got close enough, whatever made the sound made its escape back into the forest.
“I’ll go check it out mother!” I exclaimed with a face of pure curiosity.
“What?! Wait Charles, wait! What about our picnic?” my mother asked gravely as I made my way toward the forest.
“Don’t worry mom! I’ll be back before long!” I exclaimed as I dashed into the forest with little idea of what was waiting in store for me.
Upon entering the forest, I was fascinated. The forest seemed to have a mysterious aura emanating throughout the atmosphere. Wandering through the forest, my eyes caught glimpse of several strange sights: forest creatures such as fluffy bunnies or greedy racoons appeared translucent, mysterious wisps of sapphire hovered from one place to the next and an eerie light shone through the tops of the sheltering trees, forming pools on the forest floor. It almost felt as if I was wandering through the depths of time itself. Before I could observe the forest even more, my ears caught cries of some unidentified being hiding behind a shrub.
I approached the being hiding behind the shrub and in a soothing voice I asked, “What’s wrong?”
The being only hid itself even more and continued to weep. As I looked more closely, he appeared to be a human like me, looking about 12 years of age.
“Go away...please…” the boy cried, covering his tear-filled eyes and turning away. “Just leave me alone... Leave me before it’s too late!”
“What?” I asked confused. “What do you mean ‘before it’s too late’ ? I don’t understand-”
“Hurry!” the boy pleaded. “Hurry before it’s too…! Oh no!”
The boy looked straight ahead and stared horrified at some invisible figure who was not visible to the naked eye. Could he had been seeing things, I wondered? I glanced back at him, and the look in his eyes did not fade away; he was cowering in fear.
“What is it? I don’t see a thing-” I asked, still confused by the boy.
“I don’t have time to explain!” the boy pleaded. “We must seek shelter in the forest cave! Hurry!”
The boy grabbed my arm and urged me to follow him. This was ridiculous, I thought. He must have seen some kind of illusion...huh?! Not noticing it earlier, I noticed a dark shadow on the forest floor slowly approaching me and the boy. Shadows couldn’t move on their own, I thought. I stared at the boy in disbelief, and finally hurried along with him, with the shadow chasing us from behind.
“Phew, we made it.” huffed the boy gasping for air as the two of us settled in a dank, dark cave. “We should be safe in here.”
The two of us sat across from one another, giving each other a relieved look of survival. The boy wore what appeared to be a worn-out old shirt with a pair of torn trousers, and his face was as pale as a ghost. Many questions had raced through my mind, but the first question was the most obvious one.
“What’s going on here?” I asked, with no idea what of just happened.
The boy only stared at me with somber eyes, but finally replied, “We’re trapped.”
“Trapped?” I asked, now even more confused. “I don’t understand…”
“You shouldn’t have come into this forest.” the boy explained with grief.
“Anyone who enters this place becomes a spirit. This place is basically a gateway between the world of the living and the world of the dead.. Here, all spirits of creatures like you and me are trapped in a purgatory of sorts. You could say it’s a graveyard for those who have yet to move on to the next life. Also, as for the shadow… he is the creature who watches over this forest. He collects the souls of those in this forest, whether they be dead or alive, and delivers them to the world of the dead. Thus, we call this place the forest of souls.”
I stared at him dumbfounded, almost unable to believe what was coming out of his mouth.
“Forest of souls? Does this mean I’m dead!?” I replied, still confused by what the boy was trying to explain to me.
“...Well, it’s a rather long explanation, but...huh?! Oh no!” the boy suddenly cried out in despair. “He’s here! Hide!”
The shadow from earlier slowly approached the cave; it treaded closer and closer with every movement. Although the two of us had hidden ourselves well, the shadow seemed to have had a sixth sense and detected us hiding behind a stalagmite.There seemed to be no use in hiding after
all.
“Drat!” the boy exclaimed. “It’s time for plan B. Follow me!”
The two of us sprinted out of the cave and into the open. Following the boy’s directions, we came to a tunnel of luminous light, a place I recognized as the forest entrance. Yes, I thought. The two of us could escape!
Just as I was about to dash out of the forest entrance, I stared back at the boy. He hadn’t budged an inch.
“Hurry, c’mon! We’re almost out! We can leave!” I continuously exclaimed as the boy continued to stare at me with somber eyes.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t go…” the boy explained, looking at me with nothing but sorrow.
“What? Why!” I questioned him as the shadow was nearly upon us.
“It was ages ago.” the boy explained. “That I ended up following a rustling noise in the forest. Poor mother...she never found me. She tried and tried, but was never able to enter the forest of souls. For some reason or another, I had entered this place by accident and the shadow managed to detach me from my body, but my spirit remained. Ever since that day, I’d been running away from it and refused to move on toward the next life. Then you arrived, and found me weeping behind the bush.I felt that just for that single moment, I was no longer lonely. I was glad to have met someone who was willing to come to my side and soothe my despair. Sigh... Now, enough of that! Hurry! The gate to the world of the living is closing my friend!”
“No!It’s not fair!” I exclaimed, with tears streaming uncontrollably out of my eyes.
“You must leave my friend...” the other replied as he stared at me with much sorrow. “Thanks for helping me rest in peace... ”
“No!” I choked with tears streaming down my face. “We can go back together! We can find your mother and-”
“I can’t go back my friend. My body was taken long ago, and a spirit with no vessel cannot leave the forest of souls. Besides, my mother has probably already departed for the world of the dead and It’s time I did too. Sigh...farewell my friend. Maybe one day we shall meet again in the world of the dead. Please, continue to walk the road of life for the sake of me…” replied the boy, showing me a slight smile.
The shadow was nearly upon us now, and as I raced toward the exit, I turned back and looked one last time at my friend waving goodbye.With tears flowing down my cheeks, I returned to the world of the living, and spent the last hours I had with mother. Until the day I would see him again, I would follow his wish for me to walk the winding road of life.
~~~