The following is based on a cabin that I see on the highway while driving too and from my favourite weekend vacation destination. It is not based on any type of real event and can not really be considered to be anywhere close to the truth. Also, its a rough draft completed in one sitting, I can not guarantee that the grammar will be 100% accurate and correct, I apologize for this.
You can see it from the highway most times.
If you're quick enough you can see a shimmer out of the corner of your eye, but if you don't you'll never see it.
There is it sitting on a small hill, tucked back into the woods. See it now? That glint seems to be floating, hovering taking only a small bit of time and space. Its a single pane of glass, seemingly floating in the middle of the woods. There are too many leaves at this time of year for it to be seen clearly.
The mind does seem to play tricks when you see it for the first time. The more you look at it the more it seems to disappear before your eyes. Fading in and out of reality, the same way an oasis does in the middle of the desert heat.
The first time that I saw it I didn't know if I could believe what my eyes had just shown to me.
Its view was so strange to me that I had to stop the car to get a second look, a closer look. Putting the car into reverse I could see a patch of grass in the rear view mirror. A faint foot path up the hill towards it is outlined in the grass, I would not be the first to venture a closer look.
Getting out of the car, I began to scan the surrounding woods, looking for signs which would keep me in my car. Footprints from a hunter or derelect who calls this place his home.
With the engine no longer producing a sound, I began to hear the sullen sounds of nature just off the highway.
Far off in the distance a lone loon could be hear calling to his mate. A few chirps from a nearby cricket could be heard as the wind rustled through the grass around my ankles.
Feeling the blades of long grass moving underneath my pants sent chills up my spine.
My gaze wandered from the edge of the road towards the top of the small hill, that I was determined to climb.
As I surveyed the landscape, a few things stood out among the tall grass just off to the right was a large rock. The positioning of the rock made it look unnaturatal, the top of the rock was flat and seemed to have a dirt ring around the top, as if it had been moved in the last few months.
I concentrated on the rock and tried to find the path in which the rock had fallen down from the hill. Halfway up the hill, about 6 feet from the rock I saw a pile of dirt. This was where the rock bounced down the hill.
A look of concern crossed my face. That rock bounced? I asked myself. Maybe thats just a hole dug by a coyote. Trying to convince myself but using happy thoughts.
The grass leading from in front of me was discoloured, a dull lifeless green. The further up the hill my gaze traveled the lighter the colour as though the life was being sucked from the grass.
Swallowing my pride, I straightened.
Taking my foot off the safety of the gravel shoulder of the highway I began my slow walk up the hill towards the glimmering light.
After a few feet, I stopped to look up the slight incline towards my target, no more that 15 steps away was the edge of the woods.
My heart began to race, I was excited to see exactly what was contained within this structure. The same one I had been looking at countless times while driving. Would there be nothing but old clothes and moldy bread from a long forgotten hunting trip or would I find a small treasure of gold coins, like they find in the movies?
A smile crept across my face at the thought of this.
I tried to keep my mind on target. Getting too easily excited about a 'treasure' could make the situation even more dangerous.
I quickly looked down at my watch, as I remembered the appointment I was driving towards before I stopped. My eyes widened.
Had it really been an hour since I stepped foot out of the car?
Once I reached the edge of the woods the view through the trees seemed to have gotten thicker as if a small fog had rolled out of the leaves. Was this a sign from the woods to keep my distance and stay way?
I was about to find out.
A gust of wind picks up from behind me, the trees rustle and shift in the late afternoon sunshine. A beam of light comes streaking through the trees as I reach my hand towards some of the overgrown brush in front of me.
The sparkle of the day startles me as I concentrate on the light shining on my hand. While lost in the glimmer of the sun, a small bug lands on my out stretched hand and begins to walk around in a small circle.
After a moment, the wind subsides and the bug flies off into the wood as the beam of light fades from my hand.
The thick brush is difficult to push through, after shoving several large bushes to one side I am finally able to pass through the most difficult section and into a small clearing.
The utter beauty of what is before me is shocking, the life of the day is shining through the trees above and providing a dazzling light show on the ground before me. Light reflects off of the trunks of trees, the dew covered blades of grass and a lone pane of glass.
Before me is the glass that has brought me to this place of tranquility and beauty.
Expecting to see a rundown shack with a broken pane of glass, I was disappointed and excited to find this in its place.
Hung from a single branch in the middle of the clearing is a piece of crystal on a string. The branch is close to 10 feet from the ground and the crystal is planted firmly at eye level to best capture the light from the sun.
As the light dances across the floor of the woods it also travels across some of the many different facets of the polished gem.
I stood at the edge of the clearing transfixed by the simplicity of what I see before me. Time seems to have stopped at that point. I am unable to hear the sounds of nature around me.
The gentle rustle of the leaves has slowly been replaced by a sound which is unlike anything I have heard ever again. The sound seemed to come from the center of the crystal and changed everytime a ray of light touched it.
The closest think that I can use to describe the sound is the gentle warble heard from the ticking of a watch underwater. There is no distinct noise, yet it was every noise.
For each passing second I was there, I began to see images form within the crystal. Images of things that have never happened and are destined to be repeated for all eternity. A faint glimpse of another world, fleeting into the past.
Children played. Bells were chiming. Cars were flying. Horses pulled tractors. The train ran on water. A fire burned only the edges. A bird died. A woman loved.
A single tear formed in the corner of my eye and ran down my cheek to the ground.
I suddenly felt very alone in the woods, I wanted to turn around to leave but I could not let my gaze leave the depth of the crystal.
As the sun began to set, the world around me started to suddenly come back into focus. The crystal was loosing its alure, my eyes started to dance around the clearing, but always returning to the crystal.
I could feel the crystal calling to me, trying to pull me closer to it.
The world around me started to move as I suddenly became aware that I was taking steps toward the center of the clearing.
I was no longer sure if I was in control of my own body.
As I got closer to the crystal I could see my own reflection within it. The face looking back at me was smiling.
My hand rose towards the crystal; as my fingers opened to grasp the crystal from the string I could see the crystal begin to pulse light from its core.
My finger touched the crystal and I the world was flooded with the most intense light I had ever experienced in my life. The light was brighter than 10 suns. I tried to close my eyes but I was unable to move.
The wind began to blow harder and stronger, I could feel things around me beginning to move.
Was it me that was moving or the world around me?
The light around me begin to lessen, I could almost make out some shapes around me. Was that a cow? Could that be a house?
My eyes darted around frantically looking for some familiar shape that I could focus on to regain my vision.
In a panic I began to walk forward to see if I could find anything.
After two steps I came to a crashing halt, as I lifted my leg to take another step my knee made contact with something metal. A faint and low thud echoed around me.
I reached out for the object and what I found before me startled me. My fingers ran across a flat smooth surface with a few ridged areas at the edges. After a moment of frantic identification the clouds in my vision were replaced by a familiar shape.
It was my car.
At some point during the blinding light, I had managed to walk back down the hill to the car.
It was no longer sunset, the sun was shining.
I raised my hand to look at my watch and noticed that was only 3pm. Standing on the side of the road I realized that it was all just a day dream and I had not gone to see what was in the woods after all.
I open the car door and got in the car. I let out a little sigh of releif as I put on my seat belt.
With the strap pressed against my chest I could feel something pressed against my skin, it was the necklace that my daughter had made for me.
Lifting it out from underneath my shirt I looked at the ornate crystal hanging from the string necklace. It was beautiful, I loved looking at it shimmer in the sunlight.
I vowed that I would never let if out of my sight.
You can see it from the highway most times.
If you're quick enough you can see a shimmer out of the corner of your eye, but if you don't you'll never see it.
There is it sitting on a small hill, tucked back into the woods. See it now? That glint seems to be floating, hovering taking only a small bit of time and space. Its a single pane of glass, seemingly floating in the middle of the woods. There are too many leaves at this time of year for it to be seen clearly.
The mind does seem to play tricks when you see it for the first time. The more you look at it the more it seems to disappear before your eyes. Fading in and out of reality, the same way an oasis does in the middle of the desert heat.
The first time that I saw it I didn't know if I could believe what my eyes had just shown to me.
Its view was so strange to me that I had to stop the car to get a second look, a closer look. Putting the car into reverse I could see a patch of grass in the rear view mirror. A faint foot path up the hill towards it is outlined in the grass, I would not be the first to venture a closer look.
Getting out of the car, I began to scan the surrounding woods, looking for signs which would keep me in my car. Footprints from a hunter or derelect who calls this place his home.
With the engine no longer producing a sound, I began to hear the sullen sounds of nature just off the highway.
Far off in the distance a lone loon could be hear calling to his mate. A few chirps from a nearby cricket could be heard as the wind rustled through the grass around my ankles.
Feeling the blades of long grass moving underneath my pants sent chills up my spine.
My gaze wandered from the edge of the road towards the top of the small hill, that I was determined to climb.
As I surveyed the landscape, a few things stood out among the tall grass just off to the right was a large rock. The positioning of the rock made it look unnaturatal, the top of the rock was flat and seemed to have a dirt ring around the top, as if it had been moved in the last few months.
I concentrated on the rock and tried to find the path in which the rock had fallen down from the hill. Halfway up the hill, about 6 feet from the rock I saw a pile of dirt. This was where the rock bounced down the hill.
A look of concern crossed my face. That rock bounced? I asked myself. Maybe thats just a hole dug by a coyote. Trying to convince myself but using happy thoughts.
The grass leading from in front of me was discoloured, a dull lifeless green. The further up the hill my gaze traveled the lighter the colour as though the life was being sucked from the grass.
Swallowing my pride, I straightened.
Taking my foot off the safety of the gravel shoulder of the highway I began my slow walk up the hill towards the glimmering light.
After a few feet, I stopped to look up the slight incline towards my target, no more that 15 steps away was the edge of the woods.
My heart began to race, I was excited to see exactly what was contained within this structure. The same one I had been looking at countless times while driving. Would there be nothing but old clothes and moldy bread from a long forgotten hunting trip or would I find a small treasure of gold coins, like they find in the movies?
A smile crept across my face at the thought of this.
I tried to keep my mind on target. Getting too easily excited about a 'treasure' could make the situation even more dangerous.
I quickly looked down at my watch, as I remembered the appointment I was driving towards before I stopped. My eyes widened.
Had it really been an hour since I stepped foot out of the car?
Once I reached the edge of the woods the view through the trees seemed to have gotten thicker as if a small fog had rolled out of the leaves. Was this a sign from the woods to keep my distance and stay way?
I was about to find out.
A gust of wind picks up from behind me, the trees rustle and shift in the late afternoon sunshine. A beam of light comes streaking through the trees as I reach my hand towards some of the overgrown brush in front of me.
The sparkle of the day startles me as I concentrate on the light shining on my hand. While lost in the glimmer of the sun, a small bug lands on my out stretched hand and begins to walk around in a small circle.
After a moment, the wind subsides and the bug flies off into the wood as the beam of light fades from my hand.
The thick brush is difficult to push through, after shoving several large bushes to one side I am finally able to pass through the most difficult section and into a small clearing.
The utter beauty of what is before me is shocking, the life of the day is shining through the trees above and providing a dazzling light show on the ground before me. Light reflects off of the trunks of trees, the dew covered blades of grass and a lone pane of glass.
Before me is the glass that has brought me to this place of tranquility and beauty.
Expecting to see a rundown shack with a broken pane of glass, I was disappointed and excited to find this in its place.
Hung from a single branch in the middle of the clearing is a piece of crystal on a string. The branch is close to 10 feet from the ground and the crystal is planted firmly at eye level to best capture the light from the sun.
As the light dances across the floor of the woods it also travels across some of the many different facets of the polished gem.
I stood at the edge of the clearing transfixed by the simplicity of what I see before me. Time seems to have stopped at that point. I am unable to hear the sounds of nature around me.
The gentle rustle of the leaves has slowly been replaced by a sound which is unlike anything I have heard ever again. The sound seemed to come from the center of the crystal and changed everytime a ray of light touched it.
The closest think that I can use to describe the sound is the gentle warble heard from the ticking of a watch underwater. There is no distinct noise, yet it was every noise.
For each passing second I was there, I began to see images form within the crystal. Images of things that have never happened and are destined to be repeated for all eternity. A faint glimpse of another world, fleeting into the past.
Children played. Bells were chiming. Cars were flying. Horses pulled tractors. The train ran on water. A fire burned only the edges. A bird died. A woman loved.
A single tear formed in the corner of my eye and ran down my cheek to the ground.
I suddenly felt very alone in the woods, I wanted to turn around to leave but I could not let my gaze leave the depth of the crystal.
As the sun began to set, the world around me started to suddenly come back into focus. The crystal was loosing its alure, my eyes started to dance around the clearing, but always returning to the crystal.
I could feel the crystal calling to me, trying to pull me closer to it.
The world around me started to move as I suddenly became aware that I was taking steps toward the center of the clearing.
I was no longer sure if I was in control of my own body.
As I got closer to the crystal I could see my own reflection within it. The face looking back at me was smiling.
My hand rose towards the crystal; as my fingers opened to grasp the crystal from the string I could see the crystal begin to pulse light from its core.
My finger touched the crystal and I the world was flooded with the most intense light I had ever experienced in my life. The light was brighter than 10 suns. I tried to close my eyes but I was unable to move.
The wind began to blow harder and stronger, I could feel things around me beginning to move.
Was it me that was moving or the world around me?
The light around me begin to lessen, I could almost make out some shapes around me. Was that a cow? Could that be a house?
My eyes darted around frantically looking for some familiar shape that I could focus on to regain my vision.
In a panic I began to walk forward to see if I could find anything.
After two steps I came to a crashing halt, as I lifted my leg to take another step my knee made contact with something metal. A faint and low thud echoed around me.
I reached out for the object and what I found before me startled me. My fingers ran across a flat smooth surface with a few ridged areas at the edges. After a moment of frantic identification the clouds in my vision were replaced by a familiar shape.
It was my car.
At some point during the blinding light, I had managed to walk back down the hill to the car.
It was no longer sunset, the sun was shining.
I raised my hand to look at my watch and noticed that was only 3pm. Standing on the side of the road I realized that it was all just a day dream and I had not gone to see what was in the woods after all.
I open the car door and got in the car. I let out a little sigh of releif as I put on my seat belt.
With the strap pressed against my chest I could feel something pressed against my skin, it was the necklace that my daughter had made for me.
Lifting it out from underneath my shirt I looked at the ornate crystal hanging from the string necklace. It was beautiful, I loved looking at it shimmer in the sunlight.
I vowed that I would never let if out of my sight.
2 comments:
Nice story.
Favorite part: "Feeling the blades of long grass moving underneath my pants sent chills up my spine."
I also always love alliteration: "the light around me began to lessen. . . sullen sounds of nature."
Well done.
Thanks. I had fun writing this, I had to keep my mind focused on where I wanted to story to go. The lower portion of my brain (the one hiding under the stairs) kept wanting to turn it into a first person horror. :)
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