Forest Writing by Eva

He hadn’t spoken a word, and yet I knew exactly why he’d led me here.

I reached for the tree trunk ridden with layer upon layer of frosted fungi, the ice seeped through my loosely knitted glove and left my fingers cold and uncomfortable, much like the rest of me. This place brought back unwanted memories, nightmares that gave the same panic and distress every evening, “There was nothing we could’ve done...I'm s-sorry”, I whispered, leaving a faint cloud of breath that loomed over my head, hung in guilt and despair. I lifted my chin a little to watch it slip away, and an unwanted tear fell from my eye as I realised the significance. It was almost as if everything I’d ever had, ever loved, had simply “slipped” away, was I going to lose him as well? 

I began to drag my scuffed boots along the sea of autumnal leaves, following the trace he had left with his. I glanced up and saw his silhouette surrounded with hazy blue fog.

I carried on.

I took another peek from underneath my obstructing fringe and between the strands of auburn hair I could make out a rigid figure… this time it seemed he had only moved an inch. I took one last step.


One last look, and… he was gone.

As quickly as the night turns to day, he had left, disappeared like a cruel magic trick. I fell to my knees, this time the tears were intentional, they streamed down my pale cheeks, a crashing waterfall, a salty stream. I threw my head back towards the cage of branches that lined the roof of this unforgiving forest, I cursed and screamed at them, but the only response I was given was a slap of vicious wind, bursting through the vein-like trees.

It had finally happened, I was alone, all alone.