This story is by Katie Redington and was part of our 2020 Summer Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here.
The smell of the forest hit her nose, and she took a deep breath. Bringing smiles to her patients’ faces as the first person they see and helping the doctors to help the patients, both bring her a sense of fulfillment and pride. Even still, days get stressful and overwhelming. After a long week of socializing, the quiet woods are what she needs. She drives to the edge of the trees and parks. As Tierra steps out, the cool breeze and fresh air envelop her. She grabs her notebook and pencil and takes off down her favorite path. It winds towards the river and the green canopy above blocks out much of the sunlight. The sweet sound of birds chirping, and the rush of water fills her ears as she gets closer to the river. She loves the comforting feeling of being surrounded by the woods.
She nears the shaded spot where a little, crooked tree stretches out over the edge of the river. Setting her notebook down, Tierra sinks into the dirt around her and leans back against the tree. The pounding water of the river fills her ears as she watches it flow. To her left, the edge of the river’s calm, smooth water cascades down a slope and disappears into bursts of bubbling, dancing sprays of water. Above, the birds glide lazily in the early evening light. This spot is her happy place. She smiles as she melts into the trunk of her tree, hidden away in her little nook. She takes another deep breath and fills her lungs with the sweet, damp, earthy air. The next hour flies by as she puts pencil to paper and records her latest dream. She hopes she can one day turn the fragments of her dreams into a real story. As the sun begins to set, she closes her notebook and heads back up the path.
If only I could stay here forever in this beautiful place with no worries and no one to bother me – just this river, these woods, and my notebook.
As she climbs back up the trail, her lungs burn. It’s invigorating, and a wave of energy pulses through her. Up ahead, she gazes up at three tall, thin trees. They are growing upwards to meet in the middle, but it’s hard to see where the tall trees end above so many leaves. Tierra looks around to check the path she’s on and sees her little, crooked tree in the distance behind her. Did she take a different turn from her usual route? These trees weren’t here before.
She moves closer, rubs her hands along the bark, and looks behind her again. Everything seems normal. Shrugging, she figures she must not have noticed them before and continues between two of the trees. A warmth jolts through her body and spreads from her toes to her head. Her notebook drops to the ground. Frozen in shock, she looks down and gasps. Her whole body is translucent. Through her arm, she sees the blurred color of the brown path through it. Everything seems more vivid, brighter, and scents are more robust. Tierra strides farther along the trail. She notices bright shades of green on the leaves of nearby trees. Moving closer to a tree, she extends her hand and touches a leaf. Her body begins to shimmer from the tip of her finger, and a ripple of green shoots up her arm and spreads across her whole body. Her hands shoot to her face, but everything feels normal. She stares between the leaf and her body as the green color fades. Her stomach churns, and a feeling of unease fills her. Turning, she sprints down the path to get back to her car.
She runs and runs. It has to be getting closer, but the path is sloping upward. Something feels off. Right after the bend where her car should be, she stops. The sound of rushing water fills her ears. Instead of her black car, there’s a large clearing. A beautiful waterfall pounds down into a river below. The water is crystal clear with colorful flowers surrounding it. Birds, butterflies, and fish fill the air and water. The view is stunning, but fear grips her.
Where am I? Where is my car? What happened?
She turns and sprints back the way she came. She runs along the path, searching for another trail she missed. Oomph! Tierra tripped over a tree root in her haste but caught herself. Before she knows it, she’s back by the three tall, thin trees. She races through them and then glances down at her body. It’s still translucent. She makes her way back to the clearing and looks frantically, searching for another path.
Tierra’s heart pounds, and her stomach flips as she thinks of her family, friends, and little yellow house. Looking along the rocky ridge across from her, she squints and sees an opening. The river curves off to her right, and she walks to the left along a grassy edge, approaching the rocky wall. Moss grows around the opening, and long willow tree branches surround her. Stooping down, she can see the light through the opening and walks carefully through it. As she reaches the end of the tunnel and stands up, she freezes. Bright, stunning trees, plants, flowers, butterflies, and birds surround her. It looks like the clearing on the other side, but everything is more abundant, and there’s no end in sight.
Listening, it almost sounds like there are voices beyond the trees. Moving forward hesitantly, Tierra steps over bushes and wanders through the trees. She steps out into another clearing and gasps. People. People are carrying baskets and pushing wooden carts. People are coming in and out of tents and other wooden buildings. Smoke drifts from the tops of wood homes. Children run around laughing and playing. A woman sits on a log near a home as a baby plays by her feet. She’s looking lovingly at her baby, and her face lights up as the baby squeals. Seeing her gentle demeanor with her child, Tierra feels she would be a safe person to ask for help.
She slowly approaches the woman, expecting her to glance up. Tierra moves closer, but the woman focuses on her baby. Standing in front of the woman, she waits to be acknowledged, but nothing happens.
“Hello? Can you help me?” she whispers.
The baby coos and plucks a handful of grass. The mother smiles at him, picks him up, and starts bouncing him on her knee. She doesn’t look at Tierra. Slowly, Tierra reaches her hand out to touch the other woman, placing it on her shoulder. Nothing. The woman can’t see her.
Tierra begins wandering around this small village, attempting to talk to people she passes. Nobody. No one can see or hear her. Her thoughts from earlier echo in her mind.
If only I could stay here forever in this beautiful place with no worries and no one to bother me – just this river, these woods, and my notebook.
The village is beautiful. Tierra knows she would adore sitting and writing at the river’s edge by the waterfall or being able to visit her crooked little tree anytime. Is she never seeing her family again? Her friends? Her town? Her little house? A tear slips down her cheek.
Had her wish come true? Now she was stuck here: hidden. She just knew. Her loved ones wouldn’t be able to find her here. Tierra froze. If she wished to be here, couldn’t she wish to go home? She took off running, back through the trees, scampering through the tunnel in the rocks, racing around the river, and back down her path. The only sounds Tierra could hear were her heart thumping and her feet pounding against the dirt. She stopped.
Looking back up at the three tall, thin trees, she closed her eyes.
If only I could be with my family and friends in my little yellow house. Home.
She ran through two of the trees and glanced down at her body. Translucent. She repeated her wish and ran back through the trees. Again. And again. It didn’t seem to matter which two of the three trees she ran through. She ran on either side of the trees. Her body was still translucent, and she knew nothing had changed.
She felt helpless. She picked up her notebook, walked back down to her crooked, little tree, and sat: hidden. Her tears begin to flow freely down her cheeks. With a massive lump in her throat, she hugged her notebook to her body and cried.
“Hello?” The sound of a male voice broke the silence.
Tierra turned and saw a young man standing on the path. Their eyes met, and she knew he could see her. He smiled; his eyes lit up.
“I know you aren’t from around here,” he said, “Maybe you can be the one to help me?”