Introduction to the story
In a corner of the whole earth, there was a place in the forest where it was so bright that even the rays of the sun could not penetrate the ground. That is why the inhabitants spoke about the forest only in whispers, and after sunset told visitors to stay away from that place at all costs, because something comes alive in the forest.
It is said that hundreds of years ago a witch lived here. After being kept away from her village by the other members of her family, she started going into the interior of the forest, because she was accused of practicing witchcraft. After that day, it became impossible not to see the shapes of frightening persons in the constantly twisted trunks and branches of the trees. As the evening fell, fog descended and the area was covered with a layer of ghostly apparitions
For generations, the villagers passed down stories of eerie phenomena:
whispers which floated in the air and went away, lights which twinkle and shine in the night and there was always the sense that something was following you, even when you could not see it. Nobody dared to go out at night fearing the witch that was reported still roamed the forest at night and was part and parcel of the jungle. As the night, dark as pitch and full of numerous terrible storms, a rude and self-willed youth lost his way and the threatening, Rain fell on him and wind roared, as if it was demoniac, but he advanced, and the scariest feeling in his chest grew stronger. The darker he recedes the heavier the thoughts, as if the environment was closing in on him. The trees, large, some of them pre-Columbian, bent inward as if trying to ensnare him amongst themselves. Then he almost did not distinguish it - a whisper coming on the wind. Barely audible, it seemed to drift between the trees: Shaking some more he grumbled, “who dares to disturb my domain?”
This voice was one of the coldest he had ever heard, it penetrated his bones like a cold thrill. He stood and hesitated for a moment as he felt his heartbeat quicken. Then the people standing on the shore blurred, shadows twisted around their outlines, as if they were tangled. His breath caught in his throat, but fear could not stop him - it was curiosity or arrogance that pushed him further into the forest. The whispers grew louder, and the sound echoed in his head. With each step he felt the sound of his own pounding heartbeat echoing inside his head. And then, out of an open shadow from the forest emerged a very large woman, who seemed to move, as if she were walking in a dream.
A woman rose up in front of him, her face blurred as if fog had surrounded her. There was fear and cold death in the air, the night was alive with the presence of dread - a ghostly woman who couldn't even be properly haunted because the fog hid her thin, sickly face, her eyes glowing as if fire was coming out from between her eyelids. She just stood there and stared at him with a face that penetrated his soul."Why are you looking for me?" Her voice was barely audible but her words echoed through the forest like a voice. The traveler's throat choked and he was too afraid to speak his next words. All he could say was, "I...I had no malicious intent." Possibly his voice was shaking as well. "I was only looking for a place to hide from the storm."
The witch took on a feminine form, her mouth twisted and her black eyes staring at him as if they could penetrate his chest.
She said some scary words and everything around was saying that this boy is absolutely lost and alone. The witch said, "Go away, for you are from the world of light, little boy. Now go away from here, out of the forest, into your own world."
His feet suddenly froze as the earth reached up to grab him. A wave of panic surged through him. He turned to run out of the forest, but the trees came alive again, their branches straining to catch him. He saw the branches of the forest reaching out to grab him, and growling desperately, the sounds of the forest growing louder now, becoming a sobbing storm around him, a cry of fear, a shriek of pain. Before he could be overwhelmed by panic, the witch raised her hand, her form dissolving into mist again. "Go away," she said the last word and it came out as a sigh against the rising gust of wind. "And don't come back." The next moment the witch's spell broke. Choking on his thoughts, the man turned and ran, stumbling through the forest in the dark, the weight of her words echoing in his head. The trees were open enough for him to peer out, but the forest was not completely passive, for it stared at him with dead, emotionless eyes.
His heart was still pounding as he ran out of the forest boundary towards his village, the storm slowly beginning to subside. But the horror that had followed him remained in his memories and dreams.! Read Next story