You are standing by a tree
There are 3 paths.
One appears to go to a jungle,
one appears to go to a cave,
one appears to go to a beach,
you could try and climb the tree,
there is a nearby shop you could go in,
or you could do something else.
So what's its going to be?
Written by catprog on 01 April 2003
Kristine
Kristine “Kris” Thompson hovered about the small area with three potential paths that lay before her, feeling a wave of uncertainty bubble up in her stomach. Not only did the clearing seem new to her - she’d certainly never seen a tree that massive in the New York suburb she lived in, let alone a massive tree next to an odd, nondescript shop - yet the air around seemed… thicker, maybe, tinted with the sensation she was being watched.
“Is someone there?” Kris called out.
She waited. There was no answer.
It wasn’t dead silent where she stood, thankfully (being in a weird place with silence would’ve been too unnerving, she felt). No, she could hear and feel the wind against her skin, and she could heard birds and woodland creatures doing their business all around, enough that it didn’t feel TOO unsafe.
Of course, despite the fact she didn’t feel threatened or like she might get lost, she was still coming to terms with the fact the weird trail she’d found while out walking led to this clearing, where three completely different areas presented themselves to her. All three had obvious signs indicating them, too, with neat, yet somewhat aged handwriting.
‘But who wrote them?’ she pondered. She’d always been a curious gal.
Maybe it was whomever owned the quaint little shop hovering not far from where she stood. Kris took a few steps toward it and eyed the shop - the windows were covered by thick curtains and the door gave no sign of being open right now. She frowned. Maybe it was someone else entirely.
“Well…” Kris glanced back the way she’d come. The winding trail that led her to this area was still there, waiting in case she decided to turn around. That was something, she supposed, and yet, she couldn’t bring herself to turn around. Not right now, anyways. She wanted… she wanted to keep going.
She sighed and mulled over the options - the forest, the beach, or the cave.
“Let’s see,” she said to herself. “Dark, creepy cave? No thanks. Beach? I mean, I’m not dressed for the beach, so…” She shrugged this off. “That leaves…”
Oh, she knew she could try to climb the tree, but Kris wasn’t one for extreme heights. And while the shop was an option, there was something OFF about the building - how it was so plain and unassuming, how there was no indication it was even open. She didn’t trust it.
Even though she felt like she was in a strange dream as she lingered in the clearing, Kris knew otherwise. She also knew she had plenty of time to kill for the day since she’d finished her college courses. So, taking that into consideration, the idea of exploring a forest enticed her the most. After all, she’d gone for a walk to enjoy some quiet time in nature - she was tired of being bored and feeling lonely in her dorm room.
“I just hope this doesn’t lead to me getting mugged,” she muttered under her breath, and adding, “or worse.”
Written by Hollowpages on 02 February 2020
