Waking up to a numbing feeling soaking through to the bone isn’t the best feeling. Looking around to see if I was dreaming but only did I find the whiteness of reality. The sun was out, but by the dim gray hazing over the forest in the distance it wasn’t going to be for long. Here I stand in the middle of the woods, the ground blanketed with a thin dust of snow. Wearing only my old pajamas with the ends soaked through I tried to figure out where I was, and why I was there. As far as I could see the white forest traveled on for miles until it trailed off out of sight. I felt so alone. Most likely, no one had been through these woods in years. The coldness seeped through my cloths clenching on to my bones as if it were a warning. I wasn’t supposed to be here, as if I wanted to be in the first place. There is a riddle about a tree falling down in the forest. If no one is around to hear it, then how would anyone know if it fell? I felt like there was nothing alive in the woods, not even the trees.
In the distance I could hear a trickling noise from behind me, hoping it was a river I turned in that direction. Maybe if I found the river, it could lead me home. I glanced up, my legs locked; I stood motionless starring several yards away a massive black figure staring back at me. I tried to think of what it could be but my brain wasn’t registering it. It was something I had never seen before. I felt a panic rush through me, my heart sped up. My legs disagreed when I tried to move closer to get a better look. Deciding to just back away slowly so it didn’t get scarred, I took one step back. The creature didn’t think I was anything to be afraid of, it was not frightened, but I undeniably was. Within seconds the creature ran at me with full speed. I took off as fast as I could toward the river, I could see my breath in the cold. My feet were freezing; it had felt as if I had been running for hours when really it was only seconds. My lungs started to burn, I could feel my heart pounding, almost through my chest when finally I reached the river. I must know where I am, or else how would I know where I was going.
The river was rushing at a rate I had never seen, my brain flashed back and forth to my childhood. Over my own gasps I could hear the monster behind me, with every step I took, it took two more. It was so tall while I was so small, I became aware of the probability of making it away, alive. Feeling the figure close behind my feet took me toward a bridge. Glancing at the ice covered bridge and back behind me I wasn’t sure if it would hold, at least not the two of us. Closer and closer I felt the ground pulsate, I leapt onto the bridge, falling to my knees. The ice leached through my pants that were now ripped from falling. The thin layer of ice smeared with blood. Becoming conscious of the pain, burning tears started to roll down my face. The old bridge shook back and forth, crackling with every movement.
In the corner of my eye the black beast continued my way. Pulling myself up to the railing I held on for dear life. The creature took a step toward me onto the bridge, eyes locked onto mine. With only a few yards behind us I could see the details more clearly then before. Its eyes were a strange blue, almost as dark as the night sky. The piercing eyes locked onto my face. The riddle flashed into my head, maybe I was the tree. I am the one to fall and no one even knows because no one is around to see it. The crackling grew louder, leading straight under my feet. The moistness in the air made my face feel damper then before, the bitter coldness captured my cheeks making the pain even more agonizing. My heart pounded faster then it ever had in my life, it dropped once more when I saw what was in store for me beneath the bridge. I couldn’t breath. I looked down, then back to its face when suddenly the bridge snapped.
