My entire body was shaking, my breathing labored, my head ached and my eyes were heavy. My eyelids plodded open and my environment slowly went from shapes and colors to a forest. The moment I tried to move, I felt a wave of pins and needles wash over me from my fingertips to my toes.
I slowly sat up and took in my environment, I was in the middle of nowhere, endless trees and shadows and no signs of life. I got up and turned on the spot but I didn't know where I was or how I got there. I felt a chilling presence behind me like I was being watched, I turned around but I saw no one there. I had this strange feeling like I should run but I just ignored it because I was too weary. I felt like I was running from something but I couldn't remember what.
The place was mystical and beautiful but eerie and frightening at the same time. I started walking forward with no sense of direction in mind. I saw a small winding narrow dirt path from my right, hidden amongst the clusters of dense, tall and lush evergreens which led to a striking turquoise-green pond with grey rocks scattered around the edges and water hyacinth growing around it. I walked towards the pond and looked in it, I took in my appearances and I didn't feel like me, I stared back at the dark skinned girl with brown eyes like I had never seen her before, on the bright side my hair was in dark red braids that went down to my waist so I didn't have to worry about it getting tangled but I didn't remember what I looked like and I knew for a fact that I hadn't been to a forest before but then again I couldn't remember anything. I was clearly not dressed for the outdoors in my black tank top with ripped denim jeans, and to make matters worse I was bare footed. I reached into the water, scooped a handful and splashed on my face. It had no temperature and texture, I didn't know if it was safe to drink but I still drank it anyway.
Everything felt weird. I was neither hungry nor full. The pain I was feeling when I got up, stopped the moment I drank from the water. It didn't feel nice nor refreshing but I was not in pain anymore neither was I thirsty.
Then it hit me, the place was too quiet. I didn't know what a typical forest was supposed to sound like but this wasn't it. If I listened carefully, I could even hear myself breathing. The crunch of the dry and brittle leaves beneath my feet startled me-it was the only sound I could hear. But why was I wet when the leaves were dry ?? It clearly didn't rain here. Nothing made sense, I couldn't tell what time of day it was, everywhere was dark but the sun was up in the sky and it was shrouded in darkness, It wasn't an eclipse and the forest was bathed in a soft bluish light. Then I realized that this place was definitely not normal. Where was I and what was happening??!!!...
My eyes drifted to the purple water hyacinth and I noticed that they were glowing -no, they were pulsating, I reached for one of the flowers and picked it. The light drained from the flower and I felt a warm liquid caress my fingers, I looked towards the roots where I had picked the flower from and it was bleeding.
It bled into the water as all the other flowers withered and sank into it as the water turned blood red, the sky began to slowly change to a reddish hue and it felt like it was throbbing. I stumbled back, then got on my feet and ran with all the strength I could muster. I closed my eyes as I slowed down to catch my breath but when I opened them I was back in front of the pond but everything had gone back to normal like when I first saw it but something wasn't right, there were no flowers, I took off in the opposite direction and ran for what felt like miles but then the moment I stopped and blinked I was back in front of the pond with no flowers and the sky back to normal, the color of the water was back to normal. I got scared and confused I went towards the pond and I reached into it and then I drank from it, I don't know why I did that but I felt like I needed some reassurance that it was the same pond at this point, I didn't care what was going on because I felt like there was no hope. The water felt exactly the same way the first pond felt, it wasn't cold and it wasn't hot and it had no texture, I can't describe what it felt like-just emptiness sliding down my throat. It was not refreshing but it made my fatigue die down immediately.
I sat there and I pondered what was going on. The ground felt moist but not wet like it had drizzled the previous day. For a moment, I wondered why I hadn't stumbled on any rocks or branches while running and I realized that it felt like the forest was opening up for me, it felt like every time I came close to a branch, it moved out of way but I didn't exactly see it move, the entire forest smelled like water hyacinth but I couldn't see them anymore and this brought me back to the question; where was I and how did I get here???, why was I running around in loops??!!, and then I came to the conclusion that the forest was enchanted.