Tasks / Midnight Forest Walk
Walk through a forest at midnight.
Tip: a full moon is recommandable.
2 to 100 players
0 points
Level 0
In the zone of: Biome
Created by Kattapa
0 completed :: 0 in progress
Interested in collaborating on this: (no one yet!)
this task is pretired
(epic camping trip as of 7/24/11. did not plan on 107 degree weather and a new moon. the camera broke just as the walk began. my luck is awesome.)
There is no moon tonight. Our feet trace invisible patterns against the forest floor. One lands on a stick (oh god, is that a snake? you want to jump off it before it can bite you, then it cracks and you realize your mistake), another on a loose rock, and you fall, grabbing at your friend's sleeve to stay upright. It doesn't work, and you both tumble down. Your laughter cuts loudly into the silence.
No. Not silence- when has this place ever been silent? You've known it since childhood, and one of the things you love most is the constant noise. The buzz around your tent, branches that sweep against each other, the early-morning cackle of birds.
But still, it startles both of you and you fall quiet. You've never been this far off the trail before, especially not so late at night, even thought you know this place the way you know the constellations. You know it like Castor and Pollux, like the scars on the back of your hands.
You can't hear the creek (it hasn't rained since May, not a drop. the lake is almost gone) so you almost fall over the edge, into the brackish water at the bottom of the ravine. You can smell it from where you hang onto a tree, several feet above. Perhaps the dark enhances your other senses. Perhaps this was a mistake. You're blind out here, in the forest. This isn't where you should be.
So why do you feel so at home here? Your clothing catches on the trees, you lose your footing every few steps. But still, you feel as though you could stay here forever. It's just one of those things, the little biological pieces of human nature that have clung to you and every other person. This place is your safety blanket. Here, you are hidden.
You burst into a small clearing. The starlight dazzles you, and for a moment the stars burn holes in your eyes. You've never seen anything so bright in your life. But your friend slouches to the ground with a sigh, face upturned, eyes closed. At peace. You lay down next to her and begin to point out constellations you've only read about in books.
Look back towards the forest. You see a wall of darkness, and realize what you walked clumsily through to find this place. You think of how easily you could have ended up somewhere else, and smile.
This is your life. This is how you embrace it.
This is happiness.