Friday, June 12, 2015

Lost

Alone…. 

Completely alone….. 

I can’t see anyone.  I can’t hear anyone.  

The trees around me whisper in their own language.  Are they laughing at me?  Weeping for me?  It’s hard to tell; trees are tricky like that. 

I woke up here in the forest with a scabbed-over cut on my temple and no idea how I got here or where, exactly, I am.  Other than that cut, a headache and a few scratches on my hands and arms, I’m otherwise unhurt.  Did I have an accident and hit my head?  I’m not exactly dressed for hiking in the woods and don’t quite understand why I would be here. 

The last thing that I remember is leaving home to go visit my sister.  If I had a car accident and went off the road, I must have wandered, dazed, for a while because there is no sign of a road or my piece of crap car.  I should have replaced the damned thing when my brother told me to.  I admit though that, just about now, I’d be pretty relieved to find it. 

I’m hungry but not starving so it’s probably the same day.  It’s hard to tell exactly when since I don’t seem to have my purse with my cell phone in it.  The sun is a lot lower in the sky than I remember though so it must be close to supper time.  Now to decide which way to go when all I can see is forest.  Being a city girl, I can’t even tell which direction I came from – no tracker am I.  The shadows are getting longer as I stand here mired in indecision.  Soon, I’ll be doing my thinking in the dark. 

I was traveling west to go to my sister’s place so I turn to the east and start walking hoping that I’ll be heading towards home.  This seems like good logic to me.  My running shoes are muddy and damp and definitely not made for hiking.   

Soon, I’m panting and having a hard time keeping my footing amongst the roots and underbrush.  As the sun sinks further down in the sky, I can feel my sense of calm dissolving and panic starting to set in.   

I don’t want to be alone in the forest after dark with those whispering trees. 

I’m getting hungrier.  I’m getting thirsty.  My head hurts.  I have no coat and am starting to get cold. 

The last light has left the sky and the nocturnal creatures of the forest are stirring; adding their own conversations to those of the trees.  My fear can be felt in the fast beating of my heart and the extra throb in my sore head.  

I stop and close my eyes.  I must calm down if I'm going to survive.  As my breathing starts to slow, I open my eyes and truly look around.  Now that the sky is dark, I can see a faint glow up ahead.  

Lights!

I follow the glow - farther away than it had seemed - tripping occasionally on roots but making progress.  

Finally, my feet hit blacktop and a feeling of relief sweeps through me.  Almost a mile to my right, I can see the lights of a police car and tow truck.  I can't see it but I'll bet that that's where I'll find my car; probably off the road.  I've never been so happy to see a police car in my whole life........

Kathy