The One About the Forest--Part 2

There once was a time when this whole situation would have seemed odd to him. After all, how hard could it possibly be to find his tree? He had spent countless hours in the forest, and he knew it better than he knew his old schoolmates. (He certainly liked it better, anyway.) As a young boy, he could navigate through the deepest parts of the woods at the darkest time of night and still be able to find his way around without the slightest hint of hesitation. And yet, here he was--wandering around in the middle of the day without so much as a glimpse of his favorite tree. Odd as that might seem, though, it was no surprise to Tom. He knew this place, and he knew that odd things tended to happen here. The truth was that there was something different about this forest.

It's not like the trees talked to Tom, or the flowers danced, or anything "fairy tale-ish" like that. The forest looked and sounded like any other. In fact, besides the strange events surrounding his human-shaped tree, Tom had never really seen anything that looked out of the ordinary. No, it wasn't about sights at all. Or sounds. It was more about a feeling--a feeling that could only come to someone who knew this place well enough to see with more than just a pair of eyes. Tom wouldn't have been able to describe it, even if he wanted to. But it still made his stomach lurch with excitement and fear every time he felt it. It was a feeling that compelled him to come back, again and again, speaking to him of mysteries that needed solving and work that needed to be done. The feeling made him convinced that there was something wonderful in this forest; something powerful and good, and if he could just find it, everything would be different. There was something else in the feeling, though. Something that made him cautious whenever he entered the woods. Something that spoke of mischief and darkness and despair. It was almost as if there were two forces battling against each other in this place, and Tom was allowed glimpses into this world, for reasons he didn't understand.

He could still remember the very first day the feeling came to him. That was the day that the forest became more than just a cherished spot for his childhood adventures. That was the day Tom realized that the forest had claimed him.