Under A Spell

"Ouch!"

I stumbled forward after tripping on a rock but caught myself in the right moment before I smashed my face on the ground.

Struggling around blindly I opened the trunk of my car.

"I can't see anything right now"

I whispered as I looked around for my flashlight amongst a sea of junk.

"Can this day get any worse!"

I cried breaking the ever-present silence as I looked around me

"Imagine if there was a murderer around, they definitely heard me now"

I shook my head as I went back to searching.

Finally finding the flashlight after a good ten minutes I did a small victory dance in my head and closed the trunk a little too loudly before heading for the supposed direction of the house.

Lighting up the way I couldn't really see much except for a dark, foreboding forest surrounding me.

"Wait a minute, did I get lost?"

I looked around nervously as I bit my nails "no, I'm sure I followed the GPS correctly".

After realization hit me a feeling of dread took over my body.

'Was I tricked?! What! I knew I shouldn't have trusted that dodgy Allen guy!'

I looked around in a panic trying to stay as quiet as possible so I could hear any unusual sound.

"I'm going to die here, aren't I?"

I whispered half in fear and half in defeat as I crouched down on the ground to make myself look smaller.

A sudden crunching sound in the trees nearby caught my attention and I shuddered in fear as I released a slow breath while I put my hand on my heart feeling the erratic beats.

The crunching continued and the sound got louder as the person or creature got closer.

For once being very grateful for the darkness and lack of the moon I made my way into the dense trees,

very slowly and very quietly crouching froward.

After making sure that I was out of sight and hidden by the trees I slowly stood up and started running in a random direction with no destination in my mind,

praying that I wouldn't get lost in the process.

I had convinced myself that no matter how many dangerous animals I may encounter in these woods I had a better chance of surviving than if I was out there in the open with a murderer.

After about a good 15 minutes of running I was now fully aware that I was lost,

completely.

I stopped to catch my breath as I rested my back on a giant tree and grabbed my phone from my purse.

Hoping for a miracle I pressed the on button with shaky hands and waited…. but of course,

nothing happened.

The screen remained dark,

and I slowly slid down to the ground,

feeling the bumpy texture of the tree scratching my back in the process but I suddenly felt too tired and defeated to care now.

As I closed my eyes I focused on my breathing and any sounds,

but everything felt unusually calm and quiet. I could no longer even hear the sound of wind rustling in the trees.

All of a sudden something strange happened.

The air shifted,

it felt heavier and thicker,

a little hard to breathe even and I felt dazed and lightheaded.

There was still a deafening silence around before it was broken by a distant sound of music.

It was loud but also indiscernible,

I felt it being played in my ears yet also from a distance,

I fell under a spell, and it was pulling me closer.

Slowly getting up I kept my eyes closed,

afraid that the spell would be broken if I opened them and put my hands out in order to distinguish any obstacles,

but I felt nothing like I was walking on a clear path and not a forest floor, very weird I know.

Before I knew it and after what felt like only a minute of walking the spell was finally broken,

like resurfacing from under the water or being in a bubble that has burst,

I could suddenly hear everything now, the sound of trees,

insects buzzing,

branching creaking under my feet and birds chirping.

It felt like the right moment to open my eyes now and the moment my eyes focused on what was in front of me my jaw dropped to the floor.

"Holy shit!"