Feruz Anwar Seth

The chorus of chirping birds echoed against the walls of tree trunks. The sunlight that penetrated through the leaves made the forest floor bright and beautiful. It was a peaceful feeling and Zoe loved it! She lay on the ground, staring up to see the sunlight radiating like an abstract, vivid waterfall. “Zoe…” She could hear a faint, but noticeable voice. Zoe closed her eyes, enjoying the nature enveloping her. “Zoe…!” There was that mysterious voice again. With eyes closed, Zoe concentrated on the entity that was calling out her name. “Wake up, sleepyhead!” Zoe opened her eyes to see a familiar face staring back at her. Blue eyes, blonde hair, freckles- yep, it’s her older brother, Aaron. She gave a huge yawn and rubbed her tired eyes. Where was she again? She observed her surroundings and found out that she was back in the garden. Bummer. She remembered that she had to help Aaron with the gardening. How boring… An unearthly force was sitting on her eyelids, making them heavy, which made the urge to fall back asleep strong. However, her brother’s constant scolding to wake her up was way more powerful. “Wake up!” said Aaron, putting his hands on his hips like an angry nanny. “You were supposed to help me trim the rose bushes.” Zoe groaned as she got up from the garden bench. She fumbled a bit to pick up the pruning shears. “This is really boring.” she moaned. Aaron rolled his eyes. “Come on, Zoe,” he said. “We promised Mum that we’ll help her with the garden.” Zoe decided to give up on arguing with Aaron and began to trim the rose bushes just as he told her to do. Snip. Snip. Snip. Man, it was as if she was doing it forever! Zoe let out another yawn and had a feeling that she might fall asleep again. Surely… a little bit of rest… wouldn’t hurt, right…? Snip! Zoe’s ears perked up and she noticed a rose fall onto the ground. Uh, oh! It appeared that Zoe had accidentally cut off one of the roses. She glanced at Aaron. It seemed that he didn’t notice her mistake. Zoe proceeded to grab the rose and hide it in her pocket. Phew, that was close! Aaron would have been angry at her for messing up. She hoped that he would not notice the suspicious bare spot on the bush. She continued with her job, this time, with more caution. Zoe had spent half an hour in the garden and she was getting exhausted. “Chirp!” A tiny blue hummingbird had perched on the rose plant. Zoe’s eyes twinkled with interest as she took a closer look at the bird. “Why, hi there!” she said cheerfully. “Aren’t you a cute little thing?” The hummingbird tilted its head as it stared back at her like an innocent little animal. After a few seconds, it took off to a nearby forest. “Hey!” exclaimed Zoe. “Don’t go!” Zoe put down the pruning shears and kept an eye on her busy brother as she sneaked out of the garden to the forest. The hummingbird bird was a nimble creature, but Zoe was able to keep up with it. It was not long until she lost track of the bird. Zoe stood still as her attention was drawn to her surroundings. The bright blue of the sky was now completely covered with the leaves of trees. There was a bit of light, but the forest was still dimmer than her garden. There was complete silence… “Aaron?” she called out for her brother meekly like a child who found herself in the middle of a crowded street to find their parents are nowhere in sight. However, in Zoe’s situation, she’s alone in a forest. Then, the realization slammed into Zoe- she was alone… all alone in a dark forest. Any other child would start to cry in a situation like this, but Zoe felt oddly calm. She walked down the forest, relishing the peacefulness of the forest around her. As a lover of nature, she really did enjoy being in woods and forests. The forest she was in, however, looked special and felt unusually mystique. The forest was not quiet anymore though. The chorus of chirping birds echoed against the walls of tree trunks. The sunlight that penetrated through the leaves made the forest floor bright and beautiful. Zoe felt a sense of déjà vu for some reason. The twigs on the moss-covered ground creaked and crunched as they broke into two when Zoe stepped on them. Zoe, initially, made sure that she would follow the leaf-carpeted path, but she could not help but approach the trees. Their colour was a stunning mix of mahogany and dark green, and Zoe wondered what sort of species were the trees. She assumed them to be oaks, but they seem to be even more ancient. The sound of what seemed to be a deer caught Zoe’s attention. She turned to her left and saw a roe deer. It’s black, round eyes were fixed on her and its nose twitched adorably. “Aw…” cooed Zoe. She tried to keep her voice down, just in case, it might scare the deer away. As she approached the deer, a flock of birds landed on a branch of a tree close to the deer. They started chirping a joyful song. Zoe closed her eyes and enjoyed the singing. In a matter of moments, she started to dance along the melody. Oh, how peaceful it felt. It was as if she was in paradise! As Zoe took a step behind, she suddenly lost her footing. Immediately opening her eyes, she found out that there was a huge hole behind her. Her heart was beating fast and she tried her best to regain her footing. “No. No. NO!” Zoe fell in. Zoe was crying now. The beautiful landscape of the forest turned dark as she fell into the (what seemed to be a very deep) hole. The only source of light was from above... where she came from. Her rose flew out of her pocket, but she managed to grab it quickly. Zoe held on to the rose as she the faces of her parents and brother appeared in her mind. Despite only leaving them for almost an hour, she already missed her mother's warm smile, her father's hugs and even her brother's annoying nagging. Will she ever see them again? It seemed to be... the end for her. Zoe choked a sob as gravity continued to pull her down and down and down... ... Zoe had an fell on something hard- most likely the ground. Her vision blurred and her grip on the rose weakened. Mum... Dad... Aaron...