Hollow Wood

• Besher Dbsawy, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2021

I was devastated when nobody believed my theories about the mysterious shadows that haunted me on my trip to Hollow Wood. People said things like I was hallucinating and that I was crazy. However, what I thought hurt the most was that my own family didn’t believe me. I needed to prove them wrong, so I decided to go back to capture some footage of the shadows.

I exited my car and there I stood as an 18 year old , in a forest where souls couldn’t see the light of day, where they were swallowed by darkness. All I could see in front of me was a path that stretched into the foggy distance, shrouded by tall brown trees. It was silent, before the wind whistled through the trees, creating a soft song. My stomach tightened, my knees felt shaky and my palms started sweating. As much as I wanted to leave, it was too late to turn back now. I needed to prove to myself and to my family that I wasn't crazy.



My family were secretly planning on taking me to the doctor because they believed that something was wrong with me. Their worries grew as they watched me suffer through sleepless nights and constant slips into daydreams. I remember lying down on my bed listening to mum and dad arguing about what they should do with me.
“We need to take him to the doctor!” yelled mum in frustration.
“I’m not sending my son away!” hissed dad.
“Something happened to him on that trip and we need to find out,”said mum. They thought that I was asleep as they lowered their voices down to not wake me. As I stared at the ceiling, I realised the only way they wouldn’t send me away is by proving that there was something horrific going on in those woods.









I suddenly snapped back to reality. As I wandered deeper into the forest, I thought it was time to take out my camera and start recording. As I reached back, my eyes blew up in fear. A shadow was standing there staring at me. It was dark and towering with extremely slim limbs. The dull glow of his green eyes seemed to gaze into my soul. For a few seconds, I stood there right before sprinting in the opposite direction. For a few of the most panicked minutes of my life, I ran and ran. As I ran, I thought to myself, “I can’t do this anymore, It’s time to go home.”

As I finally stopped running, it hit me. I was lost. I checked my phone, but just as I expected , I had no signal . I thought it would be best to call for help. “Hello,anyone here?” I screeched desperately . Another strange silhouette appeared in the distance . My skin raised in bumps and sweat pooled on my body. But in the blink of an eye, it was gone . As I looked up, I felt small and powerless. It was like the tall brown trees were a fence , wrapping it’s branches around each other tight so there could be no escape.

I dragged my legs across the ragged old concrete. I slithered into a small abandoned car and shut the door, feeling breathless .I gripped onto the door with clammy hands . My heart thumped noisily in my chest. This might be the end of me, I thought .My eyes blew open the second I saw the eerie silhouette appear again. Suddenly, black tentacles entered the car from the tiniest gaps imaginable . Under the door and from the window's whereabouts , darkness entered the car and I was taken into its dark depths.