A Dark Forest

• Quincy Rose, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2022

The scintillating moon shone brighter than a diamond that had been submerged in glitter. The crystalline snow covered the fields, it was a whiteout. The fluffy white clouds covered the glistening moon, the damp forest painted black. As I walked through the forest, my feet crunched in the crisp white snow. I felt icy raindrops fall down on my cheeks, it felt soft and sharp all at the same time. In the distance I saw beautiful deer standing tall like skyscrapers. I approached them with care but they galloped away before I could get close. I decided to keep following the deer before I realised they had disappeared.
I looked around as I felt a cold shiver up my back, for the trees looked like monsters with eyes so green they hypnotised my mind. I ran the other way before seeing logs like alligators, nipping at my toes. Bats were swarming my small, weak body, it looked like there were hundreds of them. An owl hooting, loud as a siren, in my ears. I fell through a hole in the forest floor, falling for what felt like a whole day, and landed on the floor below, with a radiating thump that could wake up the world. I collapsed in shock for what had felt like a nightmare.
I woke up from my deep yet painful sleep covered in snow that made me shiver. I felt a little tickle on my nose when I realised a cute little bunny was sniffing my nose, it was as white as snow. The bunny made me feel comforted, I enjoyed it, before I realised what happened. The trees that looked like monsters with green eyes, the logs that looked like alligators, the bats that were swarming my body. There are scratches all over my small, weak body. I stand up shaking, for I'm standing in the middle of an unknown forest in the middle of nowhere. I'm scared, I'm lost, I'm alone. The bunny looks up at me and I feel an instant bond.
The bunny rubs up against my leg and hops away, I follow it. The fluffy white bunny hops away and I follow it to a house with smoke coming out the chimney, we’re far away from the forest now. The door creaks open and as I walk in, I'm greeted by a family of white cotton balls. It smells of peppermint and an open fireplace, better than a hot chocolate on a cold winter's day. In the corner I see a Christmas tree twinkling like stars. I think back to the dark forest and release a sigh of relief, knowing that I could forget about the nightmare.