Eythreal

“Stop, Butch!” Timothy shouted, watching his golden retriever chase after the brownish rabbit scurrying along the lush forest floor. The dog ignored his master and hurried farther into the forest, forcing the fifteen-year-old boy to choose to follow. For now, Timothy chose to follow. Although Timothy proved faster and more agile than any of his age, his speed and agility paled in comparison to that of the nimble and fleet-footed dog and rabbit. Thus, the boy struggled mightily to keep up with the two. Every passing second proved to be lost ground. His sister, Katelyn, six years his junior, struggled mightier. She struggled to the point of surrendering. Timothy sensed this about her, sensed her fatalism. And in doing so, he sensed his own failure to keep up with the two animals, especially when it meant leaving behind his vulnerable and frightened sister. He also understood the grave consequences of going too far into the forest, where he could end up at the barrier separating what his father liked to call Old Wicker’s Forest and the other forest. “Butch!” Timothy shouted again. “Don’t go any farther! You have to stop!” The dog did not stop, and the boy came to a halt. Not turning around, he sensed his sister no more than twenty feet away, much deeper in the forest than he ever wanted her to be. He closed his eyes in despair. Butch had undoubtedly gone past the barrier and entered the forest never to be visited by a boy or girl of any age, and this forbidden forest those boys and girls liked to call the Forest Beyond. From time immemorial, the adults had done everything in their power to keep the children from calling the forest by such a name, therefore referring to it as the other forest or just the forbidden forest, but never Forest Beyond, for it strengthened their will and curiosity in wanting to venture farther. Of course, the adults invariably failed at such a scheme to manipulate the boys and girls, seeing how they only made it worse by laying down harsh rules concerning the forest. What made matters worse was that the adults had long since judged other adults if entering the forest. Timothy opened his eyes to capture the last sight of Butch chasing the rabbit before the impending forest swallowed them up. “Butch!” he again shouted. “Come back! Come back, I said!” Butch could no longer be heard. Katelyn approached from behind. “Is he not coming back?” she asked, wiping tears away. “He’s coming back,” Timothy answered with feigned, boastful confidence. He never wanted to betray such fear or negativity before his sister. Unlike most times, Katelyn did not buy into her brother’s answer. More tears fell from her eyes. Hearing her sob, Timothy turned around and stared tenderly at her. “Don’t cry,” he said. “He’ll be back.” He said the latter words with the same pretended confidence. This time, it did not come out so confidently. Katelyn wanted to fall to the ground because of her distraught emotions. Timothy held her up, and they embraced. His eyes looked toward the sun. Timothy surmised one hour at most before sundown, from reading the sun’s position. An hour! he thought to himself. Just an hour to get home before being too late? Butch won’t make it. But what can I do? Be strong—that’s what you can do. Timothy nodded in response to his inner debate and turned to his sister with bravado. Katelyn did not like this change in him. The boldness spoke of danger. “I’m going in,” Timothy said, confirming Katelyn’s worst fear. “Go-go-going in . . . in . . . in there?” “There’s no better choice, Katelyn. I’ve got to get in there and bring him back.” “What about me? “You? Home.” “Home?” she said incredulously. “Yes. Home. Go home. But don’t run into the house until one minute before it’s too late. Run inside then and tell Ma and Pa I’m running a few minutes late.” “And Pa’s warning?” “I know the warnings. But what am I supposed to do? Leave Butch behind? No. I have to go after him.” “But Pa said never—” “I know! Gosh, darn it, sis! I know his exact words and warning.” The boy’s severe mannerisms did more harm than good to Katelyn, as she became overwrought with emotions. Attempting to soothe her, he took her hand and said, “Pa warns us because he fears we’ll get lost and never find our way home and something may happen to us like the Crowder kids. But what Pa doesn’t know is that I’ve been to the fallen elm tree. I even ventured farther. And still, I found my way home. It’s getting dark, sis, real fast too. I’ve got to go before the darkness falls upon us!” “Pa’s going to be mad—mad-mad!” Understanding the truth, Timothy nodded. “Also why you’re not going to say a word to him. Your only words will be Timothy is running a few minutes late. Got it? Come on, sis. Don’t look at me like that. We both know I must go into that forest and get him back. You do want Butch back, right? Isn’t that what we all want? Meaning Ma and Pa too? He’ll never come home without my help—that I promise you. I don’t think Butch has ever gone this far before.” Katelyn became puzzled about what to think or do. She’d heard many terrible tales of what possibly went on in what they called the Forest Beyond—many tales. And to imagine her brother falling into one of those tales? Devastating. But they were tales. Even at the height of her current imagination, she saw most of them as fiction or fabrication. What proved true to her was Butch being lost in the forest. “Fine,” she said, wiping away her tears. “But whatever you do, be careful, and come home. OK? Because I don’t want to lose you too.”