-Roasted-

The dried river was interrupted by a hill and didn’t show any signs of continuing after that point. It was made of the peak of a large stone and dirt that had been trapped under it. From the top of this hill, Jaiden and his brother, Marsh, looked on into the forest and could just barely see the waterfall through the trees below.

Jaiden leaned back and skid down the steep start of the mound, picking up speed as he neared the bottom. Marsh started to do the same but took a moment to dust off his clothes.

“What are we supposed to do when we get there?” Marsh asked as they walked on. Jaiden, at this point, was reading over the obscure directions.

“I don’t really know. Maybe there’s a cave we go through?” He dodged a patch of poison ivy and continued, “After the part about the path, it says, ‘You will never hear its running water until you’ve learned its flow. Make one wrong step or one wrong turn, its reflection you’ll never know.’”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’m sure we’ll know when we get… there,” Jaiden began to trail off as the trees took his attention. They became much thicker and the air around them was humid. What looked to be a pine tree was far too twisted and plump to even resemble one. These trees were unsettling as they continued to appear around the brothers.

“SHI-” Marsh suddenly tripped and stumbled into a bed of soggy moss.

“Watch your step”

“Oh, now you tell me!” Marsh tried to wipe away the greenery but it stuck to his clothes. Jaiden giggled as he helped his brother up but Marsh wasn’t as amused.

“That’s right, laugh while you still can,” Marsh shoved away Jaid and checked to see how much mud was on him.

“Sorry, but luck is not on your side today,” Jaiden teased, continuing on. He then walked right into a spider web that was strung up between two trees and flailed as Marsh bursted out laughing.

“Get it off! Get it-” in his panic, he slipped on a patch of mud and fell over a log. Marsh snorted and clenched his stomach, laughing even harder than before.

“Well, Jaid, it looks like Luck isn’t on your side today!” He wheezed. He walked over to the log and saw Jaiden with his hands over his face groaning.

“I really hope this isn’t connected to the witch…” Jaiden suggested. On the muddied grass, he waited for Marsh to make some kind of remark but he didn't say anything. Instead, he had walked over to a cluster of rocks and was peering over it. Without looking he swatted his hand for Jaiden to see as well.

Jaiden got up and proceeded beside him. They held their breath.

There it was. The waterfall. It was somehow much closer than either of them expected. The water cascaded silently into a pool of its own. Water bleeding from the sides fragmenting pieces of an invisible light was drizzling down upon rocks. It was separate from its surroundings. Moss floated about the stones and the fog slipped passed the grass in a ghostly manner. A perplexing gentle breeze brushed around the leaves and filled Jaiden with a sense of awe.

“Woah!” Marsh hopped over the stone and sauntered down the hill while Jaiden looked on, dumbfounded.

“Come on!” Marsh yelled, breaking Jaiden from his trance. He climbed over the rock and caught up to his brother and the fog twisted around their legs as they walked on.