I woke up lying down on the ground; leaves and dirt stuck on my naked being and a piece of cloth covered my eyes. Having no idea where I am, I panicked and scrambled to cover myself. I tried unknotting the blindfold but to no avail. Chills ran down through my spine as a cold wind blew and leaves fell down the tree I'm under. I shook tremendously, confused of what’s going on. I stood up slowly, using the tree as my support. I jolted. The tree was too hot and it burned my palm. Suddenly, a blinding light passed through from the trunk of the tree to the thick blindfold. I squinted my eyes and stepped back but froze on spot as the light dissipated and a big eye formed looking straight directly at me. My legs wobbled and I slumped down the dirty ground; the tree is so tall and sturdy compared to my small, naked, vulnerable frame. I felt weak, like a specimen under a microscope. I shook even more, peeing myself. Although the tree doesn’t have a mouth, I could feel it smirk as if mocking me and degrading me more; enjoying my vulnerability. I crawled back, moving away from the scary tree but I bumped into another tree, not as big as the former but still as scary. I scrambled away as I saw the trunk glowed. This time, it didn’t form an eye, instead, I saw my life played at speed. Although blinded, I could see everything flashed before my eyes. Scared and bewildered, I ran. I ran as fast as I could, not stopping even though my feet bled. 

Every time I stumbled, I could hear people’s voices: Mom, Dad, Jacques, Tia, everyone. Every time I bumped into a tree, its trunk glowed and showed a clip of my life. Even though the trees are planted on the ground, I felt like it was chasing me. The trees were after me and I didn't know why. Voices rang through the forest and everything was directed at me. The trees might not have eyes, but they knew what was happening. They’re laughing at me; they’re loving my insanity. I stopped and flopped to the ground. I couldn’t take it anymore. I shouted stop but no voice escaped my mouth. I cried but no tear flowed out of my eyes. I took a deep breath but no air entered my lungs. I couldn’t breath; I couldn’t do anything. I pulled my hair and scratched myself out of frustration, I felt the pain. ‘So, pain is the only thing I'm worthy of, huh?’ 

I started running again. I ran and ran until I felt wet grass on my feet. The air was no longer stuffy and I could finally breathe. I was once again blinded, this time by the sun turning the blindfold into ashes. I hugged the ground, relieved on my new found freedom. I ran around flinging my arms in the air, not minding that I was fully naked. I turned back to where I came from, the forest engulfed in thick black fog could only be seen in the distance. I became enthralled as if I was in cloud nine. I felt light; I felt like a cotton, like a dandelion being blown by someone. Delighted, I jumped around and realized I could fly. I flew up the sky; pierced through cloud after cloud until I exhausted myself.

I watched as the sun set and everything slowly succumbed to darkness. My smile faded and my anxiety went back. I felt my stomach churn as my worries came back. ‘What if the forest swallowed me again after dark? I don’t want to experience that again, it felt like hell.’ Enveloped in fear, I flew towards the sun. I planned to catch it, to hold it in my arms so that the place won’t fall into darkness. I want the sun to always shine. My eyes grew big as the sun hid itself behind the mountain.

My body stiffened; I felt my muscles contract as my ability to fly vanished. Gravity pulled me down and my body dropped in a large body of water. I tried to swim afloat but my body remained engulfed by the lake. I struggled to and flapped my limbs around but to no avail. I felt seaweed shot up and wrapped itself on my body. I panicked more, shouting for help. I unintentionally gulped water as I tried to survive. I watched as a whirlpool formed around me; the seaweed tightened its grip on me and pulled me down swiftly. My body slammed to the bottom of the lake, onto a pointed rock. It pierced through me and blood escaped my body. The whirlpool parted itself giving way to a rapid tornado as it struck me on my heart; and everything vanished. With a hole both in my back and in my chest, I laid there in nothingness with my eyes open, not feeling anything. Little lights appeared, twinkling like stars. Suddenly, I cried out loud as I felt my insides burning. I curled myself into a fetal position in an attempt to control the pain. I writhe in pain for I don’t know how long; all I knew was the moment it stopped, my body was full of sweat. 

The blinding light appeared again. I felt something engulf me; exhausted and in pain, I begged for everything to stop. “Stop… please… no more…”

As I felt the surroundings change again, I bawled myself out. This time, a voice came out.