Together Forever

I have always loved taking long walks through fields, staring at the vast predictable horizon that was so close and made me feel safe. You could always see around you. There were no trees for predators like bears or wolves to hide behind as they stalked me, their next snack. That's not why moving from Iowa to Georgia was difficult for me, but it certainly didn't help. Other factors contributing to my overall anxiety and loneliness were my lack of friends, inability to learn my way around my new town, and the ever-present and tiring existence of the worst traffic I've experienced in my entire adult life. Besides the traffic and everything else though, it was the trees that bothered me. Forests are dark, empty, and dangerous places, and I always found them a little bit off-putting. The way I always felt like I was being watched despite being utterly alone made me turn down several camping weekends with my buddies and two different opportunities to join the boy scouts. It's not a phobia because it's not irrational. Just name one thing in the woods that isn't sharp, pointy, or looking for its next meal. But one day I met this girl.

Her name was Alice, and she had the prettiest blue eyes. I had had a rough week. I had underestimated the amount of traffic on the road (it was still my first month in Georgia) and had been late to my new job twice. That never looks good, especially when you have a boss that enjoys your pain. I got yelled at, but I managed to not get fired, and that's what counts. Anyways, it was Friday evening, and I was starving. I picked up some Chinese food to eat in the car when suddenly, the most beautiful eyes in the world were staring at me through my driver's side window. "Sir? Sir... Sir, I need your help. I really need your help. I know it's late and this is probably a little weird but..." she went on for a while. I would come to learn that Alice loved to talk. I would come to learn that I loved Alice talking. In fact, I would soon find out I loved Alice. But I am getting ahead of myself. I rolled my window down slowly and gazed out at those sky-blue eyes. They were almost the color of Iowa's sky in the morning. "What's the problem?" I asked. My voice shook because I was nervous, like I was in middle school talking to my crush. "My car's tire is flat, I don't have a spare, I'm a little lost, I don't know, I'm just scared, I just need someone to tell me where to go to get a spare, or maybe you have one, or..." "I have a spare; give me just a second," I responded, flinching as my voice cracked a little. "I'm John by the way." She told me she was Alice. I was in love.

It was three months later, and she wanted to get married in the woods. Like the sharp, pointy, looking-for-its-next-meal woods. I didn't want to seem like a complete coward, and I really didn't want to be involved in the wedding planning, so I went along with it. The date was set, the color scheme was picked, and the cake flavor was chosen. The only odd thing was Alice didn't have any family coming, but she told me she was adopted and then tragically lost her adoptive parents in a car wreck three years ago. Her only family was her sister, who didn't speak to her anymore because of a petty fight they had two years ago. Because of this, family was a sensitive issue for her, and she asked me not to invite anyone for her sake. I agreed. The whole no family thing made me a little upset, but it was for good reason. I felt sorry for her, but I also told her I would always be there for her. "I know," she said.

The day of the wedding finally arrived. The woods were just as empty as always, but I still felt like eyes were drilling into the back of my head. I hate how empty the forest is. I hate it with a passion. And I hate bears, and dirt, and sticks, and mud. But Alice loved those things, and I was determined to get through this for her. She told me to meet her at sundown by the creek that runs through the middle of the woods. There's a bridge there and we were going to get married on it. It was romantic and quaint, so I could see the appeal despite my burning hatred for the forest I was in. The whole setup gave me the creeps, like I was being lured into a trap, but I told myself I had just seen one too many horror movies, and Alice was the one for me. After about an hour of trudging through filth and soil and dark shadowy trees I reached the bridge. But there was no cake to eat, or pastor to marry us, or coordinated color schemes to make it all tie together. I looked around, confused and exhausted from my hike in a tux and dress shoes. Then I saw those gorgeous blue eyes. They were so pretty, just as amazing as always, maybe even better in the light of the setting sun. But why were they so high up. Alice was anything but tall. Then I made out in the lengthening shadows the shape of a tree. She was in a tree. She was in a tree? "Alice?" I called out. The captivating pair of sky-blue eyes didn't move. Didn't even blink. "Alice, is everything..." I didn't finish what I was saying because I realized I wasn't looking at Alice. Maybe it had been Alice at some point, but now it was just her head piked on the tip of a tree branch. The rest of her mangled remains were on the ground below, tossed in a heap like an entangled pile of old, discarded clothing.

I don't think I screamed. I didn't really have time. I would've had time, but something slithered off the tree. It was getting dark and all I could see were shadows, but I swear I saw it slither. I heard the scratching and scraping of long, sharp claws as the thing descended from the tree where it had gutted my beautiful, innocent soon-to-be wife. I was a mess of anger, confusion, and absolute terror. I didn't know what to think. I couldn't think. I ran. I heard leaves crunching behind me, but not like the thing was stepping. It made a slow, creeping noise like it was crawling on its belly. But then I saw a long, thin black arm extend under me and swat at my leg. I jumped in time to avoid being caught, but its razor-like claws had left a huge gash in my leg. I stumbled around blindly, unable to see anything now that the sun had fully set. And just like that, the woods went quiet.

I crept behind a large oak tree and peered out from behind it. There was no wind that night. Nothing moved. Nothing made a sound. It was like everything was hiding. Hiding from a predator in search of its next meal. I held my breath as steady as possible, but I swear I could her my lungs inflate like they were wind chimes. That's when I saw it, slowly creeping up the tree a few feet in front of me. I couldn't see much, but it definitely had the long, thin body of a snake. It had arms though. I saw it use them to rip a branch off the tree and hurdle it to the ground. At the end of its arms were huge, slender claws that glinted like knives in the moonlight. I couldn't see its face. Thankfully I couldn't see its face. That's when I heard it. The sound of horns and motors. The sound I hated so much. Traffic! I wanted to shout. But I held my breath. I couldn't make a sound. I silently moved one foot backwards and checked the tree. The thing didn't stir. I moved another foot. Nothing. But I would never get to safety going this slowly. It would smell me or something. So I took off running again.

I made it to the highway just as a claw was swiping at my leg again. "I made it, I did it, I'm alive," I gasped. I was overwhelmed, exhausted, and incredibly disoriented. I wished Alice was there. I wanted to see Alice again. My eyes were full of tears, I didn't know what to think, my leg was gushing blood. I stumbled out onto the road and turned around. That wasn't a bear. What was that thing? Who would believe me when I described it? What was I going to do without Alice? Luckily, I didn't have long to stay confused, in pain, and lost. I realized far too late I had limped onto a highway near Atlanta in the middle of the night, and I barely had time to process the frustration of surviving an apex predator only to be flattened by a semitruck going 90. At least I got to be with Alice forever like I had wanted.