She was walking in the middle of the forest. On her left hand side there was a thick bush. And on her right hand side was a thicker bush. The trees were very tall that it was impossible to see the moon. She was humming to herself a sweet melody when she was disturbed by a sound which came from inside the forest. It was the sound of someone sobbing.
She stopped walking and wondered to herself, “Who is sobbing in the forest?”
She quickly made a sharp right turn into the thick forest. She began walking slowly and quietly like a soldier in a war about to attack his enemy.
It was a very deep forest. Because the moon was shining; she was able to see clearly. There were small trees. She heard the owls hooting. The air blew calmly. It was like a different world was in the forest. Fireflies were hovering over the flowers. The fireflies produced a spectacular light.
She enjoyed the view of every natural feature of the forest even though it was dark. She had a sweet smile on her round face. But, quickly the smile disappeared because she heard someone sobbing. She continued walking slowly and quietly towards the sound. The sound grew louder and louder after every five steps she took.
She then suddenly stopped when she saw a guy hanging from a tree, upside down. He was bruised badly. Blood was pouring out of his chest and dropping on the leaves. His clothes were stained with mud. He was breathing heavily and continued sobbing.
She was very confused. She couldn't believe her eyes.
She quickly called, “Raymond. Is that you?”
Raymond, the guy who was hanging from the tree, looked at her. He gazed helplessly at her and replied, “Charlotte, help me!”
Charlotte asked, “Who hang you upside down?”
“Please, help me Charlotte,” Raymond pleaded. Tears were coming out from his terrified eyes. He continued pleading, “Help me, Charlotte!”
While Raymond was still crying and pleading, there were loud growls coming from a tree behind Raymond. They were very loud and scary.
Charlotte walked towards the tree Raymond was hanging from. Then a hideous hand grabbed Raymond’s leg.
She walked around the tree and looked up on the branch, she saw glowing eyes. It looked like an animal. It jumped from tree to tree with Raymond’s leg in its mouth.
Charlotte was in tears, she called out “Raymond!”
Raymond was screaming and shouting, “Help me! Help me! Help me Charlotte!”
Then Charlotte flinched out from her sleep. She was sweating and breathing heavily. Kimberley also woke up. She jumped off her bed and ran across the room to Charlotte's big bed. Charlotte hugged her legs and rode back and forth.
Kimberley sat on Charlotte’s bed quietly while looking at her.
“What is wrong Charlotte?” Kimberley inquired.
Charlotte hesitated to answer. She was disturbed by the dream she had earlier. She hesitated for sometime, looking around the room. Turning left and right swiftly. Charlotte spoke slowly and softly, “I saw Raymond.”
Kimberley paused and tried to imagine what Charlotte was saying.
Kimberley then reminded Charlotte, “It has now been five days since we saw Raymond,” she paused, looked at her and asked, “Where did you see him?”
Charlotte got out of bed and walked to the window. The sun was shining very brightly. She could see the white clouds in the sky reflecting the sun's light.
Charlotte sat down on a rocking chair beside the window and explained to Kimberley:
“I had a dream. In my dream, I was walking in the forest, it was dark. But, because of the moon, I was able to see everything clearly. Every creature that moved, I was able to see it.
“I was humming to myself before I heard someone sobbing in the forest. I quickly made a right turn into the deep forest. The forest was amazing.
“Then, again, I heard the same sobbing I heard before I branched into the forest. I followed the sobbing quietly through the big and small trees.
“The sobbing grew louder and louder. After walking for about 5 minutes towards the direction of the sobbing, I saw Raymond hanging from a tree, upside down. He was bruised badly. His clothes were stained, his hair was a mess.
“I had my doubts. I called out ‘Raymond’ then he looked at me, helplessly. I was hurt after seeing him in that condition. I saw tears running in his eyes. As I continued observing what was happening, he said to me, ‘Help me Charlotte!’
“I was in tears. He was suffering greatly. I walked to the tree, slowly, then I heard loud growls coming from another tree behind him. They were getting louder and louder. Raymond continued crying to me, ‘Help me Charlotte!’ then an ugly hand reached out from behind him and grabbed Raymond’s leg. I walked around the tree and I saw the eyes of some
creature, its eyes were glowing. Raymond’s leg was in its mouth. It then began jumping from tree to tree and was out of sight.
“But, I continued hearing Raymond screaming ‘Help me! Help me!’ And then, there was total silence. That's the point when I woke up.”
Kimberley’s eyes popped out as she heard the narration of Charlotte's dream. She gasped and put her right hand on her chest.
She stood and walked to Charlotte. She squatted in front of Charlotte and encouraged, “Charlotte, as you stated earlier, it was only a dream. Soon Raymond will be found and everything will be fine.”
No sooner had Kimberley finished encouraging Charlotte than they heard a car drive through the driveway. The engine stopped. Quickly, Charlotte and Kimberley looked out of the window. Their bedroom was upstairs on the second floor of the house. As the both of them gazed upon the car that just pulled over their driveway, out came three police officers in a black uniform. Two of which were men and the other one was a woman. They wore black coats and
big black boots. The two male officers wore black hats; the woman was not wearing a hat. She was in her natural hair. Each of the officers had a pistol fixed in their big belts.
The police officers walked majestically towards the entrance door and knocked loudly.
Mrs. Robinson heard the loud knock on the door and yelled from the kitchen, “Just a minute!” She was preparing breakfast in the kitchen.
Charlotte and Kimberley knew that the police officers had some information about Raymond’s disappearance because Mrs. Robinson visited the police department to inform them about Raymond's disappearance five days earlier.
Charlotte and Kimberley also knew that Mrs. Robinson wouldn’t update anyone in the house about Raymond because she didn't want anyone to be worried. The both of them were eager to know the news that the police officers brought without Mrs. Robinson knowing.
Charlotte and Kimberley quickly changed into their casual clothes, they brushed their beautiful hair. Charlotte had long blond hair while Kimberley had black hair. Her hair was not as long as
Charlotte's hair. They fixed their heir with hair pins and walked out of the room.
Quietly, they tiptoed through the corridor and sat on the first stair that led to the living room. They sat there quietly, looking through the bars of the stairs. Next to them sat a handsome guy. He had a nice haircut. He was barefooted with quite big toes. It was because he was not wearing any shoes that he was not noticed by the girls until he sat down calmly next to them and spoke. His name was George.
He asked curiously and a loud tone, “What are the big boys doing here?”
The ladies were startled by his loud voice. Kimberley produced a small squeaking sound because of George. Wrinkles had formed all over Charlotte's pretty face. She put her finger on her lip and whispered calmly, “Quiet George. We don't want Mrs. Robinson to know that we are here. If she knows that we are here, she will immediately send us to our rooms.”
Kimberley commented, “We think, perhaps, the officers have some information about Raymond.”
Just then, Mrs. Robinson walked from the kitchen to the entrance door as quickly as she could.
She slightly opened the door to see who was knocking loudly. When she saw that three officers were at the door, she quickly opened the door widely.
One of the two male officers was taller than the other, and he was dark in complexion. The short officer, however, was light in complexion. He had a small smile on his face. The kind of smile that would probably brighten anyone's day. The female officer was the same height as the short officer. She was light in complexion, beautiful and had short black hair.
The tall officer greeted, “Good Morning Madam!” his voice was deep and loud. He had his hands on his belt buckle.
Mrs. Robinson replied, “Morning officers.” She then stepped aside and motioned for them to enter, “Please come in.”
The officers entered the house slowly, one after the other. The female officer was in front, the short officer was in the middle and tall officer was at the back of them. They made their way to a cosy sofa and sat down. The two male officers removed their hats and hang them on their knees.
The short officer complimented, “What a nice place you have.” His voice was not loud or deep but it was very vivid.
Mrs. Robinson was flattered. She replied, “I try to keep it alive.”
It was true what the officer said. Mrs. Robinson’s house was clean and sparkling. There were nice portraits of her and artistic paintings on the walls. The portraits and the paintings made the house look more beautiful than it already was. A fine chandelier was hanging above them. Indeed her house was a modern one.
The female officer pulled out a photograph of Raymond from her coat and laid it out on the table. It was like she was in a hurry. She didn't want to waste any time admiring Mrs. Robinson's house.
When Mrs. Robinson saw the photo of Raymond, she felt very emotional. Tears filled up in her eyes that it was difficult for her to see the officers clearly. Her vision was blurred by the tears in her eyes. She quickly pulled a handkerchief that was lying beside her on the sofa. She wiped her tears with it and blew her nose.
She then looked at the officers with great grief. The officers understood her condition. They felt very sorry for her. She was a widow, and she was going through tough times.
The officers had no option but to continue with what they had come to do, otherwise they were going to stay at Mrs. Robinson the whole day feeling sorry for her. So, the tall officer began, “Ma'am, five days ago you visited our department to inform us of a missing person. We got to work as soon as we received the instruction to search for him.
“Our team was out in the area looking high and low for Raymond. They were determined to find him. Earlier today our team called to inform us that they found Raymond in the forest. But, unfortunately, he's no longer with us. He has passed away.”
Mrs. Robinson couldn't hold herself after receiving the news. She cried persistently. The female officer stood up and walked to Mrs. Robinson to comfort her.
When Charlotte, George and Kimberley heard what the officers said, they were heart broken. It was hard for them to sit and watch Mrs. Robinson weeping from afar. Kimberley with tears in her eyes quietly stood up and walked back to her room and locked herself inside. Charlotte rested her head on George’s shoulder. Both of them said nothing to each other. They only sat there on the stair and watched helplessly.
