The Dead Forest

by Tom Raimbault

  Stan didn't immediately drop Donna and Barbara off. He first stopped at the drive-in Dog-n-Suds to treat both girls—especially Donna—to a late-night snack of hotdogs, fries and root beer in frosted mugs. This helped Stan feel all the more like he were on a date with beautiful Donna. And Donna was very impressed with how friendly and generous Stan could be. She never knew that he was like this. Why hadn't she paid more attention to Stan in high school?

  It was Barbara who was first dropped off that night. Interesting thing: halfway to her house, Barbara realized that there was some chemistry taking place between Donna and Stan. She was very surprised with how free-spirited Donna had suddenly become with Fredrick away at war. Would Stan take Donna away? She wondered this more and more.

  "I'll call you tomorrow." said Barbara while exiting the vehicle. There was something in her tone of voice which suggested that she was onto Donna.

  "Good night Barbara." called out Donna in return. As far as she was concerned, Barbara had no need to worry. She was only getting a ride home from Stan who had spent the evening with the two young women. Donna's heart, after all, belonged one hundred percent to Fredrick.

  Oh, but things turned a bit awkward at the curb of Donna's house. In the passenger seat, she turned and thanked Stan for a nice time that evening. If Donna hadn't known any better, she and Stan enjoyed a nice evening together like an actual date. And then there was the peculiar sense of expecting a kiss from Stan. It almost felt unnatural leaving his car and walking up to the house.

  Stan watched as beautiful Donna nearly floated up the sidewalk to the front door of the home with her long, raven-black hair draped behind her back and shoulders. Like a real gentleman, he made sure that she made it safely through the front door. Inside the car, the scent of Donna lingered. It was a smell that Stan savored as he drove out of Donna's subdivision and onto the main road of town.

  "I can't go home right now!" declared Stan. "My brain is going crazy!" And right he was. So much in love and terribly frustrated with how Donna was not his, Stan would be unable to go home and relax for the evening before falling asleep. He pulled into the Texaco gas station where he worked which was closed for the evening. But Stan wasn't there for gas. He reached into his pocket for some spare change and counted out enough for a pack of cigarettes at the vending machine which was located at the front of the building. Stan occasionally smoked, but tried not to make it a habit. He had actually gone several months without a cigarette. But with how he was feeling now, Stan really needed one.

  Back in the driver seat, Stan pushed in the electric cigarette lighter located near the dashboard. To younger readers: You know those sockets in modern-day cars where we plug in accessories such as cell phones to charge them up? Well in olden times these were simply a heating element that when pressed in would make electrical contact with the battery. When ready, the element was glowing red and capable of lighting a cigarette.

  While waiting for the cigarette lighter to warm up, Stan opened his pack of cigarettes and immediately flipped one upside down and inserted it back into the package. "Lucky cigarette!" declared Stan. "I'll need it for if and when that lucky moment comes with Donna." This "lucky cigarette" ritual is sometimes followed by cigarette smokers; open a new pack and designate one to be your "lucky smoke".

  The lighter clicked and popped out—indicator that it was ready. Stan touched the glowing red to his cigarette and lit up. He took a deep drag, and then pulled onto the main road. "It just felt like there was supposed to be more." Stan said out loud while driving. "She was expecting more from me." He glanced at the clock on the dashboard. It was quarter to midnight. "Maybe some driving and a couple more smokes..." Stan said to himself. He suddenly had a bold idea.

  And what was this bold idea?

  At five minutes to one, as most of the world—and hopefully Donna's parents—slept, Stan drove through Donna's subdivision and turned onto her street. Four houses down from Donna's, he parked on the curbside and turned the engine off. Stan quietly exited his vehicle by carefully pushing the driver side door shut. While taking a final drag of his cigarette—no, not the lucky cigarette—and tossing it into the street, Stan walked across the grass parkways of each home to avoid the sound of shoes on the sidewalk. When finally at Donna's home, he walked around the side and into the backyard.

  Donna's home was small ranch, so all the rooms were on ground level. Stan had no idea which bedroom was Donna's. This next feat was pure chance, a chance that could have cost him blowing everything. He took his best guess, and carefully walked over to what he believed to be Donna's bedroom window. Then he softly knocked. In the frame of mind that Stan was in, he believed that Donna was lying awake and thinking about him. If this were true, a knock on the window would be most welcome—surely Stan.

  A light turned on in the bedroom, probably a small light on a nightstand.

  "What am I doing?" Stan softly cried to himself.

  Fingers carefully pulled the curtains back just enough to allow looking outside. From behind, it was definitely the face Donna.

  Stand nervously waved and smiled.

  Donna slowly opened her bedroom window to avoid making noise, and then whispered, "Stan, what are you doing here?"

  "I'm sorry." whispered Stan in return. "If you want, I'll leave. I just wasn't ready to go home, and I was wondering if you were still awake."

  "Actually, I was lying awake in bed." confessed Donna. "I was having trouble falling asleep."

  "Something on your mind?" probed Stan.

  "Not that I know of..."

  Stan sighed, "You know... I couldn't go home because I kept thinking about tonight. I really enjoyed my time with you and... Your friend..."

  "Barbara." finished Donna with a smile.

  "Yes, Barbara. Anyway, I really wish I would have gotten to know you better in high school. But it's probably too late."

  There were several seconds of awkward silence before Stan continued, "I know Fredrick is away at war, and that you'll probably get married when he comes home. But maybe while he's gone you and I can just... you know... hang out and be friends."

  Donna was taken aback. "Stan, I don't know if Fredrick would appreciate that. I promised him that I would remain faithful while he's gone. Hanging out could lead to any number of things. And besides, my parents—my father, especially—is very strict with me when it comes to boys. I'm not like other girls who just leave the house when someone honks the horn from the street. A boy has to come inside and meet my parents. And my father really gives the third degree. You don't even want to know what Fredrick had to go through just to take me out on our first date."

  "Yeah?" challenged Stan.

  "Yes..." insisted Donna. "You would have to come in and meet my father. And I don't know how that would go." Donna knew that her father would not like Stan. He just didn't look like the sort of boy Father felt should be with Donna. And there was no way to explain this to Stan.

  Stan was at a loss of words. He felt defeated. "Well is it bad that I'm here?"

  "I don't mind that you're here." reassured Donna. She even offered encouragement, "I actually like that you came here tonight to see me. Really I like you. You're a nice guy."

  "Well you wouldn't mind if I sometimes come over to see you like this late at night, would you?" asked Stan.

  "You would have to be extra cautious and very quiet." urged Donna. "But I wouldn't mind.”

  ***

  On Sunday afternoons the Texaco gas station where Stan worked always closed at around two o'clock. And on that particular Sunday, Stan used the free time as an opportunity to make a trip to the Berry Bush Forest Preserve, and pay a visit to the newfound tree that looked so much like Donna. There had been much on his mind since Friday night, all of it pertaining to Donna. Donna was so beautiful, and there was definitely chemistry between her and Stan. And the last time Stan visited the tree, it seemed to have a way of providing him with a sense of hope.

  And so, after walking some distance on the
trail that beautiful autumn Sunday afternoon, Stan reached the location where he knew he could deviate off the main path and hike over to the tree. And just like before, it was no easy task with bushwhacking and climbing down the somewhat steep ravine. Surely it would be very challenging to visit the remote location at night.

  When finally at the bottom, Stan approached the old tree which now looked, exactly, like Donna. Just like before, he reached out and touched the sides of the old, curvy trunk as-if he were gently caressing Donna's hips. He knew from the last visit that there was something living in the tree—a spirit or some sort of ghost. And by using the power of his morbid fetishes and fantasies, Stan was able to call to life whatever ghost or spirit was in that tree.

  "She's faithful to Fredrick." Stan now said to the tree. It was then he recalled that the tree had identified itself as Donna's spirit mother. But how could that be? And just what is a spirit mother?

  "So many questions..." commented the tree who no longer resembled anything like a tree. It was a woman; an older woman; a wiser—almost ancient—woman who beared a striking resemblance to Donna. She now embraced Stan as the two slowly danced about the forest. "I don't reside in this place." she explained. "This forest... this tree... These things are not here where I exist. But you can thank the sprites—the spirits of nature—who cooperate with me and open a magick door so that I may visit. And a spirit mother is one and the same with its Earthly descendant. I am Donna and Donna is me. Again, it's because I am her spirit mother."

  "I see..." answered Stan, still a bit confused as to what he was experiencing.

  "Why do you have so much anxiety with Donna?" challenged Donna's spirit mother. "I told you last time that since you are in love with Donna, you are also in love with me. I also told you that, together, we form a nice trio. And you were instructed to bring Donna here to see me. Don't worry about what she does now. I know how things will unfold for her, and she soon will be yours. Then you can bring her here to me."

  "But how?" asked Stan.

  "Just keep doing what you are doing." clarified Donna's spirit mother. Everything will work out according to fate."

  ***

  And so Stan waited until Friday of that week before seeing beautiful Donna again. This would have been Friday, October 9th to be precise which is important because the Moon was in the waxing gibbous phase—about three quarters full for those not so astronomy savvy. You'll understand later why the Moon was so important in these next couple of weeks for Stan and Donna.

  Stan drove around town much of the early part of the evening. Although October, the weather was unusually warm. Stan had his windows rolled down, and he smoked a cigarette (the same pack that he had purchased the previous Friday) while listening to the radio.

  "What am I going to say...? What am I going to say...?" Stan nervously repeated out loud while approaching a red light. He was at the main intersection in town, and stopped next to a 1958 Chevy. Inside were a couple of boys that Stan recognized who were still in high school. By now they would have been seniors. And they definitely recognized Stan.

  "Hey Stan!" called out the driver.

  "Hey, how's it going?" acknowledged Stan. "How are things back at the old school?"

  "Everything's still the same." the kid answered. "Won't let you do nothing..."

  By then the light turned green. The kid in the '58 Chevy apparently felt he should show off by peeling away as if drag racing.

  Stan chuckled, "No, I've got enough excitement ahead for the evening. I need to stay as calm as possible." Through the windshield, Stan glanced up at the sky while taking another drag from his cigarette. "Oh, I bet that Moon is going to make it hard to sneak around the backyard of Donna's house. Damnit! Maybe I picked the wrong night."

  He glanced at the clock on the dashboard.

  9:50pm.

  "It's still too early." said Stan. "Maybe I'll head over to the woods and hang out there for a while."

  And so Stan drove to the end of town and entered the parking lot of Berry Bush Forest Preserve. Back in those days—at least in the area where Stan lived—forest preserves did not close after dark. Again, people knew how to behave in olden times and didn't necessarily head off to the forest preserve to commit crimes. The worst thing one might have seen would have been a car or two with a boy and girl, inside, necking. And sure enough, as Stan pulled into parking lot, there were a few cars in spots where kids were too busy necking to take notice.

  Stan felt awkward just sitting there by himself. And by now he knew the forest very well. The moonlight made it possible to see fairly well in the woods; so he exited the vehicle, and followed the trail some distance. He hiked so far that he actually reached the area where he could deviate off the path and follow it to the old tree.

  Now this was the first time that Stan had ever visited the forest at night. Being the case, he soon noticed that the moonlight actually illuminated the entire ravine and valley below which led to the old tree. With just a bit of the usual bushwhacking and some hiking down the steep ravine, Stan found himself in a beautiful moonlit realm where the old tree stood at the center. It was amazing, breathtaking, and nothing short of magickal.

  Stan spoke to the tree which stood some fifty feet away. “I should bring her here on a night like this, shouldn't I? Maybe tonight?"

  The tree said nothing in return. It didn't transform itself into Donna's spirit mother. Perhaps the sprites were too busy doing their late night activities to open a magickal doorway and bring the spirit mother through. But she was still there with Stan. She was there in spirit, and had a way of communicating through the vast distance of interdimensional veils.

  Stan hung out in the valley for a couple of hours and smoked some cigarettes. Although turning a bit chilly as the night unfolded, it didn't particularly bother Stan so much.

  By five minutes after midnight, Stan left the magickal, moonlit valley of Donna's spirit mother and hiked back to his car. By the time he reached the parking lot, there were no more kids there necking. It must have been past curfew for the kids in town.

  Stan head back into town, en route to Donna's subdivision. He looked up at the sky and noticed that the Moon was beginning to make its descent into the western horizon. Maybe it was low enough to no longer illuminate Donna's backyard which would surely call attention of Stan's presence to neighbors and... DONNA'S PARENTS!

  Just like the previous week, Stan parked at the curbside four doors down from Donna's house, and quietly exited his vehicle by carefully pushing the driver side door shut. He walked across the grass parkways of each home to avoid the sound of shoes on the sidewalk. Although setting, the Moon still provided enough illumination to possibly be seen. When reaching Donna's house, Stan nervously walked around the side and into the backyard. From there he followed his way over to Donna's bedroom window.

  Stan took a deep breath, and then lightly tapped at the window. He waited about ten seconds, but Donna didn't come over to the window. Stan knocked a second time, a bit louder, and quickly regretted doing this for fear of waking up Donna's family. He waited a few more seconds, and was about to quickly leave.

  But then a small light turned on in Donna's bedroom, her face soon to appear from behind the curtains.

  Stan nervously waved and smiled.

  Donna slowly and carefully opened her bedroom window as-if not to wake up anyone in the house. When opened enough, she whispered, "Stan, what are you doing here?"

  "I'm sorry, Donna." Stan whispered in return. "I didn't know you were sleeping.

  "Well it's after 12:30." cited Donna.

  "Should I leave?" asked Stan.

  "No, that's okay." reassured Donna. "How have you been? Is everything okay?"

  "Everything is fine." answered Stan. "I just came here to see you. I miss you... you know?"

  "That's very nice of you Stan." cited Donna. "Isn't it cold out there for you?"

  "It's not so bad." answered Stan. "If you're out here long enough you get used to it." He was a
lmost going to say, "Too bad you weren't out here with me instead of staying at home on a Friday night." But Stan knew better.

  "I got a letter from Fredrick." informed Donna. "He says he's surviving, and there's not too much excitement for now. He says that he really misses me."

  "Well of course he misses you." emphasized Stan. "You're probably the only thing that keeps him going right now. He probably keeps reminding himself that when he gets home, he'll finally see you and then marry you."

  Donna nodded in agreement as Stan said this.

  Stan wasn't exactly sure what to say next to keep the conversation flowing. It was then that he began to speak of the magickal valley of Donna's spirit mother. "You know, I came here after seeing something absolutely remarkable. It was in the woods. Do you ever go to the woods?"

  "I've been there a couple of times." answered Donna. "My parents took us there on a couple of nice days for a picnic." Donna then made a queer look. "Stan, don't tell me that you were in the woods late at night."

  "Oh, but I was." insisted Stan. "You see, there's this... well I'm almost embarrassed to admit to you... There's an old tree in the forest that I seem to have taken a liking towards. The reason I think I like it is because it sort of resembles you."

  The look on Donna's face turned queerer by the second. She never had someone tell her that she beared a resemblance to an old tree out in the forest before.

  "Now I know what you're thinking." continued Stan. "You think I'm crazy for noticing something like that. And you probably think I'm some kind of kook for going into the woods at night. But get this: Any time I go there, I feel like I've been transported to some other place. It's like I've died except my body is still alive, and I make a quick visit to another place."

  Donna's queer expression suddenly changed to fascination. You see, due to her religious devotion, Donna was fascinated with the afterlife, and assumed that this is what Stan was referring to.