RESCUED

choice

I’m going to say this right now: I truly regret my decision and I can not stress enough how much I regret this. The bible has a story about a man called Gehazi, whose single act of greed cursed his bloodline forever. One wrong choice and destiny changed my family. Our bloodline was going to be cursed forever because of my choices. So the first command was that I should offer my blood to the sacred tree in the forest. I had no clue about this tree. So I went to the person who introduced me to this world, my best friend Charity. She did not know much about the tree either, so I needed outside help. All these things were foreign to me. I was never a spiritual person. I went to church when I was little but never really believed. I loved the stories in the bible. I had this book when I was young with Bible stories and for me there were always just stories.

We decided to go and ask the other girls we had always seen at the Queen’s residence and one of them, Britt, told us to seek the old man who was always at the Queen’s residence. So we did as we were told and went to find the old man. So this man did not live at the Queen’s residence. He lived a few houses away, and when we arrived he smiled creepily and said, "I have been waiting for you girls." If he was creepy before he became ten times more, how did he know we were coming? It is ignorant to ignore the spiritual side of our lives as human beings. There are so many unexplained things in the world that can not be explained by science or evolution. I will soon learn about all these things before it is too late. The man never told us his name in all our interactions, so even now I don’t know this man’s name. He greeted us and invited us into his residence. No shoes were allowed in his house. From the outside, the house looked abandoned. It had cracked walls, rusted gates and a broken stone path, but inside the house it was blinding. Everything was white. Too white from the walls, the floors, even the furniture untouched and pristine. There was no warmth in this house. It was perfection that felt wrong. It was like a shrine dressed in innocence.

The old man offered us food to eat and instructed us to take our seats, and as we were eating he started telling us about the forest. The forest lay hours away from civilization past forgotten roads. So we planned on when we would go to the forest. I always thought that the day I went to the forest was the scariest I ever experienced, but it seems I was wrong because what I’m facing now is far worse. Some of the eyes looking at me scream revenge.

After about two days, I packed a small bag and got into my car on my way to the forest. I called Daniel and told him I would not be available all day. He didn’t ask much about where I was going , he just said safe journey. The funny thing is he already knew where I was going. My life is screwed. Charity, my best friend, was not accompanying me it was just going to be me and the old man. I went to pick up the old mad from his residence and off we were to the beginning of the end. The old man only said one thing and was silent the whole journey besides giving directions here and there. He required silence throughout the journey to the sacred forest. We traveled in silence, though the journey was long and quiet. My heart was anything but. It pounded every mile, each louder than the wheels turning beneath us.I had so many questions, my mind raced. What if I fail? What if I turned back, what would she do to me? My fear was tangled up with anticipation. The silence in the car didn’t help, it made it worse. I felt like the road was mourning me already.

We arrived at the edge of the forest, and we left the car and started on foot into the forest. The old man led the way chanting. I did not ask anything, I just followed silently. We walked for hours and by the time we arrived at the tree, the sun had surrendered, and the darkness clung to the trees. The forest was alive, it breathed and watched. This was not a place meant to be entered, only endured. I was so scared and the old man turned to me and scared me even more with the words he said. He first gave me a warning though, (I wish I had listened)“Once you do this, there is no turning back my child." Why didn't I stop right there and then, I still don’t know? He then gave me a small knife and told me to go to the tree and slice my palm and touch one of the roots and stay all night at the tree. At that moment, fear found a deeper root in me. I chose this who I am to blame. I spent the night in a forest alone. The old man left and if I was willing to do this I have to accept the punishment and judgement I face now.

The night in the forest felt endless, the trees were like silent watchers, I was so afraid. Every sound was amplified by the rustle of leaves, the c***k of twigs. I heard so many sounds, unplaceable growls that sent chills down my skin. I asked myself a million times what I was doing there and if it was really what I wanted. I doubted all my decisions that had led me to this moment. I could not sleep my heart thudded too loudly and my thoughts were racing wildly. I scanned the forest, but it was so dark I couldn’t see anything, not even the stars. I curled up and after some time, I fell asleep, and I did not find peace in my dreams. In my dreams I saw my parents, my dear parents weeping, looking at me. The next morning, I woke up with tears on my cheeks, and I was back in the car and the old man was smiling at me. I needed to rest after the night I had told the old man, so I could not do the second part of my initiation, yet I had to wait for a week.

You would think at this moment I would have questioned all my life decisions and stopped right there, but once you are in, you are in. Everyone here wants me to justify my actions, to tell them why I took this direction. I blame Charity, I blame the Queen, I blame Daniel and the old man, but this was me, it was all my fault. The screams blame me and no one else. They showed me the road and I took it.