Wonderlust

The misty cold atmosphere just made me more interested in crossing the old dilapidated bridge that looked like it would break off its hinges if there was slightest pressure. The bridge seemed to disappear into the woods on the other side of the river. It was so dark, as if light just surrounded the dark woods, not reaching the floor and the little nooks and crannies. It looked like those gateways to the fantasy lands that one can find in novels. The forest seemed like a world of its own. The giant trees were looking out, protecting whatever I imagined to be inside the forest. As if they didn’t want the world to meet the inhabitants. The number of creatures that I imagined to be inside those humungous trees was innumerous. Maybe the place is filled with tiny human beings, like the Oompa Loompas who had exotic recipes for chocolate? Maybe there are talking animals that have a kingdom of their own. Half humans and half animals don’t sound so bad. All these thoughts were whirling in my head as I just looked at the island, dazed by its mystery. A sudden bout of courage and curiosity overtook and I without thinking for a second time, I stepped on the bridge. I set my feet on it and stilled, to see if there are any chances of me falling into that green abode of algae that was flowing beneath. Thankfully, the only sound that the bridge made was a slight creak. Gathering some more courage, I took two more steps forward, only for the bridge to make a whinny sound as if to complain about the weight it had to carry. I felt like it told me to get off it, to go back. Being the curious mystery lover I am, I ignored that plea and took more steps forward. This time there weren’t only creaks and whines. The bridge shook as if it just wanted to throw me off it. I held on to the ropes knowing that that was lined up with the bridge. I ignored the constant creaking sounds and decided to focus my attention towards reaching the end of the bridge. I took few more steps and noticed that the sounds have stopped. “Maybe the bridge isn’t as weak as I thought I would be”, I thought and chuckled. Gaining some more confidence in myself I started walking on the bridge slowly, but not very carefully. The next thing I know is that I’m holding on to the ropes tightly as one of the planks of the bridge breaks and falls into the green water and one of my legs dangling from the empty space from where the plank fell off. “Nope, never overestimating old bridges again”, I thought to myself as I pulled myself up. It was after I stood up that I noticed a big gash on my thigh and my jeans looked completely ripped. I had injured myself with the sharp edges of the broken plank. However, maybe because my curiosity was bigger than anything else, I completely ignored the slight pain and moved on to walk towards the other end of the bridge. Curiosity may have not killed the cat, but it definitely injured it. Placing my feet one by one on each plank to see if they were loose or weak, which proved to be quite a monotonous process, I slowly reached the end of the bridge. Yes, I made it to the other side… alive. But just as I stepped off the bridge, the ropes that were supporting the bridge snapped and I saw it getting submerged inside the awful green water. “Come on! I cannot swim back through this dirty water!” was my only thought that time. I let out a huge sigh and with a scowl on my face I walked towards those enormous trees. Everything around me was very quiet. It was too quiet for my liking. The only sound I could here was the grass and leaves crumbling beneath my sneakers. I ignored the eerie feeling and focused on the butterflies in my stomach. I was about to find out what was on the other side of the guardians of the forest. As I walked further inside the woods, I saw the woods getting darker and darker. I looked back only to find the light of the outside world had disappeared. No, it wasn’t pitch dark, but dark enough to scare me. All my excitement faded away when I realized how lonely I was. The quietness seemed to suffocate me as if to mock me for being stupid enough to venture into the forest in the first place. At that moment I felt fear creeping into my mind and not curiosity. As I was about to turn back to find a way out of the forest, I saw a light flickering from the corner of my eyes. It looked like the flames of a bonfire. Without a second thought, I sprinted towards it. I felt extremely happy that maybe, just maybe there was someone else present in the forest other than me. They could help me out. The flame started to get nearer as I ran faster. Just before I could reach the flame, I felt a heavy blow on the back of my head and the forest around me seemed to disappear, but not before I saw bright red eyes staring back at me. Maybe, curiosity did kill the cat after all.