Beware Of The Shadows

 Callie and Molly needed to collect specimens of leaves for a science project at school. This was the very first project they'd ever been assigned and they were excited to complete it, dashing into the woods behind Molly's house to begin their quest. They'd never been there alone before.

Both of the seven year old girls carried grocery bags to hold their treasures. In their excitement they forgot they were afraid of the dark. The giant trees created tunnels of darkness as they entered. The branches hung down low, dancing like caverns of shadows.

Of course today was an overcast day to begin with, so the woods were even darker and more menacing that ever for the two girls. Only their quest to accomplish their task before any of the other kids in their class, propelled them forward. The fear inside them was within inches though of turning them back to the safety of the grass that led to the house.

Callie stepped onto the carpet of dried leaves and jumped back, a scream of terror came from Molly. The twigs breaking under her foot had scared her more than the dim vision beyond.

“Wait! Maybe we can find enough leaves around the edges, so we don't have to...go in there,” Molly said, holding onto her friends arm with both hands.

Callie frowned, “We can't use old dead leaves, that would be ugly! Come on, we have to go in a little farther.” She pulled her friend by the hand a few feet into the woods, then looked behind them. “See, the yard is right there, we'll be okay.”

Crouching low and stepping with great care, they crept farther into the shadowy woods, holding tightly to one another. Scraggly little trees, unable to grow tall among the larger ones, with scratchy branches reached out to touch them, giving them a fright. It felt like witches fingers caressing their skin, drawing them closer to her house of gingerbread.

The girls were fast losing their adventuresome spirit as the branches loomed over them, seeming to sway toward them in the shape of huge arms. Both were sure that one rather regal gum tree wanted to swoop them up into the nether land of the tree tops.

A light wind blew the leaves on the branches, fluttering them into lovely shades of gray and green. “Look Molly! Let's get some of those, they're so beautiful.” She reached up, almost touching the bough of green, but not quite. Undaunted, she told Molly to help her by letting her stand on her back.

Molly stuck out her bottom lip and narrowed her eyes. “I don't want to. It's yucky on the ground. You do it and I'll pull the leaves.” Her face lit up with such a wonderful idea.

Poor Molly, she was a bit younger than Callie and still had no idea what a difference a few months meant to the wily and more calculating, Callie.

“I'm the tallest, so I have to be the one to reach up. It's the rule.” Callie told her, hands on her hips with an authority in her voice. She wasted no time in shoving Molly to the ground, then attempted to climb on her back. She immediately fell right off, landing unceremoniously on the earthy smelling leaves with a disgusted look on her face. “Molly! You have to hold still!” she demanded.

“My knees are getting dirty!” Molly cried out.

“Oh Molly, you are such a baby.” Callie taunted, knowing that would make Molly behave. She was actually quite proud of herself, as Molly crumpled under the pressure and climbed back on all fours.

After some time and several more tries, Callie managed to collect a handful of leaves, although some were torn by the time she had pulled them from the firm grasp of the tree.

“I'm tired. I wanna go home now.” Molly pleaded, swinging her arms and smacking her plastic bag against her legs.

Callie wasn't about to give up on her quest for the very best project in their class. “Look Molly, over there.” A smaller tree with an abundance of low branches was adorned with red leaves with yellow blotches on them.

Molly was excited when she saw the vibrant colors against the vast green vegetation that was just beyond their reach. She ran ahead of Callie, forgetting to worry about how far they were going in her excitement, or how much deeper into the shadowy forest the red leaves drew them. The trees were thicker now and the ground was covered in a bed of leaves from years past, making it harder to travel. Callie followed closely, determined to have most of those red leaves for herself. She loved Molly, but she loved being the winner more.

While both girls stripped the tree of it's foliage,laughing and giggling at their fine, the day was getting shorter. Not really too close to dark, but the sun had moved lower, casting ghostly shadows around them.

Molly tripped over a root and fell over backwards. When she looked around her to see where her bag of treasures had flown, she realized she couldn't see the edge of the woods anymore. Sitting very still, she spied a lion coming towards them. She couldn't speak! Her eyes had widened and her mouth was paralyzed into an o. She pointed to the lion hiding behind a tree. Her little body shook with fear.

Callie turned to see what her friend was afraid of, but didn't see anything. “You're imagination is seeing things, Molly. Just stop looking that way, it makes your eyes do funny things.” Callie was much like her mother and she had little time for the frightened Molly now. She was on a quest and still needed more leaves.

Callie bent down to retrieve her bag and noticed a large paw next to the tree in front of her. She froze. Then ran to Molly and hugged her. Both girls held onto one another for dear life, as the shadows began to crawl closer to them. They were surrounded by very large animals that were hiding among the trees.

.

Callie whispered, “Which way do we go to get back home? I can't see the light anymore.”

Molly began to sniff, “Me either. I'm scared.” Her fingers dug into Callie's arm.

Both girls were on the verge of a total meltdown, when they noticed a pink light on the ground beside them. It was so pretty, Callie loosened her grip on Molly and turned around. Just beyond them, a rainbow glittered through the trees, yellow, pink and blue light arched through the trees, lighting the path to home.

Fascinated, Molly reached out to touch it. Before her fingers got close enough, Callie grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the path at a full run.

When they reached the edge, a light rain glistened on the ground and the outer portion of the woods. Droplets of water bounced on their heads as they emerged into the safety of the yard.

They had been sheltered and untouched from the rain by the blanket of green above them. The unexpected rainbow of colored light had shown them the way through the darkening forest of shadows—and lions and tigers and bears.