Into the Woods
Heat shimmers in the air . Your head swivels round , trying to get your bearings in the haze of warmth . There ’ s your campsite- just there ! Or is it ? You swear you just came down here , but where you were just walking seems to be an unbroken line of birch trees . You must ’ ve made a mistake . Now where to go next ? Deep breath , you try to think positively . It ’ s a beautiful forest , you decide to follow the path and hope for the best . The twittering of birds lifts your spirit .
An hour later and it ’ s official- you ’ re lost . And no longer having a good time . What ’ s more , the ground has begun to slope , and you stumble every second step . The birds have ceased their friendly song , it ’ s been replaced by a curiously cold wind . A slither of worry has crept into your previously carefree mind .
And then you see it , up ahead between the brush stroke trees . You quicken your pace , curiosity lending you speed . The mysterious blue mass isn ’ t too far away , five minutes and you ’ re there .
You were right to take it for water , as it ’ s a lake . A lake ? Here , in these seemingly normal woods ? You glance at it again and notice something even stranger . Can it be ? Yes- but if you weren ’ t seeing it with your own eyes , you wouldn ’ t believe it . It ’ s midsummer , and yet , somehow , the lake is frozen .
Something about this oddity , this strange , impossible thing , draws you in . Your legs move of their own accord , and you find yourself walking past the edge of the trees , down the slippery bank that is draped with frost , and onto
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