Maple Tower

The golden rays of the midday sun seeped in through the forest’s canopy, only a handful of barely-visible beams managing to touch the forest floor. The glow brought a warmth to the Autumn air, despite the brisk gust rustling the maple leaves above. A few would snap off occasionally, fluttering through the air a brief moment or two, until they finally drifted down to join their siblings in the brush below. Together, they formed a sea of gold and scarlet that stretched beyond the horizon, without an end in sight.

The serenity was disturbed only by the faint crunching of brush beneath the boots of a young girl. The dark-skinned adolescent wandered through the woods, arms latched loosely to the straps of the leather backpack she carried behind her. Her purple flannel shirt was unbuttoned to reveal a black, iconographic t-shirt beneath. A matching black, pleated skirt swayed with every step, in time with her twin, black pigtails that ended in puffy balls, separated from the rest of the braid by lavender ribbons. She peered through a pair of wide-rimmed glasses, staring forward through the panes with jaded ire.

“Ugh.” The girl quietly moaned, throwing her head back in frustration. “I’ve been walking for hours. How have I not found the trail yet?” She glowered forward, changing her tone to one of mockery. “‘Why not go for a walk?.’ It said, ‘See our scenic forest?’ What’s so scenic about a thousand of the same stupid tree!?” She then sighed, mumbling, “That’s the last time I take advice from a free pamphlet.”

But even as she complained to no one in particular, she couldn’t help but find solace in the tranquility. Accompanied by the dull, distant buzz of cicadas; the lyrical chirps of songbirds; and the quiet rustle of leaves that grew and subsided with the windy tides; the sights and sounds forged a melody that could hypnotize any weary traveler into a tranquil trance. And Jezebel was hardly equipped to resist.

She shut her eyes, tilting her head ever so slightly upward. She then smiled, letting the scattered sunbeams warm her face.

But as Jezebel seemed to be so persistently reminded: no good moment ever lasts. As the branches above tangled, the light began to fade. And when the sounds of life withered to silence, and the air chilled to match the forest’s naturally bitter climate, Jezebel was thrust back into reality.

She slowed her pace, soon stopping in her tracks as she approached a slight gap. Ahead was another plateau, just like the one on which she now stood. But before that lied a valley of sorts. Shallow enough for her to see the bottom, but far too deep for a potential fall not to hurt quite a bit. She glanced down toward the bottom, her stomach squeezing slightly at its depth. Her gaze then flicked upward, as she turned to scan the area for a path forward.

The trees throughout the forest were rather tame in their growth, usually standing straight upwards in perfect formation. But a few of the trees defied their brothers’ conformity, their trunks bending over the gap, twisting like a serpent toward its center. Their branches then split like the heads of a hydra, sprouting a number of viable, if flimsy, paths across. She approached one of these makeshift bridges, running her fingers along its rough, moss-coated bark, giving a few firm pushes to test its strength. It lurched, creaking ever so faintly, but seemed to hold well enough to meet her criteria. She gave another quick glance downward, regretting every second she stared into the darkness, before taking a deep breath in and out.

“Here goes nothing, I guess.”

She crawled up the tree’s trunk, throwing a leg over it and planting her hands in front of her. She then slowly stood, mindful of her balance as her knees wobbled. She stuck out her arms in a ‘T’, shifting her weight back and forth to keep her footing. She stumbled a few times, but with a quick waver of her arms, she stabilized enough to let out a calmed sigh.

She stepped slowly across the bridge, treading with intensive care in each and every step. Her arms were no longer outstretched, but remained antsy and aloft, anxious to grab hold of any solid object should her lower limbs fail her. Before long, she had walked the tightrope about halfway across the canyon, a mere repeat away from solid ground. This lifted her spirits, giving her enough confidence to truthfully encourage herself.

“Come on, Bell.” She quietly assured. “You got this.” She paused, thinking for a moment. “Probably. Like, 80% chance at least.” Just as the final word left her mouth, her foot lurched on a branch, causing it to snap off, tumbling into the pit below. Her erroneous leg jumped away, hanging in the air in its apprehension. “Maybe 60.” Jezebel retracted, confidence slipping about as fast as she might. But after about half a minute of paralyzing fear passed, she finally mustered the will to continue.

Step after step, lurch after lurch, wince after wince, she slowly made her way across. And after an era of painstaking progress, she found herself only a few short steps from the finish line. “Almost…” She strained, teeth clenched as she inched across the narrow branch. “...there.” She placed her foot precisely on the narrowing branch, legs now crisscrossed with her feet in a near-perfect line. But despite its difficulty, and despite her nerves, she kept the delicate motion going. She now stood a single step from the edge of solid ground. But as she lifted her hind leg, placing her entire body’s weight on her front, the branch lurched.

*CRACK*

The branch collapsed under her, snapping clean in half, and dropping her down into the chasm. She shrieked, arms flailing for the cliff she’d so narrowly failed to scale. A single hand managed to grip its very edge, squeezing tightly to the dirt. But it was all in vain. As the soil crumbled in her fingers, she felt the anchor of gravity take hold. Her body dropped, knocked like a ragdoll as she fell through a torrent of limbs and leaves. In her chaotic descent, her entire being was overloaded with the worst of her fears. But as a few large branches made violent contact to the back of her head, everything, fears and all, were swiftly silenced.