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  Aphotic Forest

  Author: M. Daniels | Front Cover Image: M. Daniels

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  Aphotic Forest

  In the darkness of the forest, you can see her shadow by the light of the moon. She has long beautiful coal black hair. Most people say she has no eyes because the whites of them are no longer there. Her long white gown waved gently in the wind. There were so many details behind the legend that the local townspeople did not know. Why it was so dark, why it felt so incredibly evil when you walked near this shadowy place.

  No one dare get too close to the forest, and you would never see anyone go there during the nighttime hours. Those who had done so in the last century never spoke a word of it. All that anyone knew about the forest is that it was haunted. The girl that dwelled there was the keeper of this aphotic woodsy place.

  The townspeople called it pure evil. A little hell on earth. Venturing there would be murdering your own soul. The frightening part is this, they may be right. The aphotic spirit that resides there was once a human who went by the name of Elana. She was beautiful, not in her appearance, but in heart. Elana deeply yearned for acceptance and love, not just for herself; but for all those who surrounded her daily. Quickly she learned it never mattered what she wanted. Her influence, her positivity, the love she exhibited to others gave her a false sense of hope in people. It was a twisted reality of her imagination.

  My grandmother told me the story of the Aphotic Forest (she just happened to be the only remaining person alive who knew the legend well). I couldn't trust gossip about it. The legend as my grandmother tells it: She (Elana) turned into them. The residents of Hanarberry who gravitated towards all that was evil. The cruel, the self-centered, the heartless which she despised so much, it all became her. Consuming her. Elana’s heart filled with tears of sorrow. Her soul fell into chaos. Her mind spiraled into the deepest and most volatile space.

  Within her state of madness, she lost it. She snapped and began to slaughter all who came near her. She finger-painted entire walls with the blood of her victims. Elana thrived to punish everyone for not showing love. She could clearly see people had no intention of changing their careless selfish ways. Her most frightening physical feature- her eyes-they were coal black like her hair. It’s one of the many things that kept people from those woods. Some claimed on nights when the moon was full you could see her from a mile away. The light from the moon, its reflection, radiated her dark silhouette.

  No one knows for sure how she died. How she just disappeared one day. The most ridiculous thing I heard was that she never perished. Elana is long gone in flesh, her presence still haunts the townspeople who live here. Luckily for them, her soul is bound to the property where she was last seen. She cannot go beyond the Aphotic Forest.

  Just thinking about what she just revealed to me, gave me the shivers. I was curious and said, “Grandma, this aphotic forest, does it still exist?” She replied, “I will not tell you. It's cursed, and you do not belong there.”

  A year has passed since my grandmother's funeral. I couldn't begin to go through the items she left for me until today. My grandmother had many interesting things. Her most appealing belonging was her old antique wooden chest. It reminded me of those big treasure chests you see in the pirate movies. As I'm shifting through the items I notice a journal.

  I never knew grandma kept a journal. I was excited to see her entries. As I am turning the pages I noticed a page titled Elana. I thought OMG! It's the girl from the legend. The journal entry read: Elana just moved into Hanarberry, most of us thought it was strange for an outsider to attend school here. Elana's first day of school was rough. I felt sympathy for her. She didn't appear to be a social person, and many of the high schoolers began to spread lies about her. I greeted her and introduced myself. With a look of pure hatred, she looked right at me and said, "I was once like you, loving and kind. Now I refuse to be that way. I will never be the same because the family I once knew threw me away." I wasn't sure what she meant. I also thought it was best not to ask. From that day forward, I decided to keep my distance from her. I personally believed it was her appearance that threw people off. She always wore long white gowns (they were a little torn) raggedy shoes, she had long coal black hair, and a pale complexion. I suppose it was because she couldn't afford much. We all knew she didn't have a traditional family because she lived at the RottlingVille Orphanage.

  My view of that place wasn't very nice. The owners of the property never kept it up. Weeds growing up tall and in need of good lawncare. On my way to school I would see Elana walking around the forest that surrounded the orphanage, not with anyone, just by herself. She appeared to be whispering. When my grandparents were still alive they told me that the property the orphanage sat on was vacant. In their time it was an old burial ground. I'm remembering this now, as I try to wrap my mind around why Elana murdered everyone in that orphanage. Then within the blink of an eye, she disappeared. Some say Satan rules her in the afterlife. Sounds a little too crazy to me.

  Wow! My grandmother knew a little more about Elana. She just didn't tell me or I imagine should couldn't tell me more. I found journal entries about her old high school crushes, her prom, her senior graduation. These were all memorable life moments.

  As I continue reading through the yellowed pages, I noticed she had a new title The RottlingVille Orphanage. What I read next made me feel like the legend wasn't just a story. The last pages of her journal read: September 24, 1902, this is a day I will never forget. Losing William and never knowing the exact truth. I begged him not to leave, to just forget about this stupid idea him and his friends came up with. I can clearly remember saying to him, "William, don't go. You know there's been five disappearances since that orphanage was tore down. You don't have to proof the rumors or stories. Just go home, so I don't worry." William just laughed, gave me a sweet kiss on my cheek, and left.

  Brady, Tommy, and William went out there on a stupid dare. It ended up being the worst mistake of their lives. Brady and Tommy were found the next morning, - lying on the property with the ground soaked red from their blood- where most claimed is the exact spot where the murders took place years ago. And William, my sweet boyfriend and companion, he was never found.

  My grandmother Betty was such an inspiration to me. Although, she warned me not to go to the Aphotic Forest, I felt more compelled to go after reading her journal. I went to the library to locate property deeds from the 1900's. I couldn't find anything on my own. I asked the librarian, "Can you help me find the property location of the old RottlingVille Orphanage?" She looked at me with disgust and replied, "All those records have been destroyed and no one living today knows where it's located."

  But I wasn't born a quitter. I convinced myself there had to be something that grandma left behind. Some sort of clue. I recall her saying in her journal she would see Elana walking around the orphanage property when she walked to school. I left the library and headed over to her childhood home.

  I walked down the road from her house and paced myself slowly. On the way I saw orphaned children running on DownSteep road. It was an old abandoned path. It was so cluttered by trees no one could see it from the street. I turned left and I was surrounded by the forest. I became increasingly emotional with sadness. Tears began to trickle down my face. Out of fear, I turned back to run but I ran into what felt like a wall. It was Elana, deep, cold, the touch of her hands on my face paralyzed me. I knew I would never escape her. I screamed in pain from the multiple stab wounds she began to inflict on me. Not because I thought I would be rescued, but because the horror of dying this way was a literal hell. Will the legend of the Aphotic Forest die with me or will it live on...

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nbsp; Author: M. Daniels

  Front Cover Image: M. Daniels

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