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Seeing a likely tree to climb, I grasp the lowest branch and lift my leg to lodge my foot into a gap in the back. The bark bit into my hands as I wrap them around the branch. God, what an unpleasant feeling. No wonder I never really liked climbing these things as a child. Shifting my weight to the foot on the tree, I begin to lift myself.
Unfortunately, I am wearing the wrong shoes. Dress shoes are *not* the thing to climb trees in. My foot abruptly slides out of the gap and, with a jarring thud, lands back on the ground, scraping my chin on the trunk as well.
Cursing foully, I grab my handkerchief out of my back pocket. Dabbing at the scrap, I can tell it is bleeding pretty badly just from the sting.
There is no other way around it, if I am going to do this; I am going to have to take off my shoes. Bending down, I unlace the shoes and pull them off. Standing straight, I look back up at the tree. Trying it again, this time I succeed in raising myself to the first branch. After that, it was fairly easy. If you count getting scratches and gouges from the unforgiving twigs and bark easy. But I manage to get to the top. Or as close to the top as I can get.
I push the foliage out of the way and look around.
Trees. Trees and more trees. Where the hell is the town? I see a slight break in the trees to the right...that must be the road. If I remember the map correctly, it showed the town to the east and the cliff to the south. So that would put the town somewhere to the...oh hell, I don't know.
I look around. It is getting pretty dark, but not as dark as the forest would have me believe. I would say, about eight. If I had had to *try* to judge the time according to the light in the trees, I would have said it was after ten.
Oh! There is a large gap in the trees over there, and I can see a steeple. The town, a not too far away. I can make that, no problem. Maybe a half hour longer. Good.
I take one last look around the sky before having to dive into the oppressiveness of the foliage. I begin my descent back into the hell of the silent woods.
I miss the noise and pollution of the city already. My lungs do not know what to do with this air. I feel almost lightheaded from it. Yeah, they can keep this. I will stay in my city from now on.
Reaching the forest floor once again, I put my shoes on and once again head in the direction of the town. Amazingly enough, it is the direction I have been heading this whole time. Guess my sense of direction isn't as bad as I thought it was.
(to be continued…)
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