A Secret Place
It was dark out on the lonely road that snaked guiltily through the woods. Sometimes, it was possible to think, just for a moment, that you were alone. Air so full of crisp pine, that it was almost too bitter. The ominous line of trees created an almost claustrophobic effect. Tree trunks, old and aged, formed a clear barrier between the neat asphalt and the chaotic forest. These occasional travelers would be filled with the sweet allure of the dark line of trees, so strongly that it was like a tangible push. A strong hand reaching out from the shadows to pull you in. A voice, sultry and omnipotent, would string together just the sentence to make you step out of your car. To take you softly by the hand to that dark abyss behind the treeline. Roots grew obnoxiously out onto the asphalt. They’d distort the neat, black with their curled, persistent tendrils of wood. To feel, to prod. It was deathly silent. The purr of the car engine was nothing to lift this quiet blanket that fell over the forest. Sometimes an animalistic shriek would escape from within the vastness. A fluttering, quick as a heartbeat, would puncture the air. Then it would all descend back into silence. The clouds hung low enough for the tree tops to scrape the bottom of their mass. Dense as they were, they hid the twilight sky from view. Sweet humidity was an accent to everything, sticky and suffocating. Pine needles formed a thick layer on the ground. Together with the mud and the satisfying crunch of dead leaves the air was full.
This is an excellent piece of work done by one of our Year 12 English Language students as part of one of their AS Level examination question practice tasks.
