A Long Walk Home

A Story by Electrochique

The story i wrote for my original writing english piece. just something descriptive

I’d felt on edge all day. I wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was the prospect of spending my night home alone. The smallest things were making me jump, and it probably wasn’t the best day to be spending my evening by myself. My parents had told me they would be spending the night out at a friend’s birthday party, but I wasn’t sure of what would be happening or what time they would be home. I’d asked my parents what time they would be back, maybe I could wait up for them. “late” they’d replied as they hurried out the door. Great. Just great.

I’d told Louise, a school friend, that I really did not want to be alone all afternoon, and she had said I could go round her house for a while after school, an offer I gladly accepted. We spent the evening doing the usual stuff, some homework, made dinner, watched a movie, and before I knew it, it was 10 0’clock, way later than I had intended to stay there. I quickly packed up my stuff, put on my coat and scarf, and headed for the door.

“Be careful” she said, “You never know who, or what is out there.” She laughed. I knew she was trying to freak me out, and it had worked. I gave a sarcastic laugh, and left, throwing the door closed behind me.

Freezing. A gust of wing blew in my direction that bit at my fingers, and at my ears, and threw my hair about my face. It was unusually cold for autumn, it had been getting steadily colder every day, but it must have been close to freezing. Autumn leaves swirled around in the wind, and got caught in my scarf and my hair. I could tell this was going to be a long walk home.

Louise’s street was nice, the street lights gave everything an orange glow, and the road was lined with saplings that grew bigger every year, and blossomed with beautiful flowers in spring. Now it was autumn, they were bare, and just looked like little bundles of twigs pushed in to the soil.

I’d made it to the end of Louise’s road, where the woods began. I looked down the long straight path that eventually led to my house. Dark, very dark. The woods were thick on either side of the path, and the branches reached across from either side and met in the middle, like a low archway. Yep, this was definitely going to be a long walk home.

The breeze was not as strong once I was under the shelter of the trees, but it certainly had a more dramatic effect. With every gust of wind, the trees swayed wildly, and bent as if they would snap at any moment. Their browning leaves rustled with every movement, and fell from their branches to the floor around me. The trees creaked as if they were crying, or screaming.

Every movement, every sound caught me by surprise, and made me jump. It was so dark, I couldn’t see the path beneath my feet. I couldn’t see the roots which; on more than one occasion, tripped me and nearly brought me to the ground. And I didn’t see the branches overhead, which just touched me on the top of my head and the back of my neck, and sent a shiver down my spine.

I looked back to where I had come from, Louise’s street was nothing but a slight orange glow. I had gone too far to turn back now. I turned on my heels to face forward once more, and stopped in my tracks. There was something on the path ahead, too far away to see exactly what it was, but I didn’t want to move any closer and find out.

It wasn’t a person. Well, it didn’t look like one, it appeared to be sitting, facing my direction in the middle of the path, unmoving, just… staring. I knew I couldn’t stand here all night, if it wasn’t going to move, then I would. I walked towards it with cautious steps. My fists were clenched tight in my pockets, my eyes wide and unblinking, my jaw was clenched so tight that my teeth ground together, sending a sharp pain through my mouth.

I could see it more clearly now. The moonlight; which had somehow found its way through the thick branches above, shimmered off the fur on its back, highlighting its silhouette. It looked smaller now, more dog like. I wondered if it was someone’s pet which had escaped. It was sitting as obediently as a trained dog, staring straight in to my eyes. I was now only a few meters away, and I could see a reddish tint to its fur. It suddenly seemed to realise how close we were to each other, and darted off in to the woods to the right of it, and behind it, a large, bushy, white tipped tail. A Fox.

I laughed at myself, it seemed so obvious now what it must have been. I laughed at how scared I was, and tried to laugh away the fear that had made me tremble. A Fox.

At last, I could see an opening at the end of the path. I quickened my pace, eager to reach some civilisation, and moved towards the mixture of street lights and moonlight. It seemed to take an age, but I finally emerged from the dark woods and in to the light of the moon.

I looked around at the usually busy road, and looked up the stairs of the high pedestrian bridge. I walked up the steps, enjoying being out of the woods. I stood atop the bridge and looked down at the road, it was unusually quiet. I saw no cars. I couldn’t hear any close by. Strange. I was starting to feel like I was the only person left on earth. The only thing I could hear was the sound of my own breath, and my own heart beat. I stood underneath the single orange street lamp that worked on the bridge, soaking up the light, as in a few moments I would have to descend back in to the darkness of the woods.

I walked across the bridge, my footsteps echoed around me, and I became conscious of how absolutely alone I was. I walked down the steps and off the bridge, the hand rail was so cold, like ice, and I suddenly realised how cold I was. My hands were blue in colour, and stiff to move, my ears were completely numb, and my whole face felt pink with the cold. I pulled my scarf higher around my neck and put my hands back in to my pockets. I was ready to re-enter the woods.

One thing I did know was that the path on this side of the road was a lot shorter, and I could already see the light at the end. I didn’t know if the wind had stopped, or if I had simply stopped noticing, but at that moment, I felt a strong gust of wind which sent leaves spiralling around my face, and stole the scarf from around my neck. The trees creaked more than ever, and the fear I had felt before was re-awakened. I picked up my scarf from the ground behind me, and quickened my pace once more, looking towards the light all the time.

Suddenly, I heard foot steps all around me, I spun round to see, but I could see nothing. I looked in to the woods around me, and saw movement, and once again, I froze where I stood. Whatever it was, it exploded out on to the path in front of me, with such speed and agility, that it was just a blur. It ran across the path, and more followed, bouncing with each step, as if they were spring loaded. I realised what they were, their sleek brown fur, and long slender legs. A herd of deer. How beautiful and terrifying this night was becoming.

Once the last deer had galloped across the path, I began walking again. I just wanted to get inside in to the warmth of my home. I finally came to the end of the path, and once more in to the light of the moon, and in to the orange glow of the street lights. Nearly home now.

My road was not tree lined, It didn’t get beautiful blossoming flowers in spring, or swirl with golden leaves in autumn, but now I was home, I was just happy to be able see where I was going.

I came to my front door, and with numb hands, searched for my keys. I found them after a couple of minutes, and then picked out the right key for my door. I slid the key in to the lock, and turned it. Before I opened the door, I looked around. Tonight had been beautiful, the clear skies, the moonlight, the crispness of the air, the fox, the deer, however much they had terrified me at the time, I was glad of the whole experience. I turned back to the door and went inside.

I turned on the lights, and I was home. Shelter. I took off my coat and scarf, and removed the pieces of leaves from my hair. I thought about the whole journey home, and felt compelled to do it again sometime, but next time, I don’t think I’ll go alone.