Forgotten Forest of the Innocent

Number of posts : 12 Registration date : 2011-06-25

Hello!

I would like to share a short story I wrote a long time ago, as a way to show readers my writing.

Forgotten Forest of the Innocent

by Violet Yates

Copyright © 2011 Violet Yates
All rights reserved.

Forgotten Forest of the Innocent

It has been said that there is a place, deep in a
forgotten forest, which is magical and pure. Whether it actually exists only in
the imagination of some, or is real, I do not know. What I do know is that it
is untouched by much of what the rest of the world has experienced. If ever
should I find it, I should like to live there, and become a hermit.

In this forest one fateful day, a sound shrilled, loud
and foreign. It shrieked persistently and at regular intervals. The sound
struck the roof of the green canopy, bouncing off the walls of the wood and
rebounding, calling attention to all within earshot. Ever sensitive to the
tiniest sound, the creatures of the forest began traveling in the direction it
was coming from, eager to see, yet fearful to know. Deer bounded about in a
zigzag fashion, their dainty heads cocked, listening, and then raced to meet
the ringing noise. Was it a strange animal? But if so, what sort of animal
could possibly make that god-awful sound? Lazy alligators, surrendering the
hunt for the time being, made their way to the middle of the forest. Perhaps a
new type of meal awaited them?

The sound pealed as if asking a question requiring an
in depth response. Tiny birds, picking up on the earnest appeal, flew
gracefully above the ceiling of trees and landed. Crows heard the ringing cry
as well, yet assumed that it was not dead. Disinterested, they flew right on
by. A parrot, beautiful in its exotic floral colors, flew down and began a
conversation with the object.

“Caww… what do you want? What do you want? Caww, caww!”

The object, resembling nothing they had ever seen
before in the deep, isolated forest, rang and rang, “Answer me, answer me!”

The tiny birds swooped down, eager to become part of
the action. “How, how?” A great army of frogs, leaping to and fro from one tree
log to another, jumping, jumping, croaked, “Pick it up, pick it up!”

Several mystical fairies, born in a magical environment
unused to the noise assaulting their ears, flew down on their light, gossamer
wings and hovered above the object, whispering amongst themselves, “What is it,
what is it?”

The alligators, their great webbed feet slumping
towards the ringing object, opened their massive jaws, snapping them hungrily.
Suddenly, a voice boomed out, loud and clear. “Silence!”

It was the Queen of the Forest, in her royal garments
of red and blue, traveling with an entourage of Knights and Maidens. She had
come to settle the matter that was wreaking such chaos in the once peaceful
forest. Her Knights, ever cautious but ready to surrender life and limb for
their beloved Queen, circled the offending object, swords drawn and ready to
strike.

The object was approximately half a foot long, solid
and round. Its color was a sort of putrid orange, similar to the mushrooms that
bloomed from the rotten tree limbs of the Great One. Its odd shape looked as if
it could break if touched. There was a coil attached to it, similar to that of
a snake or a tail. No one in that forest could even begin to fathom what it
was, or to understand its purpose.

The Queen spoke again, “What or who are
you, and what are your plans with my people?”

Still, the object stubbornly rang. There was not going
to be any response other than that, yet the crowd did not come to this
conclusion, and persisted.

Eager to show their loyalty, the frogs bounded towards
the object, and began to jump atop of it, croaking loudly in time to the
ringing. Borrowing bravery from their fellow forest dwellers, the birds flew
down and perched on the tree limbs closest to the object, thus encouraging the
Queen to continue her interrogation.

“I repeat, who are you, and what do you want? Are you
so insolent that you will not answer me, the Queen for as far as the
eyes can see?”

Wondering if the object would ever respond, the Queen
poked at it with her finger. Nothing happened, no burning sensation, no
retaliation ensued. Encouraged, she picked the object up from the grass. It
continued to ring. Having it within her grasp, she felt powerful.

“So, are you going to tell me now?”

One of her Knights approached her, and whispered in her
royal ear, “Your Majesty, perhaps it is some sort of spirit, or possessed soul.
Maybe you would rather give it to the fairies, who know what to do with such
things.”

“Hmm, perhaps. Is Gaya here? She would know.”

Gaya came with a light foot, but a heavy heart. This
was not a job she would relish, if she had a choice. Yet obey she must, or
suffer the Queen’s punishment. She reluctantly held out her arms to the Queen,
accepted the object, and shot into the air with a great flourish of wings. High
above the clouds, one could see her fly off towards the castle peaks far ahead.

Peering, chattering and croaking for several moments
more, the animals, fairies, the Queen and her entourage then went their
separate ways, all speaking amongst themselves about the eerie object whose
mystery was yet to be solved.

In the castle’s topmost tower, the fairy known as Gaya
was sitting silently upon a chair, studying the object on the table in front of
her with intense concentration.

“It does not breathe, yet it talks in its own odd way.
It does not appear to have teeth, so how can it eat? And thus, how can it be
alive? It is not a plant, for a plant would need to be rooted to the earth for
sustenance. Aha! I have got it! I will call upon Mother Earth, and request her
assistance!”

Closing her eyes, she began to hum a melody, deep and
piercing, similar to the ringing the object still put forth every few seconds.
In a few short moments, there came a great cloud of dust, and a woman appeared.
Or what appeared to be a woman. She had hair the color of golden wheat, and
great green piercing eyes. Robust and grandly appareled, she had a commanding
air about her. Other than the Queen, she was the most respected woman of the
land.

“Gaya, how are you, my dear child? What summons me from my slumber this fine
day? Is there something I can assist you with?” Concern wrinkled Mother’s brow,
lending grandiosity to her appearance.

“It is this, Madam! The Queen has asked me to discover
what it is and what it wants from our fair kingdom. Yet I can discover nothing
from it, and fear punishment if I do not complete the task assigned to me. Can
you help me? Are you familiar with it?”

Glancing towards the object in question, Mother
shrieked in fear and terror.

“What is that… thing doing here, in this sacred
place? Do you not know what it is? It is the bane of the civilized world! It
symbolizes everything that is wrong with the earth. This is the only spot left
in the world it hasn’t touched. No measure of magic can fix the amount of
destruction it causes.”

“But what is it, Mother?” Gaya asked inquisitively. She
was thinking, ‘what could possibly strike such terror in the heart of one so
brave and superior?’

“Technology, my dear Gaya.” Caressing Gaya’s face, she
wished that Gaya’s innocence could be spared. Alas, it could not. For the
Kingdom’s sake, she must be made aware of this danger.

“But Mother, what shall we do with this … Technology?”

“Burn it…burn it in the hottest fire you can make. And
if you should come across anything similar to this, do the same for that. You
must not let Technology enter this realm. It would destroy your way of life.
Here, let me show you the parts of the world that were once similar to ours.”
She took out her mystical orb, and waved a hand over it. In it, a city
appeared, like no other Gaya had ever set her eyes on. There were very tall stone
castles. There was not an inch of greenery. Only stone paths, and there were
millions of people all cramped into one tiny space. There were no animals, no fairies,
and certainly no magic.

Gaya was horrified, and immediately picked up the
Technology and threw it right into the fire. She cast a spell on it to make it
burn hot, and turned once more to Mother. Laying her hand on Mother’s shoulder,
she said, “Thank you Mother, for you have truly saved us.”

“Do not thank me. Be vigilant! Never let your guard
down. That is what will save you, and your people. Remember that…” With a poof
of air, she was gone.

And all was back to normal, in the Forgotten Forest.
For a time.

About
the Author

Violet
Yates and all of her books live in a condo on the beach in Kona, Hawaii. A
graduate of SUNY Albany, New York, she holds a Master of Science in Higher
Education Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in English. Her love for the
written word was sparked by her love of reading. Forgotten Forest of the
Innocent was a story she wrote about ten years ago, while taking a break from
her many English assignments as an undergraduate student. It was a lot of fun,
and her wish is that others will enjoy reading it as much as she enjoyed
writing it. Violet's dream is to become a well-known fiction writer.

If
you enjoyed this story, please take a moment to leave a review on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Forest-Innocent-ebook/dp/B0051ZG7ME/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1309174792&sr=8-1

If
you would like to contact Violet, please email her at violetyates2@gmail.com,
or visit her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/morganna1afey.

Visit
and subscribe to Violet's blog: www.hawaiianviolet.wordpress.com

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a fan of Violet Yates: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Violet-Yates/126525704094706

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Subject: Re: Forgotten Forest of the Innocent Mon Jun 27, 2011 5:07 am

Loved the story. I think our Betty Fassig and her animal kingdom would love it too. The message of technology is also thought provoking.

Number of posts : 12 Registration date : 2011-06-25

Abe F. March wrote:: Loved the story. I think our Betty Fassig and her animal kingdom would love it too. The message of technology is also thought provoking.

Thank you Abe. Smile

I think it's one of my best stories. It won a contest back in 2002 on Writer's Village and was accepted by an Ezine. I never got paid for it because they went out of business shortly after. This is my dad's favorite. Very Happy

Subject: Re: Forgotten Forest of the Innocent Sat Jul 09, 2011 6:16 am

Dear Violet,
I loved your story very much. You have a lovely talent. I hope your dream comes true.

Love,
Betty

Subject: Re: Forgotten Forest of the Innocent Sat Jul 09, 2011 6:39 am

7/9/2011

This is a very lovely enchanting story, while reading
it I pictured the woods, myself sitting on a large
rock taking in all the beautiful glory of the forest
and it's beautiful wild life , great job, well written.

Cheers..Joe

Subject: Re: Forgotten Forest of the Innocent Sat Jul 09, 2011 3:24 pm

Dear Violet,
I have thought and remembered the words of your story this day as I took down the Roma tomatoes and salvaged what I could to can. I looked at our woods, high and low, for fairies. Smile

Once, when my baby grands were five and six, we went out at night to find the fairies. We found the fireflies, almost as good.

There is a magic in the spirit of people who see far beyond this ordinary plane.
I imagine you sparkle and shine.

Love,
Betty

Number of posts : 12 Registration date : 2011-06-25

joefrank wrote:: 7/9/2011

This is a very lovely enchanting story, while reading
it I pictured the woods, myself sitting on a large
rock taking in all the beautiful glory of the forest
and it's beautiful wild life , great job, well written.

Cheers..Joe

Hi Joe!~

What a wonderful vision! Smile

Thank you very much. Very Happy

Aloha!

Violet

Number of posts : 12 Registration date : 2011-06-25

Betty Fasig wrote:: Dear Violet,
I have thought and remembered the words of your story this day as I took down the Roma tomatoes and salvaged what I could to can. I looked at our woods, high and low, for fairies.

Once, when my baby grands were five and six, we went out at night to find the fairies. We found the fireflies, almost as good.

There is a magic in the spirit of people who see far beyond this ordinary plane.
I imagine you sparkle and shine.

Love,
Betty

Hi Betty,

I have glitter on my eyes as we speak, so I guess I am sparkling... hehe Wink

Thank you, glad you like the story.

Very Happy

Aloha,

Violet

Subject: Re: Forgotten Forest of the Innocent Thu Jul 14, 2011 12:18 am

Well done, and I can only echo all the words above.

Number of posts : 12 Registration date : 2011-06-25

zadaconnaway wrote:: Well done, and I can only echo all the words above.

Thanks!

» Dreamer's Forest - Book 1 "A Bridge in the Forest" - excerpt
» Dreamer's Forest-Book 2 'A Promise in the Forest' - excerpt
» Dreamer's Forest-book 3 "A Secret in the Forest" - excerpt
» Dreamer's Forest - book 4 'Moonlight in the Forest' excerpt
» Innocent People.