The Path

And if you take that Path, just down yonder,
The one covered in moss and dark dirt,
You'll enter a world that keeps itself secret,
From all of the other worlds I dare say,
Because I'm not sure anybody knows what it is,
And that might be a good thing.


Seventeen-year-old Anabell Schwartz was determined to escape. She needed a place to go, and she found it. One day when she is leaving the farm, she noticed a dark path leading off to the left. It was funny, to her, because she couldn't remember it being there just the other day. Or even, if she thought about it, a few seconds ago. But there it was, just begging to be walked. To lead her somewhere new and exciting, where she could escape from her working life. So she took it. Down the hill, across the field, and into the oak trees. But as she was walking, all of the leaves around her began turning a dark purple, and falling to the ground. Ana didn't notice, she was too intensely focused on getting to the end of the Path. She wanted to know where it led. And she would find out, if she wasn't carefull. Oh yes, she would most definitely find out.
Her dark hair swished behind her, and she trailed her fingers on the bark of the trees as she passed. It was rough, cold, and callused, and she quickly pulled her hand back. 'Just a little bit farther' she thought to herself. 'and then, if I don't find anything, I'll go back.' she saw a bit of light ahead, maybe a clearing. She took the few steps and entered it, looking around curiously. What she saw was going to change everything. But isn't that always the case in these stories?

Nineteen year-old River Conway was walking through Philadelphia, when he happened upon a pocket park, squished between a pizzeria and some dilapidated apartment building. Opting for what most city-folk thought was their "green air", he took a step into it, wandering down a path that had seemingly just appeared. "Why not take a walk down this Path?" He thought, hands stuck deep in his pockets as he wandered down it. It was much longer than he had first thought, maybe the pocket park was an annexation of some obscure larger park he had not heard about. With his lefty acoustic jouncing on his back, he went ever deeper into this forest that had thickened with each step. For some reason unbeknownst to him, he felt calm about waht was happening, he didn't feel the least bit worried that he had left the city somewhere behind him. As he took a few more steps, the wood thinned again into a clearing.

As Anabell stepped into the clearing full of light, she saw a boy stepping in from the other side. He looked quite odd, she thought, wearing those clothes, and carrying something inredibly large on his back. "Hello, sir. By any chance may I ask what brought you here?" she inquired.