It happened one night about four weeks ago, in the woods behind my backyard. I had a big fight with my mother that ended with me storming out of the house, and I had to find somewhere to go to cool off. I didn't intend to stay out there for very long. I was just going to go to the cherry tree a little ways in that I like to climb. It's one of the few trees I can climb, because the lowest branches are only a couple of feet off the ground.
I didn't have any trouble getting there, because there was a full moon and I knew the way really well. I wasn't very careful about where I stepped either. I felt like smashing things, but there wasn't much to smash. A few thin branches as I walked by, but I was too worried about poison ivy to leave the trail I knew. I didn't want to go back to my mother itching all over.
Once I got to the tree, I climbed up it a little ways, like I always do. I never get very high, but this is one tree where that doesn't matter. I guess I lost track of the time...but that's getting ahead of myself. The important thing was that I saw a light in the woods. I realized that I had left my watch at home, and I had no idea how long I had been out there. I figured that the light was my mother with a flashlight, worried about me, and I guiltily climbed down out of the tree and started walking towards where I thought she was.
After a little bit, I figured that she must be lost, because the light was going deeper into the woods, where I wasn't as familiar with the way. I hurried to catch up. The moon was shining on my face through the branches of a big tree, a tree growing on top of a low rise, like half of a ravine. I was just in time to see the light disappear down near the base of the tree.
I have to tell you, I was weirded out. When I got closer, I saw that there was an opening behind the roots, just a dark, shadowed space. I guess I still thought it was my mother with a flashlight, cause I didn't hesitate to wriggle between the roots. It was a tight fit at first, but I saw a light up ahead, where it was high enough to stand up. I crawled forward until I could stand and wipe the dirt off my pants. I still had to stoop a bit, but I could see the light, so I kept going.
It was too bright to be from a flashlight, but too dim to be much of anything else. The tunnel sloped downward, turning a bit, and I kept one hand on the wall and watched out for loose stones underfoot. The tunnel ended by getting short again, but I could see tree roots and the outside, so I didn't hesitate to keep going.
I crawled out through the roots and discovered that I was right back where I started. The same tree, the same ravine slope, the same moon shining through the branches. The only thing that was different was that it wasn't night. It wasn't day either, more of a twilight. The light in the sky was dim and didn't seem to come from any particular direction. My first thought was that it was nearly morning, but that didn't seem to make any sense. There was no way I could have been out that long.
