I was pretty freaked out by this point. I can honestly say that I had never expected to be lost in those weirdly twilit woods and being stalked by trees. Every rustling noise, every moving branch, made me jump. I was convinced that the willow tree was following me, but I had lost sight of the first willow tree. Any of the trees around me could be on its side.
Now that I was getting used to the light, I thought that I could find my way back to where I started. The shadows that the moon was casting gave me something to orient myself by. I wasn't sure where I was, but things had started to go weird since I crawled under that tree.
The way back was through thick brambles that I didn't remember, but I was so glad to see that first tree again, the one with the moon in its branches. The little cave beneath its roots was invisible in the shadows, but I knew where it was and I gratefully flung myself down and crawled inside. I didn't stop until I was sure that I was out of reach.
It was dark in there, like I expected. As my eyes adjusted I saw that there was a mark carved in the stone floor of the tight crawlspace. Three straight lines and a curve. The hair on my arms prickled. This meant something. It was like tracing the outline of memory.
I looked around again, curious about this place. The floor was sloped, the space getting darker the higher I looked. I hadn't paid much attention to it before, but this wasn't a natural space. Someone or something had carved it out of stone and earth.
That was when I figured out that there were two exits. I hadn't realized it before, but I had entered the tiny cave from one direction and left it going downwards. On my knees, I felt my way through the darkness, finding the place where the crawlspace lead up out of the tight chamber and out into the night air. Standing up, I tried to brush the dirt off of my shirt with my hopelessly grubby hands. I breathed the cold air, looked up at the signs of dawn on the horizon, and then started home.
I had been out all night, apparently. I upset my mother again when I had to knock on the back door for her to let me in. She hadn't realized that I had left last night, and I sort of pretended that I had just wandered out in the morning, without really saying it outright. She didn't ask any questions, but I don't know if she really believed me or just didn't want to press for an answer.
I went up to my room, but I wasn't feeling sleepy despite having been out all night. I think that that other place somehow caused me to skip ahead a few hours. It sure didn't feel like I was gone all that long.
