The plan had been argued for too long now. The trees whispered her secrets back at

her, exposing the truth to whoever would listen. A breeze swept over the world and

silence followed after. It was quiet, and for the first time in her life, she felt alone.

Too quiet, too alone.

She fell to the foot of a tree, looking deep into the black surroundings, not knowing if

her eyes were open or closed. A young girl shone through her mind, reflecting like a

mirror, her 5 year old self. Her father towered over her, her hopeless mother hidden

behind as he whispered softly into her ear from her hospital bed,

“You are going to rule the world someday, my little love. You are going to do great

things. Great things I say!”

The phrase echoed, washing out any other thought. It replayed over and over,

increasing her heart rate, her lungs struggling to keep up with her troubled breaths.

Within her memory, came a horrifying realisation.

Killing her father? How could she be so oblivious? So blinded by love?

Perhaps the two lovers had made a mistake. As her panic attack journeyed onwards,

her body reacted poorly. Her lips began to tremble, followed by the uncontrollable

shaking of her legs, sinking further down the tree’s trunk, her feet kicking up dirt,

roots and debris. The attack’s main focus became her heart which exploded with

irregular beats as she pulled at her neck, attempting to breathe through a blocked

throat. Leaves flew peacefully around the seizing figure as she failed to inhale any

more oxygen. A final airy exhale exited her blue lips as the heart attack claimed the

rest of her limp body. There she lay, innocently and solitary as she once did when

she was just a girl, the trees still whispering the dark secrets of the forest, her lover

oblivious to it all.