text: Alan Smith lived with his parents in a small village by the Dark Woods. His parents always left early after breakfast for work and came back late evening. Every time before they left, his Mum would always warn him the same thing. ‘Remember, Alan, bread and jam for your lunch is in the cupboard. You can play at the yard in front of the house, or play with Peter. But don’t you ever go near the Dark Woods, understood?’ And when he asked why. His Mum would simply reply sternly. ‘’Cuz in there were so many vicious beasts that could kill you, and also the witches that would harm you. I don’t want that to happen to you. Now, promise me that you won’t go there.’ Alan had to comply, for his Mum wouldn’t go until he did so. Boy! It was so boring home alone. Going to Peter’s was no difference; Peter stayed with his Grandma, who dozed off all the time, during the day. Besides, Peter was such a boring cowardly kid, but he was the only kid around here he could hang out with. Every day, they would just play Peter’s old toys that his parents made for him, it got boring soon enough. Yet, when he told Peter to climb an old tree in his front yard. Peter simply shook his head and said. ‘My parents never let me do it. They said I could fall over and break my bones.’ ‘Then I will climb alone. You just sit there and watch, then.’ ‘You can’t. What if you fall over? You might really get hurt.’ ‘You silly. I don’t fall off that easily.’ ‘Don’t call me silly!’ Peter’s tears oozed from his eyes. ‘Yes, you are!’ ‘Am not!’ ‘You are. You are a silly cowardly kid!’ ‘AM NOT!’ And Peter bursted out crying, waking up his Grandma from her slumber. She scolded Alan for bullying her grandson and told him to go home straight away. What an annoying, sissy kid. Sure enough, he stopped going to Peter’s after that day. Better staying at home, than hanging out with someone who would stop you every time you thought of something fun to do. But there was nothing fun in his house to do either. How could he forget! The Dark Woods. He hadn’t stepped a foot in there before. His heart started to pump with excitement. His parents always came home late evening; he just had to come back before then. Alan was so proud of his clever idea. Alan slowly stepped into the Woods. Even the first step already felt like an adventure, but before he could venture further, he heard a cry from the house that destroyed all the fun that instant. ‘Alan! Alan! You naughty boy, where are you?!’ Oh, god! Mum was back already? Why was she home in the middle of the day? She never did so in a really long time. Alan hurriedly went back to the house, but he sneaked to the back door, hoping he could trick her that he had been in the house all along. That didn’t work out. His Mum stood in front of him. He felt that she seemed to tower over him and her eyes were as though she would rip him apart that instant. ‘Where have you been?’ said his Mum sternly. ‘I...er...why did you come home so early, Mum. I thought you were with Dad in town.’ Alan tried to change the subject, though his hope seemed bleak. Yet, surprisingly his Mum seemed distracted when he asked that question. She evaded his eyes as she tried to answer hesitantly. ‘I... I forgot something at home, so I came to fetch it. But look what if I hadn’t come!’ She raised her voice again. ‘You would just disobey me and run into the Dark Woods, wouldn’t you?’ ‘I... I was just looking around.’ Wait! His Mum didn’t see him. How could she know he went into the Woods? ‘I didn’t go there, I swear.’ ‘Don’t lie to me, Alan’, sighed his Mum. ‘Maybe it’s a mistake on my part, too, for leaving you alone. From this day on, I’ll stay home with you while Dad goes to work. I’m sure he can manage fine without me.’ Alan tried to protest that it was unnecessary but his Mum wasn’t prevailed. After that day on, she kept an eye on him days and nights, as though she had been paranoid he would run off into the Woods when she lost sight of him. Though it was nice that his Mum cooked lunch for him, but it got annoying really fast that she never left his side. He had to know what was really in the Dark Woods that his parents really needed to keep him from. One day, he got a brilliant idea. He lied to his Mum that Peter’s Grandma was sick. ‘Oh, dear’, exclaimed his Mum. ‘I should go and visit her immediately!’ ‘There’s no need, Mum, you just pack the herbal soup that you used to make for me when I’m sick. I’ll carry it to her for you.’ His Mum glared suspiciously. ‘Are you sure this isn’t your plan to trick me and go into the Woods?’ ‘Mum, how could you say that? How could I lie about someone getting sick?’ Alan protested, trying to fake hurt voice. ‘I just want to ease your burden. I saw you’ve been working hard all day. You should rest.’ It worked. His Mum loosened up and said in a gentler voice. ‘Sorry, Alan. Alright, I will do as you suggest. But promise you will go straight to Peter’s, give his Grandma my herbal soup and condolence, and come back straight away. No dawdling.’ Alan eagerly promised. After he received a basket packed with soup from his Mum, he scooted off towards Peter’s, until his Mum was out of sight. He put the basket under the tree and sneaked to the back of his house towards the Dark Woods. The Dark Woods seemed inviting but at the same time, he could sense something eerie and uncomfortable from inside. But he would never know until he went in, and there was no turning back. So off he went inside the Woods. The Dark Woods was literally dark. The trees were so high and close together that their branches and leaves blocked the sky, hardly letting any sunlight through. So, it felt like the night all the time. Alan, though a naughty boy, believed his Mum’s words that theere might be vicious beasts in the Woods, so he looked around, so he could run away if he found any around the corner. But after hours, or so he believed, of walking, he didn’t find any beasts as his Mum had claimed. Not even the chirping of the birds or any sight of small squirrels or rabbits. This place was dead silent as though there were no living creatures there. That made these woods even scarier and eerier. The longer he walked, the more he wanted to turn back and face his Mum, rather than moving forward. But Alan was now aware he was completely lost. And whether he turned back or moved forward, it made no difference. Along the way, he almost ran into some sharp metal on the ground. But he pulled his foot back in time. ‘A bear trap!’ Alan’s blood ran cold. ‘Why would anyone set a bear trap if there’s no bear. Or is there?’ Alan found out that there wasn’t only a trap, but plenty of them scattering around the woods. He had to be extra cautious not to step on any one of them. He was on guard if any bear would turn up. But no bear ever turned up, and Alan started to wonder who and why would that person set up so many bear traps if there was no bear. He finally arrived at an open glade. In front of him stood a little cottage with a small brook separating the cottage from where he stood. The cottage was adorable, but why would anyone build a cottage in the Dark Woods. Something didn’t seem right. But Alan was exhausted and thirsty. He wished someone in there could kindly give him something to drink. Crossing a small bridge over a small brook, Alan finally stood in front of the door. He knocked twice and asked if anyone was inside. No answer, but the door opened itself. Alan slowly went inside, but soon after that, the door slammed shut, locking him inside. Alan tried to yank the door open, but it was no use. Then he heard muffled cry at the back, so he followed the sound towards it. The room was hazy, so he couldn’t see clearly. ‘Hello. Who’s that?’ When he drew nearer, he found two figures cowering at the corner of the room. Both of their hands tied to their backs; mouths gagged with old rags. Alan drew nearer to see if they were alright, but he was shocked when he found out who they were.’ ‘Mum! Dad! Why are you here?’ With no further delay, he hurriedly untied both his parents and ungagged his parents. ‘Alan! What are you doing here?!’ His dad cried nervously, he looked much frailer than the Dad he saw this morning. ‘Run away from here!’ ‘Yes, dear! Go through that window if you can. Don’t worry about us.’ Him Mum trembled, she looked so skinny. What happened to her while he was in the Woods. ‘Mum! Dad! What happened! I just saw both of you this morning. And both of you weren’t as skinny as now!’ His Mum tried to answer nervously. ‘That...wasn’t us, dear.’ ‘What d’you mean?’ Alan blood ran cold. ‘A month ago. We were going into the town through the Dark Woods, for we thought it might be a shortcut’, explained his real Dad. ‘But our carriage ran into a bear trap. The witches set the trap, the they brought us here...’ ‘Let’s run away together then.’ Alan tried to pull his parents up, but his Mum gasped in fear, looking past his shoulders. ‘They’ve come.’ Alan quickly turned. He saw his other parents carrying sharp axes. Both of them stared and smiled at him voraciously. But something was wrong about them. Their skin greenish white, their teeth elogated and sharp like fangs, and their eyes yellowish. Alan tried to catch his breath. His other Mum smiled at him and spoke in an eerie whisper. ‘Well, I told you not to go into the Dark Woods, didn’t I?’