Conscience

 The Forest Remembers Chapter 6 “Buried Truths” Annie Spent the next days trying to track down Claire Crooks. Most of the leads were useless. Old news report, small interviews, dead links. Finally, she found a quotefrom a newspaper in 2023: “Claire Crooks, now 21, declined to comment on her sister’s disappearance.” That was it. No address. No job title. Just one line. Annie sighed and closed the computer. But she couldn’t let it go. She flipped her notebook again. - Natalie -Missing in Willwood Forest - Mrs.Crooks -Don’t ask about the forest” - Friends scared of tree house - Claire -Witnessed Something - Paretns -separated after disappearance Every time she wrote it down, the story felt heavier. Like the truth was right there,just beaneath the surface. That afternoon, Annie found Mr.Crooks sitting near the window again. He looked up when she approached, his eyes tired but warm. “You’ve been busy,” he said. Annie smiled faintly. “I’ve been thinking about your daughter.” He nodded sl...

 The Forest Remembers Chapter 5 “The Woman Who Forgot” The thoughts wouldn’t leave her alone. The next day, Annie told the nurse she was going out for a bit and took the bus to he other retirement home across town. It was maaller than Willow Pines, quieter, with soft music through the halls. The air smelled like hand sanitizer and lavender, adn the walls were lined with faded pictures of flowers. When Annie asked for Margaret Crooks, a nurse smiled politely and led her down a long hallway. As they walked, Annie’s stomach twisted. She wasn’s sureif it was nervous or scared, maybe both. Mrs.Crooks was sitting by the window when tehy arrved, with a blanket tucked over her lap and a photo album open in front of her “Mrs.Crooks?” Annie said softly. The woman turned slowly. “Yes?” “My anme is Annie Roberts. I work at Willow Pines Retirement home, where your husband is at.” When Annie mentiond ‘husband’ Mrs.Crooks blinked,  her posture stiffening slightly. “Oh,” she said after a paus...

The Forest Remembers Chapter 4 “The Echoes Of the Forest” Annie couldn’t stop thinking about the Crooks’ family. Every quiet moment in the retirement home reminded her of them, the missing girl, the tree house, the silence. That night, she sat on her bed with her laptop open, searching for anything about Willwood Forest. After scrolling for what felt like hours, she finally found something, an old article from 2004. “Local Girl Still Missing After 2 Weeks: Search Ends” The photo was familiar, curly hair, small smile. It mentioned conflicting witness statements and one detail that made her freeze: “A second child, believed to be her sister, was present at that time.” Claire. Annie grabbed her notebook, writing down everything. The words on the screen started to blur, and before she knew it, she wasn’t sure about writing again in her diary. Dear diary, I finally found something about Natalie. It says there were “Conflicting statements” and that her sister was there. Why hasn’t Mr.Crooks ...

 The Forest Remembers Chapter 3 “The Case of the Missing Fragment” 29 June 2025, Dear diary.  Solving this case is quite big to start with. Well, I’m not trained to do these kind of stuff, I’m just a nurse working in a retirement home. But, all it takes to solve this is passion. I would be honest, I am quite passionate with solving these types of cases. (End of Diary Entry) Annie went through the name of list of all the elderly. And on number thirteen, there was ‘Johnson Harley Crooks’ . “That has to be that old mans’ name, Natalies’ father,” Annie saod quietly t herself. But, no female name with ‘Crooks’. Annie started wondering where and who is Natalies’ mother? All the negative thoughts ran down her mind. But of course she has to ignore it. Annie thought of ways on how to start with this case. One way is to interview Mr.Croooks, and other elderly. Next day, she got up, and head straight to the retirement home with her notebook. As usual, first task is always tea. The old ma...

 The Forest Remembers Chapter 2 “MissingPeople.info.com” Dear diary,  I cannot stop thinking about that ‘Natalie’ girl. My chest hurt hearing that. It brought me back everything I’ve been trying to bury, my little sister, the posters with her face, the way my mo fell after. I thought I was starting fresh today, but suddenly it all came back. I didn’t even realize I was messing with my bracelet again until I caught myself doing it. I didn’t even know the retirement home has a library until today. This place is so big it feels like a mall rather than a home. When I finally found it, I could not believe my eyes, rows and rows of shelves soft couches and even a few computers lined up against the wall. I sat down at one of the computers, my heart went racing. I kept hearing the old man’s voice in my head, telling me about his daughter. Natalie . I couldn’t let it go. Though I do nor know any more any information about his daughter other than her name, and her age when she went mis...

The Forest Remembers Chapter 1 “What Happened” Dear diary,  today is the day. My first day as a caretaker in WillowPines Retirement Home. Big day isn’t it? As soon as I got out of bed I noticed how my glasses had a tiny crack on the edge, I wonder what happened? But anyway, right after that I had to go to the kitchen for breakfast. A nice freshly squeezed cup of orange juice, and toast with a jar of peanut butter and jelly. As I took a bite of my peanut butter and jelly, I realized how the curtains are out of place and the couch pillows aren’t stuffed enough. Though I had no tie to fix them I’m running quite late. I changed into my caretaker uniform and headed straight to the retirement home. The retirement home was a huge place, almost as big as a shopping mall. I saw these elderly people gathering together, with laughter and chit-chat. I head to the kitchen to make them tea, it was my first task of the day. It was very simple, anyone could do it. There were elderly people, but I ...