The Forest Remembers -C4

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 mentioned Claire even once?

Something isn’t right. The Forest, the treehouse, the way they all act, it’s like some part of the story is missing.

(End of Diary Entry)

The next morning, Annie found Mr.Crooks sitting by the window again. His teacup was untouched.

“Mr Crooks,” she said carefully. “That day in the forest… what do you remember?”

He hesitated. “Just noise. Screaming. Then Nothing.”

“Did Claire see anything?”

He muttered, “she saw too much. It changed her.”

Annie didn’t press further, but the woods stayed with her long after she left. That night, as the wind flew through her window, 

She whispered to herself, “what did Claire see?”

And for the first time ever, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to know.