“Help me” came a scream from the woods.
I lay awake in my bed thinking of what I could have done. “I could have helped” I thought. Now all I can do is dwell on the haunting image of her final moments, replaying the scene in my mind and grappling with the reality of her fate.
As I lay there listening silently, I hear all that can be heard from the woods.
“Help me” came the shriek.
I could have helped that day. I could have stopped what happened.
“Help me” came the cry.
If only I had been quicker. If only I had been faster. But this was really just a lie I told myself.
I get up from my bed and pick up the newspaper on my desk and read the article. ‘Remains Found in Hillshire Woods’ read the headline. I had abandoned her under the guise of going to get help.
“Help me Johan” I could still hear her calling out.
I kept reading the article, ‘The remains of a woman found in Hillshire Woods last Friday. She was discovered in a position suggesting a harrowing plunge, her body sprawled awkwardly amidst the rocky terrain of the abandoned quarry, a testament to the tragic outcome of her descent.’
“Help me Johan, help me” her words hung in the air.
We had just gone on a walk. A simple walk, no phones, no distractions, just us and nature. Alone with our thoughts, we were just going to talk.
“Help me”
The sound woke me from my trance. I grabbed my coat and headed outside. The cold air was welcome on my face. I sit down on the steps to the porch and point my eyes towards the woods.
“Help me Johan, help me you promised.”
That day we had walked all the way to the end of the trail. Right to the old quarry.
I walked away from the porch and out to the back yard.
“Help me”
I walked into the woods finding the old path.
We weren’t even supposed to even be there that day. The path was blocked off to the public because something.
“Help me” came the cry somehow softer now.
I ducked under the police tape blocking the entrance and walked up the path. The closer I got the softer the cries came.
“Help me” a low yell rain out in my ears.
We hadn’t known that the quarry was being decommissioned that day. We hadn’t known that the cliff edge was weak. I hadn’t known what to do.
“Help me” it came almost as if she was talking right next to me.
I reached the end of the tail and found a ledge. It was barricaded now. It should have been then.
We were just playing when we had reached the quarry. The troubles of school in the past for us. We were free for the rest of the day. It had been my idea to play hooky. It had been my idea for us to go on this walk. I had been my idea to run away.
“Help me” Almost a whisper now.
She had stepped close to the edge and looked over. I had seen what happened and lunged for where she stood. But I was too late, she fell, plunging to her death.
I hoped over the barrier to the place where it happened.
“Help me Johan” she was right in my ear now.
As I ran to my house to get help it came to me that if it was found out that we had cut class I would be in trouble. My young mind had prioritized my own well being over hers.
It haunted me all my life but not anymore.
“Help me” it was in my head now.
As I reached the edge of the quarry, the weight of guilt and regret crushing down upon me, I whispered her name into the empty expanse below. ‘I’m sorry, Sarah’ I choked out, my voice trembling with emotion. With a heavy heart, I made my decision. In the stillness of the woods, I took my final steps, joining her in the rocky abyss below.
Help Me came the words, this time for the last.