IN THE FOREST By Kyndl
	Jora stood on the top of the hill, her red hair blowing gently in the breeze with the mountains spread out in front of her.  This was Jora’s favorite spot to come when she needed to think, and she needed to think today.  Her father had passed away that afternoon, and for some reason she knew this would be the place to come to talk to him.        “Father, why did you have to die?” Jora said while a tear rolled down her right cheek. Jora fell to the ground and her shoulders began to shake uncontrollably as she sobbed.  But suddenly a fierce wind blew. Jora stood up astonished.  She was hoping to see her father appear magically, but all she saw was a wolf about twenty yards ahead of her.  She was about to run in fear when a feeling of contentment came over her, like she had no reason to fear this ungodly beast.  She stared into the glowing green eyes of the animal, the same bright green eyes she had.  As she stepped toward the beast, it paused one last time before fleeing.  This would be the first of the weird sightings that would occur in the humble town of Salem.      It was 1692 in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts and Jora’s mother Rebecca was busy cooking dinner when Jora arrived at home.  Rebecca could tell that Jora had been crying by her red, puffy eyes, and walked over to the table where Jora was sitting to comfort her seventeen-year-old daughter.  Jora shrugged her off, not wanting to deal with the pain of realizing her father was gone.  She stood up abruptly and exited through the back door of the small, homely cottage and began a trek through the forest next to the cottage.  She knew she wasn’t supposed to go into the forest because it was the “devil’s land” and the Indians could be anywhere, but she didn’t care.  The forest was always a place that Jora went to think, calm down, and just relax.  It was filled with fascinating plants and animals, and it was hard to stay away, even with the many warnings from her mother.  It was like she was drawn to it.  She entered the forest just as the sun was beginning to set.  She walked through the familiar forest letting the trees engulf her, but she soon found herself in unfamiliar territory.  She had walked through the forest a million times and had never gotten lost.  Jora began to walk a little faster towards what she was hoping would be the exit, but she just kept dragging herself deeper and deeper into the forest.  Her mind began to play tricks on her, and she thought she saw an Indian feather so she began to run.  She was running hysterically at full speed when she saw a shadowy figure ahead of her. Oh no, maybe the Indian had cornered her!  She couldn’t quite make out the figure, but she shrieked when she saw that it was a man dressed in a cloak.  She ducked behind a tree hoping the man hadn’t seen her.  She had always been warned about the beggars and killers that supposedly roamed the area.      “Is anyone there?” the mysterious man asked in a gentle but stern voice.