by Laura Burton
“You’re right,” she said simply as she held out a hand for him to shake. “Friends?” she asked. Toby smiled broadly, his cheeks dimpled and his eyes twinkled.
“Friends,” he replied, and they shook hands.
“I’m glad we met. I’ve had more fun today with you than I’ve had in years.”
As they walked towards the path, Amelia was surprised to see a tall man wearing a dark suit standing near the opening to the glade. She had not seen him before. The mysterious man stared in her direction, a serious, intense expression awash his face. A sense of foreboding rose within Amelia’s chest but dissipated when she looked over at Toby who was smiling blissfully at her.
“Are you busy today? I would love to do something fun with you. I can’t stay here for long, though. I have to go back home.”
“Oh yes, sorry, you didn’t reply to my question earlier. Where is home, exactly?” Amelia asked. As they drew closer to the gentleman, her sense of unease returned. She stared at the man who wore a narrow black tie and crisp black shirt. His eyes were almost entirely black, which was a stark contrast to the milky complexion of his skin.
“California,” Toby replied lightly.
“Oh!”
“What is there to do around here that’s really British?” Toby asked curiously as they entered the woodland path. He appeared to be completely unaware of the mysterious gentleman they had just passed, who continued to stare at them with so much intensity Amelia could feel her heartbeat accelerate.
“I know a great place to go. Come on, let’s get out of here and we’ll make a plan,” she said as she quickened her pace.
Chapter Two
Wild and Free
Amelia turned off the engine and stepped out of the Vauxhall Corsa and slammed the door shut. She watched Toby pull up beside her in a silver Mercedes as she clicked the button on her key to lock her car and nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Toby climbed out of his car and rested his elbow on the roof as he gave her a goofy smile, then took a look at their surroundings. They had been driving for some time and were no longer in the Cotswolds. The tall trees surrounding them cast shadows on the gravel carpark, and old wooden signs on the entry read Welcome to the Forest of Dean.
“I hope you like the outdoors,” Amelia called out to Toby as he locked his car and walked around to join her. The two of them walked towards the edge of the forest; the gravel crunched beneath their feet and Amelia enjoyed the sound of the leaves rustling in the wind. If she closed her eyes, she could imagine it being the ocean on a windy day.
“You kidding? I love the outdoors.” Toby’s enthusiasm sent a jolt of energy through Amelia’s body and she looked at him curiously. He craned his neck left and right as he looked at the huge trees around them and swung his arms freely like a child. He peered closely at the sign by the welcome post and tapped on it with his index finger.
“We have to do this. Take a look!” he said, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he clapped his hands together. Amelia leaned forward and read the words, “Treetop Adventure,” and offered a weak smile as her stomach lurched.
“I’m not the biggest fan of heights,” she said shyly. Toby shook his head and patted her back with a heavy hand. The force made Amelia stumble forward.
“Don’t worry, it’s totally safe. I’ve ziplined before. Once you’re up there and in the harness, it’s amazing.” Toby’s attempts at reassuring Amelia failed. The word “harness” sent shivers down her spine and the idea of climbing trees had her heart racing. She looked down at her purple skirt and silver sandals and gave a pointed look in response.
“I’m not exactly wearing the right sort of clothes.”
Toby rubbed his chin in thought for a moment. Then, as if a light bulb lit up, his face broke into a broad smile.
“I bet you have something to change into in your car,” he said confidently. Amelia squinted at him and frowned.
“How could you possibly know that?” she asked. Toby shrugged back.
“It was a guess. I’m right though, aren’t I? Didn’t you say you were driving to Birmingham?” Amelia stared at Toby but did not really see him, instead her eyes glazed over as she became lost in thought. Yes, she was driving to Birmingham. At the time she left her house there was a great sense of urgency. Now, she couldn’t quite remember why she was making the trip at all, let alone why it was so important.
Could she brave climbing up in the tall trees with a young man she had only just met, though? Or was that simply too daring? Toby’s bright blue eyes came back into focus and Amelia saw him looking at her with so much hope she didn’t have the heart to let him down.
“I do have a pair of shorts and some trainers in my bag,” she confessed.
Toby gave her two thumbs up and exclaimed, “Yes!”
Amelia looked around and spotted a small wooden shelter with toilets and pointed to it. “Okay, I’ll just get changed and will meet you at the reception. I think it’s just up the path over there.” She marched over to her car and unlocked the boot to retrieve her backpack. Toby saluted and spun on the spot and walked farther along the path until he disappeared through the tree growth. Amelia shook her head and smiled to herself. Now is the perfect opportunity to ditch this crazy kid and run. As she peered into the boot of her car, she saw a grey backpack and sitting next to it, a flat package, carefully wrapped in bubble wrap. Her stomach tightened at the sight of the package. She looked back up at the treeline. There was a woodpecker nearby; Amelia could hear the intermittent sound of its beak drumming the trunk of a tree to her left. The air was so peaceful, and the sky was full of beautiful pink and golden colours. She grabbed the bag and slammed the boot down as she made up her mind. A little adventure never hurt anyone. Besides, she had time to kill.
“I cannot believe I’m doing this,” Amelia moaned as she peered down between her feet at the forest floor many metres below. The dizzying height sent Amelia’s senses in a frenzy as her instincts screamed at her to abort the mission and retreat back to safety. She stood on a small wooden platform attached to a tall beech tree and leaned her back against the ribbed trunk. A shower of pale green leaves cascaded around her, and if she had not been so terrified of falling to an untimely death, she would have noticed how enchanting her surroundings were. A long rope near Amelia’s feet stretched from the tree she was standing on to another one several metres away. She wore a black harness that wrapped around her legs, and a tall dark-haired man with burly arms attached her harness to a line that was affixed to the two beech trees. They were standing so close together, Amelia could smell bacon from his breath.
“Right, I’m Dr Brown and I’m in charge of you,” he said softly. Doctor Handsome, you mean, Amelia thought to herself as she smiled drunkenly and stared into his doe-eyes.
“You’ve got this, Amelia!” Toby shouted up from the ground below.
“I guess I feel a little more confident knowing I have a doctor close to hand.” Amelia clung onto the black line with both hands and braced herself to walk across the single rope bridging the gap between the trees.
Dr Brown laughed.
“This will be quite a journey. There will be challenges, and you and I will both, at times, wonder if you’ll make it out alive. But if we work together and you promise not to give up, I know we’ll get you through this.” Amelia frowned at the oddity of his speech. It was not exactly the most confidence-inspiring pep talk, but she was not in a position to ask for anyone else—and his huge brown eyes and comforting smile made her feel warm inside. She took a deep breath and held onto the rope above her head moved out to the other rope and side-walked it while holding her breath.
“Yes! You’re doing great! I’m coming up,” Toby shouted from below. Amelia refused to look down as she stared at the rope above her head and fumbled with it between her sweaty palms. Her legs trembled as she swung back to front with every step. The rope had a little slack to it allowing for plenty of movement—Amelia was not sure that was a good thing. She
just focussed on taking one step at a time. She was slow and awkward; a rising sense of panic moved through her whole body the farther away she got from the first platform, and the next platform was still so far away.
“I’m slipping,” she yelled in a panicked voice, the sweat on her palms made it difficult to keep a good grip. The rope became a slippery eel through her fingers and her arms tingled from being held above her head for so long.
“Don’t worry, that’s why you have the harness. You’ll just do a mini bungee jump if you fall,” Toby shouted back. Amelia swallowed hard and fumbled with the rope as she quickened her pace. She did not fancy the idea of a mini bungee jump. After what felt like an age, she sidestepped onto a hard-wooden structure and wrapped both arms around the tree trunk on the other side and held onto it for dear life. Amelia heard laughter from behind her, but she was too shaken up to look.
“I didn’t know you were a tree-hugger!” Toby yelled happily, amused by his own wit. Amelia took a deep breath and peered at the next obstacle. It was a zip line. The handsome doctor was climbing up a rope ladder to join her at the platform. She stared at his brown hair as it swayed with his movements. He reached the top and unclasped her harness from the line and attached it to another one. “Now, I need you to trust me, okay?” he asked as he pressed his hands against Amelia’s back. She grabbed the line in-between her hands and nodded. Then he pushed her hard, and with a scream, Amelia left the platform. For a split second, she was certain death was imminent, and this delicious doctor was, in fact, a mad scientist and lured her into a deadly experiment dooming her to oblivion. However, as the line became taut and carried her weight, the panic in her veins faded and gave way to another feeling entirely. Exhilaration. She flew through the treeline at a thrilling speed, and she stretched out her arms feeling the air rushing past her body on her exciting descent. She was weightless, free and unafraid. It was the most liberating, dangerous activity she had ever participated in. As she landed on the next platform, she turned around to see Toby flying down the line not far behind. For a brief moment, his face was lit up like a child on Christmas day, then he put on a serious pose and held out his arms like a superhero flying across the sky. Amelia covered her mouth as she laughed.
When Toby landed on the small platform with her, their bodies were pressed up against each other.
“This is nice,” Toby remarked as he tried to detach himself from the zip line. They were less than five meters from the ground and there was a wide wooden bridge to cross. Amelia stepped out onto the first wooden plank and held the rope sides with shaking hands.
“It’s okay, we’re not that high up now. If the bridge collapses, I’m pretty sure we’ll only break one bone.” Amelia couldn’t look behind to see if Toby was being serious or not, and she didn’t know him well enough yet to tell from the sound of his voice.
“Well, thanks for that!” she shot back sarcastically. The two of them crossed the bouncing bridge slowly and Amelia winced every time a plank creaked under her weight.
“Isn’t this fun?” Toby asked.
“I’ll admit that zip wire was amazing. I’ve never done that before,” Amelia replied as she carefully placed her feet onto the next plank. The bridge swayed to the right as she moved, and her arms began to tremble. Suddenly, something touched Amelia’s waist and she froze on the spot and let out a screech that echoed in the trees.
“Woah, calm down! It’s just me.” Toby called out as Amelia turned to see him standing with his hands in the air. She held a hand to her heart and laughed with relief as Toby tentatively lowered his arms and gestured to the scenery around them.
“Part of the experience is that we’re to enjoy the journey, not just focus on the destination,” he said wisely. Amelia looked out to see that they were standing in the middle of a huge clearing and beneath their feet a huge flock of sheep grazed on the grass below. Wood pigeons cooed in the treetops and Amelia heard them respond to each other as if they were saying, “How do you do?” and “Good, you?” The sun’s rays flooded the ground and made everything look brighter than usual. Amelia’s heart rate returned to a normal beat and she smiled at the scene.
“You’re right; this is fun,” she said softly as the two of them stood in silence and looked out. Amelia could see the doctor standing below. He stood with his hands on his hips, looking out of place among the woolly sheep.
“After you cross the bridge, there is a rope ladder to take you back down,” he shouted up.
“Oh, is that it? That was quick,” Amelia said as she started to walk again.
“There’s more. This was just the beginner’s trail. We can go and book the next course,” Toby said quickly. Amelia’s heart sank. She enjoyed the thrill but was quite happy to move onto something a little less terrifying.
“Hey, there’s a really cool walk I know of,” she said, trying to change the subject.
“Okay, we can check it out.”
Amelia sighed with relief as she climbed down the rope ladder and struggled to maintain upright. The rope ladder lunged forward and her upper body leaned backward which made the descent tricky. The challenge was not made any easier as Toby climbed on the ladder and exaggerated the movements. Finally, as she reached the floor, Amelia bent over and rested her sweaty hands on her knees and breathed slowly.
“You did brilliantly. Well done. I’ll see you again soon, yes?” Dr Brown said as he wrapped a length of rope around in loops and rested it on his shoulder. He offered Amelia a dashing smile as he marched off through the clearing and made his way back to the reception. Amelia looked up to see Toby moving down the ladder with ease. She caught herself staring at how the harness dug into his shorts and averted her eyes as he reached the ground, feeling warmth in her cheeks as she privately reprimanded herself. Toby spread his arms wide and gave a massive grin as he looked out at the black and white sheep grazing around them.
“Sheep,” he shouted with a beaming smile. His happiness and youthful exuberance were infectious, and Amelia couldn’t help but smile too.
“Yes,” she said lightly. “Sheep.”
“So, where do you want to take me?” Toby asked as he unfastened his harness and left it propped up against a tree. Amelia followed suit.
“Oh, it’s this way.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him along with her. “You’ll really like the view. It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen,” she gushed.
“How do you know that?” Toby pulled his hand back and folded his arms. Amelia stopped walking and looked at him with surprise.
“Sorry?”
“How do you know it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen?” he pressed, this time with an eyebrow raised and a look of suspicion on his face.
“Well, it’s just a phrase, I guess.” Amelia shrugged and started to walk.
“Okay, I was just wondering if you have secretly been stalking me.”
Amelia gawped at him. “No, I would never—” she spluttered.
Toby laughed. “I’m joking. You’re cute. You know that, right?” he said as they walked. Amelia blushed and remained quiet.
“Sorry, I guess you thought that joke was really baaad?” Toby gestured to the sheep that were mindlessly walking around them, as if Amelia and he were invisible to them and gave her a pointed smile.
“Good one,” Amelia said with sarcasm, but Toby’s look of pride told her that sarcasm was lost on him.
Amelia puffed out her cheeks and urged her legs to keep moving as Toby strolled casually with his hands in his pockets and looked around at the trees and the serenity surrounding them. They had been walking in the thick forest for a few miles and the heat of the sun was intense, making the air in the forest stuffy. Beads of sweat formed on Amelia’s upper lip and she surreptitiously wiped it with her hand when Toby looked away.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve gone hiking,” Amelia said. She stopped walking and bent over to clear the dizziness and breathe deeply. Toby stood by her and looked at her with amusement.
“Y
ou call this hiking?” he teased. Amelia watched a grey squirrel dart out of the hedge growth and scale the trunk of an ash tree. She marvelled at how easy the task was for the squirrel, and appreciated its abilities even more so after their treetop adventure.
“Do you want to go back? You’re looking pale.” Toby’s question brought her attention back to him. She shook her head.
“I just want you to see something. We’re right here, we just need to climb up there.” She held out a shaking hand to steady herself as she climbed a couple of rocky steps.
“Come on,” she said as she straightened her back and brushed her plaited hair off her shoulder. She marched forward and climbed the steps. Toby followed close behind her.
“This is the Forest of Dean,” she announced dramatically and held out a hand to urge Toby to peer through the gap in the trees. It was like they were standing by a window created by nature. The trees and hedges were thick but for a narrow opening and as Toby looked, his eyebrows raised and his mouth fell open. Amelia grinned at his response; seeing his reaction made all of the effort worth it.
“Wow!”
Amelia followed Toby’s line of sight and peered out. They were looking at the vast woodland below. The trees looked like broccoli florets and mushrooms, and birds were like flies sweeping across the valley. There was every shade of green and yellow imaginable; it was like staring at an artist’s canvas. A wide river with water the deepest shade of blue ran alongside the entire scene and huge rock boulders stood uniformly up to a bank of grass and looked like monuments. Fluffy white clouds hung in the air across from where Amelia and Toby were standing.
“It’s like we’ve zoomed out on a computer screen.”