I thought this journey would be simple. Just me, my mother’s ashes, and the forest she never got to finish. But as I walked deeper into the woods, I realized something else awaited me. A truth I never expected. Something that would change my life forever. Standing at my mother’s funeral, I felt like the ground beneath me had crumbled. The breeze whispered through the trees, but it wasn’t soothing. It only reminded me of the silence she had left behind. My mom was my closest friend, the person I could always turn to when the world became too heavy. Now, with her gone, everything seemed suffocating quiet.

“I’m so sorry for your loss, Thea,” Aunt Claire said, gripping my hand. “I know it’s hard now, but time will heal. You’ll see.” I just nodded, unable to find words. Time heals? No. Time doesn’t heal. It only stretches the pain into longer, unbearable threads. Each passing second felt like a reminder that she wasn’t coming back. Worse, I couldn’t have children. Without her, the idea of a future, of passing on memories, felt pointless. My family had tried to surround me, to fill the void with their voices and presence, but I couldn’t bear it. They didn’t understand the hollow ache that throbbed inside me.

Every corner of our house was filled with her absence. Her favorite blanket still hung over the armchair; her scent lingered in the air. I stared at her old, shabby diary, the one she had used to plan her dream journey through the forest to Crabtree Falls..

She never got to finish it. Her illness had taken that from her, just as it had taken her from me. I traced the worn edges of the diary with my fingers, feeling a strange pull Their protests blended into background noise as I packed my bag. I took the diary, tattered and fragile, with me. Each page had her handwriting. The last page remained empty, waiting. I had to fill it. The forest called to me, a place where I could finally confront the silence she left behind. The forest wasn’t just a challenge. It was a battle. Every step felt like a test, and I wasn’t sure I was strong enough to pass.

“Come on, Thea,” I muttered to myself. “Just one step at a time.” But even as I said it, I could feel the exhaustion pulling at me. My feet slipped on the muddy path, and I grabbed a branch to steady myself. The cold bit at my legs, sending a shiver through my whole body. I focused on the other side, determined to make it. But the current pushed against me, stronger than I’d expected. My feet slipped on the rocks, and I struggled to keep my balance.

The backpack slipped from my hands, and I watched in horror as it was swept away by the river. “Oh, no! No, no, no!” I shouted, trying to reach for it, but it was gone. I stood there, frozen, watching my supplies disappear downstream. “Great. Just great. Now what, Mom? What do I do now?” The only things left were the urn with her ashes and her journal, both tucked safely inside my jacket.