Meeting the girl from the forest was not just some event. It was a moment in his young life that defined him as a person.
You know, before the incident, he took some risks.
Okay, he wasn't doing wheelies on his BMX bike. But if you counted exploring the forest with a younger, pudgier Winona, then Big Macintosh was quite the daredevil.
In a hike through the woods, Big Mac was smart enough to pack the essentials: First Aid kit, canteen, hook and fishing line, flare gun, matches, dog treats, switchblade, beef jerky, a baking sheet size Rice Krispie square. He also packed "The Pocket Guide to Animals, Birds, Plants, Insects, Cryptids, and Mountain Folk". With a backpack, shorts, green overshirt, and a sweater tied around his waist, he was set to go. He was stopped by his parents about, not going to the abandoned commune. They believed that some of the old hippies might still be around, and did not want their son to become a hippie or something of the like.
Back then, the town was much smaller and much simpler, before the surge of people moving in before the supermarket moved in, and nearly threw the family out of business. The grass between Sweet Apple Acres to the forest was still tall back then, and was still impossible to walk through because of the many gopher and snake holes that could twist ankles. Winona was younger and pudgier from the baby fat, but was active and hyperactive.
They entered the forest with the same dirt road that had been around before his parents were alive, and would still exist after his death, and began the walk through the forest. The sky was a bright blue, and the sun was bathing them in a warm light, even though the woods was thick enough that it nearly blocked out the sun.
Farther up the trail, only an hour walk from civilization, and even farther than most people would reasonably hike along the trail, lay a large clearing. The clearing was occupied by ten wooden, dilapidated houses in a row that resembled the main street of a town, plenty of wooden pens that looked like they housed animals once upon a time. At the end of the two rows of houses stood a barn, also looking like it was about to fall to the elements at any second.
As if some force was pushing him to it, Big Mac began a slow and steady march from the tree line to the abandoned commune. Winona tried her best to stop him from entering the broken rail gates, from holding on to his socks to stepping in front of him, barking as loud as she can. She began to whine as soon as he went past the gate and into the commune but chose to follow her master.
He took a look through the windows and found most to be gutted, rotten and home to the occasional raccoon or opossum scavenging for termites.
The barn seemed most likely to him where anything interesting would be hiding. The rolling doors were apart, showing the interior of the barn. It was in the same condition as the rest of the houses, with the exception of scattered farm tools lying about and on racks. They were too rusted for any practical use anyway.
The ladder to the roof seemed to be in good condition, so he began to climb. There were times that he wanted to jump off the ladder, because of the sound of the cracking that occurs after years of abuse from the elements, but he soldiered on. He reached the loft and looked out, overlooking the entire commune.
He couldn't believe it.
Hidden in the tall grass, but visible with a height advantage were small pockets of gardens, fenced together with chicken wire. It was a large and diverse mix of different types of vegetables. He also made a few bigger discoveries. In the clearing, there were a few trees around, placed randomly. It was unusual for a clearing to have that many trees just by themselves. It was because they were fruit trees, also with chicken wire around the foot of the tree. The chicken wire also happens to be along a section of the perimeter gates: Grapes. There was even corn, they were scattered, but only in a large fenced-in area. With the fact that the lake was a stone’s throw away, it finally clicked.
Someone is still living here.
He tried to scramble to the ladder, but the years of neglect and abuse from the hot summers and the harsh winters finally caught up to the wooden planks that were supporting Big Mac, and they snapped.
He went down with them. The last thing he had heard before he hit the ground was barking from Winona and the sound of wood landing on the concrete ground below.