The Forest Friendship
The sun beat down on the backs of the two boys as they made their way through the forest. Michael held a branch aside as he walked past it, letting it go and hitting Gavin in the face with it. Gavin let out a cry of pain as the branch connected with his face, causing Michael to chuckle. Gavin shot him an annoyed look and they continued through the trees.
After a few minutes they came to a clearing at which they decided to stop for a snack. They sat on a fallen down tree and admired the forest around them as they ate. Michael watched as an orange leaf fell gracefully before settling on the forest floor. Birds sang softly in the distance and the sun shone through the trees, creating a beautiful amber glow.
"This bushwalk was actually a good idea Gavin", Michael said with a mouth full of peanut butter sandwich.
"I knew you would like it", Gavin replied rather proud of himself. This forest was where Gavin and Michael first met back in grade 5 at school camp.
Michael looked at his watch, "We better head back soon, I have a date with Lindsay tonight" They quickly shoved the rest of their sandwiches in their mouths and got ready to retrace their steps.
"So um, which direction did we come from?" Gavin asked looking around the clearing.
"Which direction did we come from", Michael said mocking Gavin's voice. "This way idiot", he pointed to a spot between two small bushes. Michael could only put up with Gavin for so long before he became unbearable and it was getting to that stage.
The two boys got up and began making their way home. They walked for 10 minutes before they came to a clearing. Michael looked around spotting a familiar oak tree that was bent over. He then saw the fallen tree that they were sitting on just minutes before. That was when Michael realised they were in trouble.
"Gavin, we are back where we started", Michael yelled. He clenched his fists in frustrating. He should've known they were going to get lost with Gavin there.
"It's fine we just have to go the opposite way then", he replied attempting to sound calm.
They walked again for what seemed like hours until the reality of the situation finally hit them; they were lost. They began to panic as they realised they had eaten their only food and they had no way of contacting anyone to tell them where they were.
"What are we supposed to do?" Gavin said as he paced back and forth. "No one is going to rescue us. We're going to die out here!"
"Will you calm down?!" Michael said giving Gavin a light slap on the face. This was another annoying thing about Gavin, he was terrible under pressure. "We are definitely going to die if you carry on like that" He took a deep breath, controlling his anger and considered their options, "the first thing we need to do is find some shelter"
"Right, I'll look for shelter and you get some food", Gavin said heading off.
Michael soon found some bushes with berries on them and began picking them. He was in the middle of getting sap from a tree when he heard a blood curdling scream from nearby. He immediately shot up and began running through the trees, pushing branches out of his way.
"Gavin, Gavin where are you?" he cried out trying to locate his friend. Soon he found Gavin lying, crumpled up at the bottom of a small cliff. He stood at the edge of the cliff and called out to his friend, "Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I think I broke my ankle", He replied.
"Are you kidding me? How the heck did you do that?"
"I was trying to get some of those big leaves there and I fell over the edge", he sounded as though he was in a lot of pain.
"It's bad enough we are stuck out here but now you've got a broken angle. You really aren't making this easy for me. Here grab my hand"
Gavin reached out and grabbed Michael's hand. Michael pulled with all his strength, lifting his friend back over the edge of the cliff. Gavin lay flat on the ground and exhaled loudly.
"We need to get this wrapped up" Michael said looking around for something he could use. He spotted a tree with large leaves that looked as though they would make a good bandage. He pulled three of the leaves off and began to wrap them around Gavin's ankle.
"There, that should do", Michael said.
"Thanks Michael. Did you find any food?"
"Yeah just some berries, but I guess that's better than nothing right?"
"Well we may as well set up camp here for the night and hopefully someone will come and get us tomorrow".
The boys shared around the berries that Michael collected as they watched the stars from their spot on the small ridge.
"You know, if I had to get stuck in the forest with someone, I would want it to be you" Michael said patting Gavin on the back.
"Really? I thought I was annoying", Gavin sounded surprised by Michael's comment.
"No way, I know it may not seem like it sometimes, but you're my best friend Gavin. The best one I've ever had too"
"Aww Michael, I didn't know you felt that way. You're my best friend too", Gavin stretched his arms out for a hug.
Michael stared at him for a moment before outstretching his arms too. "No way, isn't it enough that I said you were my best friend". Gavin looked at Michael with a sad puppy dog look on his face that made Michael give in. "Fine, come here buddy", He said hugging Gavin.
They woke up the next morning to find a forest ranger kneeling over them.
"Are you Michael and Gavin?" he asked.
The two boys let out sighs of relief as they realised they had been rescued. Michael lifted Gavin up and helped him walk out of the forest. As he walked, Michael realised that getting lost in the woods was an important moment in his and Gavin's friendship and that it helped them realise how important they were to each other. They also had a great story to tell.