Since she was off work today she decided to venture into the forest behind the house. She had never really gone before, only sticking to the man-made paths that led from the front of the house to the road. Cora changed into a light grey sweater, a pair of faded jeans and hiking boots she never thought she'd use. There were no mirrors in the house so she did her best to pull her hair back into a braid. She didn't think she'd be gone long but something told her to take a flashlight and leave a quick note in case Mill came back before she did.
"Mill, hope everything is ok, I've gone for a walk and will be back soon. Love you- Cora."
She paused as she wrote the last part. That was the first time she had said something endearing since she lost her parents. Mill may have felt like a stranger, even after all these months, but she did care for her cousin and hoped the best for her.
Cats greeted her as she left out the backdoor. They swished their tails lazily and gave Cora a bored look as if wondering when their next meal would be. Some scattered off in the trees as if she was a threat. The sun was barely peaking overhead and Cora guessed she had about nine hours of real sunlight left before she would have to turn back. A chill settled over her body as she began walking away from the house. Looking back at it she felt the coldness coming from it, and not the settling winter cold but a strange emptiness as if the place had been abandoned for years.
As she kept walking, her boots crunching on dead leaves, she spotted her cousin's garden. Cora had to stop to catch her breath for a second upon seeing the garden. The place was nearly dead. It seemed as if nothing had grown for months. A small bench rested quietly in the corner, vines growing on it like a plague. She could see the outline of faint rows where there once had been something growing, and little paper signs with faded letters that indicated what was growing there. A frown ran across her face. It wasn't like Mill said she was growing anything, so it wasn't like she was lying about having a garden, even if it was dead. Maybe she had been trying to cultivate the ground.
Something by the bench fluttered and Cora made her way over. It was a single piece of paper, a note. It was trapped under some vines but looked fairly new. Carefully she freed it and while reading it could clearly see it was a letter. This time it was addressed to Jared, from Mill. Cora was confused because the date indicated it was only written a few weeks ago but never sent. She sat down on the barest spot of the bench and began reading.
"It's been a few years but I feel I'm finally ready to talk to you again. I know you'll never read this, but I need to write and hope that one day I'll see you again. So much has changed since you left yet at the same time I feel frozen in time. Like the world has moved on without me and I'm still waiting for something to happen. For you to return. I've wanted to come find you and apologize for everything, for not being there, for not believing you, for letting you go. What happened back then doesn't matter anymore but what happened afterwards still haunts me and I haven't learned to let go. I never meant for you to be committed and I always wonder if you ever forgave me but I know it's pointless to wonder that now. Pointless and too late I tell myself. I hear your grave is underneath a beautiful oak tree, away from other graves and that's all I need to not disturb it with my presence. I miss you something awful. I want you to know I've kept all your letters and read them when I find them. I want you to know I still-"
And that's how it ended. Cora blinked in surprise. She felt deeply burdened, like that was something she was not supposed to see. But it clicked and she realized all those letters from Jared were written from a mental institution. Cora realized why he finally stopped writing years ago. It also partially explained why her cousin was such a shut-in.
When she finally looked up, blinking tears away from her eyes, she stood with a start and could see the sun had moved. How long had she been sitting there? Cora folded the letter and stuck it deep within her pocket. She set out even more determined to find her cousin and get to the bottom of everything.
An hour later she realized her determination had also gotten her lost. There were no trails, no sign of someone walking through there, and all the trees looked the same. She thought she had been walking in a straight line but the forest had grown dense and she had no choice but to stray from her path. It would've been peaceful for the most part if it hadn't been so silent. Cora exhaled slowly, watching her warm breath mix with the cooler air and float away. She shuddered and wrapped her arms around as she kept walking, eyes darting looking for a sign of anything different.