Facing the Fears

'So, these things usually exist?'

Jean wondered as he tried so hard for the tension he was experiencing not to show on the surface.

While still in Celta, Jean used to hear about superpowered individuals that resided in some strange location across the world. Apart from just hearing about this, he also read about these individuals in some books that he was lucky to come across.

During the moment when he was reading these information concerning these powerful individuals,  he didn't take it seriously since according to him, he had never for once met such people in real life. So, according to him, these stories were not far from common folk tales.

He grew up believing that these were cooked-up stories that were just meant for entertainment. It was until he experienced something that was out of the ordinary while in the small forest of their new residence in Kili City.

This was the only time that he found it necessary to take the initiative to inquire about the existence of such powerful individuals. He had asked his mom on the matter, but instead of her telling him what he needed to know,  she just brushed on the matter.

The most disheartening part was the fact that, despite Jean wanting to know much about these powerful individuals that seemed to share a connection to the unusual force that pinned him down in the middle of the forest, his mom could just brushed him off by telling him that she also heard about it, just like he did.

Due to his mom's reluctance to explain to Jean about these individuals,  Jean ended up losing interest on the matter. But still, the mysterious force he faced while in the forest remained inprinted in his mind. He kept asking himself some questions about the place. His mom used to dismiss him whenever he would raise a question about the strange force in the middle of the forest.

The strangest thing was that; despite the place looking dangerous,  never for once did his mom warn him about the place. As a result,  Jean's curiosity about the place went up each and every day.

Albeit the place seemed to pose some dangers to him, he still felt the urge to visit the area again. He only wanted to confirm if what he had previously experienced was real, or it was just an illustrious feeling the same way he thought the mysterious feeling from the ominous tree was.

'Why is she not warning me about the place? Or is the place not as dangerous as I think it is?'

Whenever Jean would wake up every morning after the strange encounter in the forest,  these were the main questions that kept surfacing his mind.

He had struggled with these thoughts for a period of over four years after the mysterious encounter in the forest. Although he could visit the forest from time to time, he always tried his best to avoid the central region.

Despite him itching to tour the place, he still had a nagging feeling about the place. He wasn't sure if visiting the area was a wise decision or not.

***

When he was age fourteen,  it was the moment he decided to overcome his fears and do the unthinkable.

It was one morning, the period when Natalie was around.  She was on her one month leave. This was the moment that Jean had staged for his special visit of the forest.

One of the main reason to why Jean had decided that this was the perfect moment to do this, was due to the fact that he could be exposed to some dangers. And the right person to save him from this, was his mom. Since she was around during this period, he felt assured of his safety considering the last time he was in trouble,  she was the one that came through for him.

"I don't know why I am forcing myself to do this."

Jean said with a sigh as he stared at the narrow gate in front of him with a grim expression. He was on his way to the forest. Before he left the house, he had informed his mom about his visit for the forest. He had done this so that his mom could be alert in case he encounters any problem and delays. Given the fact that he had given an estimate time for his return,  it could be easy for Natalie to realize if something went wrong.

Unlike every morning,  this morning was chilly. As a result,  Jean was forced to put on heavy clothes to prevent himself from the cold. It was strange that the same day that he was on his way to clear his doubts about the strange place in the forest it was the same day that the cold was at its peak and the sun was not yet visible in the sky apart from the morning light. It was 7AM.

'Could this cold be a sign of bad omen? But I have been dreaming of this opportunity for a long time now. I don't think I would let it go, just because of something as ordinary as this cold.'

Inhaling deeply,  Jean took a step forward and started approaching the gate.

When he got at the gate, he turned back and stared at their beautiful house with a distant look. Since he wasn't sure if he would make it back safely,  he found it necessary to appreciate his home before the unexpected befall him.

After staring at the house for a while, he didn't find any reason thar could detour him from his long awaited expedition.

After walking through the forest for some minutes,  he finally came to a halting stop. He had arrived in the middle of the forest.  A dozen meters away from where he was standing,  there lied the dreadful spot that had been dreading the boy for quiet some time since the last time he was here.

Now that he had decided to face his fears and clear his doubts about the place, he didn't see himself backing down on this strange mission. He didn't want to live the rest of his life in fear, that was the main reason to why he was here. He didn't like living in fear.

Although this act of his could have been considered dangerous,  he still cringed to the thought that the place won't do him any harm.

Considering that the strange feeling thar the ominous tree was emanating disappeared before he could even confirm it. Additionally,  his mom had never for once warned him about the place since the strange encounter.

These were the two reasons that gave him confidence to revisit the area. He was tired living in fear.

With a heavy sigh, Jean raised his gaze and stared at the strange spot through the tree trunks that overlapped in front of him.

'I must do this for my peace of mind.'

Jean thought to himself as the memories of his previous encounter flashed in front of his eyes.

Despite Natalie's reluctance to explain to Jean about the strange spot, the boy still held to a thought that the place had something to do with him. But since he couldn't put a hand on the exact reason to why he felt attracted to the spot since the previous time, he felt the urge of confirming his speculations.

Inhaling deeply,  Jean started advancing towards the spot while vigilantly scanning the surroundings for any potential danger. With every step he made, he felt the feet growing heavy. His heart was thumbing heavily in his chest.

Despite all this, he still remained focused and continued to approach the spot.

When he was a half a dozen meters away from the spot, he noticed something unusual and thus abruptly stopping.

Unlike the previous time he was here, the strange breeze that seemed to originate from the middle of the forest wasn't there.

'Why does it seem like the area has undergone some changes since the last time I was here?'

Jean thought through gritted teeth as he looked at the foreboding spot in front of him.

Suddenly,  he remembered something and quickly lowered his gaze.

'The last time I  was here a strange force pulled me towards the spot the moment I stared at the area.'

Jean could vividly remember every detail of what transpired that day the moment he recalled about the mysterious force that pulled him towards the strange spot. But even those memories weren't enough to stop him from approaching the spot. He wasn't going to back-off, after all, he had his mom for back-up in case of any danger.

Staring at the watch on his wrist,  Jean's expression darkened.

'I now have less than twenty  minutes left before my estimate time is over."

Jean had given his mom an estimate of one hour for him to complete his secret mission. This mission of his was a secret one since he had not informed his mom about it. The reason to why he chose not to reveal this to his mom, was because he felt like the incident could cause a stirr.

The way he wasted the first fourty minutes of his time didn't form in his mind. He was surprised that he had already spent more than fourty minutes in the forest despite him not doing what brought him there.

Having regained his calm although by a mere degree, Jean heaved a sigh and raised his head.  He then stared at the mysterious spot ahead of him for a few minutes. Some moments later, he started advancing towards the spot with a measured gait.

Five minutes later, Jean had arrived at the spot. But the strange thing was that he had retracted his attention from the spot due to the dreadful feeling he had towards the spot. He was now facing down trying so hard to avoid gazing directly at the spot that was now standing a coupe of steps away from the spot he was standing in.

After a short moment of contemplation,  Jean decided to face his fears and look at the mysterious spot in the middle of the forest.

Without a second thought,  Jean slowly raised his head and looked at the mysterious spot ahead of him.

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