The Call
A Florida hiker who discovered lumps on a tree in the woods called Miles McCarthy. Two years have passed since his mother disappeared. Something in him begged him to look into it. The lumps on the tree were a clue that could help him solve the riddle of his mother’s disappearance, he concluded as he got closer to the scene. Miles was aware that he had to seize this opportunity.
The Call
The Dark Trail
He followed the hiker farther into the woodland, his heart dripping in his ears. It had just rained, so even though the wind was frigid, his neck and forehead were drenched with perspiration. His hurried steps squelched wet leaves. He was at last on the verge of the truth after two years of searching. If only he had known what lay beyond that shadowy path.
The Dark Trail
Just A Call Away
Miles McCarthy, who was attempting to find his place in life like many twenty-year-olds, had had a difficult month. He was at last in a position where he could start over after a terrifying two years filled with nightmares and regular trips to the therapist. That is, until that fateful night when he received that call.
Just A Call Away
A Good Start
Miles was a quiet boy from birth. His parents made sure he had everything he needed because he was a single child in a loving home. He enjoyed countless trips to theme parks that most people can only imagine, and he had every book and toy he could possibly want. But Miles had his devoted parents’ unwavering affection, which was more valuable than any trip or financial present. He was unaware that the awful conclusion was approaching.
A Good Start
The Dream
One of Mile’s favorite things in life was living in Florida. He loved the rainy evenings and sunny mornings, the beach and the woods. Being one of the top students in both academics and athletics made the high school he attended ideal. Unaware that everything was going to fall apart, he was living the dream.
The Dream
It Happens
When Miles’ world completely changed, he was eighteen. His mother, who was also his best friend and a well-known botanist, suffered a heart attack. Hoping she would make it, he and his father took her to the emergency room. A few hours later, the physician revealed his findings. The heart attack was exacerbated by Mile’s mother’s high blood pressure due to her diabetes. She would be alright, the doctor assured her. He was unaware that she would eventually vanish as a result of her recovery.
It Happens
A New Side To Her
Miles recalled the sudden change in his life. His mother, who was always a bright spot in his life, changed all of a sudden. She would spend hours upon hours locked up in her room, only leaving to eat, use the restroom, or give him a good-night kiss. Mile had nightmares, but it was just the first half of them.
A New Side To Her
A New Dynamic
His father made every effort to bring her back to her former self. However, it appeared that the doctor’s diagnosis had completely altered her identity. Miles was left to fend for himself despite just being a teenager when his father grew fixated in her predicament. Before long, he began to feel isolated in a crowded house.
A New Dynamic
A Deeper Gash
Miles believed that whatever was happening could be resolved by his family. Although they had always had disagreements, none of them had caused them to become as estranged as today. Suddenly, his father reported his mother missing. He had called that night, Miles recalled, to tell her that no one had seen her in three days. The awful conclusion, however, had not yet arrived.
A Deeper Gash
How Can You Be So Heartless?
The hunt that ensued was fruitless and lasted two years. For Miles, who could not comprehend why someone would hurt a sick mother, each of those months was difficult. According to the authorities, his mother, who loved riding her bike, was last spotted in the nearby forest. They pledged to put their best effort into the matter. However, their assurances will soon be betrayed.
How Can You Be So Heartless
Scouring The Forest
The county authorities were unable to locate Miles’ mother in any meaningful way. Somewhere in the maze-like jungle, her trail had gone cold. They dispatched multiple search parties with aircraft and K9 units. They also welcomed volunteers from the general public to help. However, their search would be fruitless.
Scouring The Forest
Cold As Ice
Nobody could figure out how a middle-aged woman could get lost in a part of the forest she knew, so the authorities dismissed the case as cold. They told Miles and his father to carry on with their lives, saying they would open the case if something happened.
Cold As Ice
Moving On
There was nothing for two years. In an attempt to start again, Miles and his father moved states. They sold their house and went on, despite the pain. To deal with everything, Miles attended multiple therapy sessions. He eventually regained his ability to concentrate on his life. However, he got a call during his sophomore year that would permanently alter his course in life.
Moving On
Meet Tim
The person who called, Tim, a twenty-four-year-old hiker, had been going to the area of the forest where Miles’ mother’s track ended. He could not bear the idea of another adolescent experiencing what he had, having lost his own mother to the same woodland five years prior. He had something in mind for Miles that he would not believe.
Meet Tim
What He Found
At first, the information that Tim provided Miles sounded strange. The hiker came over a tree that initially appeared to be normal while hiking in the forest. He had never traveled this far into the growth and did not imagine he would discover anything like it in a place like this. It was obvious from looking at the tree that it held the secret to locating Mile’s mother.
What He Found
Going Home
When the tree confirmed his theories, Tim gasped as he examined it closely. He hurried home after snapping a few pictures of it, eager to reveal the truth about this case. He went to the local station first to report the situation. However, his conclusions were not well received by the cops. How would a tree species resolve a matter that had been pending for two years, after all?
Going Home
Go North
Tim drove to the former McCarthy home after realizing that he might require more urgent assistance here. He needed to find out where they had moved, but he knew they had. He may get in touch with them with the help of one of their neighbors. He was able to speak with their excellent eighty-year-old neighbor, who informed him that the McCarthys had moved north. She speculated that they were in Pennsylvania or New York, but she was unsure of the precise location. Tim was upset.
Go North
Across State Lines
Tim had assumed that the McCarthys had moved to a different county or town. His hope vanished when he learned that they had relocated across several states. He returned home to make a final assessment. The tree would help put everything to rest, if he was correct. Much time and money would be needed for what came next. Was it all worthwhile?
Across State Lines
Mind Blowing
Tim wished to spare Miles the anguish he had endured. He had believed that the closure he would find inside the forest would offer him a better chance at life. It was astounding what he had discovered in the wilderness. Since the tree in question was not native to the area, it had been planted there by someone. Tim prayed that this individual was Mile’s mother, or at the very least, that they could find her.
Mind Blowing
Let The Search Begin
Tim used social media to find as many Miles McCarthys as he could. Since he did not know Miles personally, he looked for local teenagers in his town who might know him and compared the pictures. He had to wait a little while to follow Miles on Facebook. He thought about it for hours before sending the twenty-year-old a message.
Let The Search Begin
The Message
While waiting for Miles to open the message, Tim paced around. He was aware that exposing old wounds like this was risky. However, he was now too deeply involved and would stop at nothing to spare Miles from what he had to go through. He eagerly awaited Miles’s opening of the message. But there was no response. Frustrated, he made the decision to do something out of the ordinary.
The Message
He’s Tired Of It
Miles answered when Tim pressed the call button on the Messenger tab. The twenty-year-old’s initial action was to chastise Tim for mocking his predicament. He revealed that he received monthly texts from various individuals making fun of his mother. Tim, however, reassured him that he wasn’t. Indeed, he had discovered something that may perhaps revitalize the unsolved case.
He’s Tired Of It
The Feelings Return
Miles’s heart pounded inside of him. His veins flowed with a vengeance of those long-standing, bitter feelings that therapy had helped him combat. There was agonizing desperation that the truth would be revealed, along with anguish, anxiety, powerlessness, and terror. Miles did not think twice when Tim asked if he would be willing to fly down to Florida to seek find the forest with him.
The Feelings Return
Into The Forest
The two toiled for hours in the pouring Florida rain, carrying their camping and trekking equipment along the muddy woodland trail. Never in his life had Miles felt so driven to find something. He kept his vacation to Florida a secret from his father. All he said was that he was going to see some old buddies from high school he had not seen since they moved two years ago. He was about to get into big trouble for his lying.
Into The Forest
Going Deeper
As they made their way up and down the mountainous terrain, Miles and Tim sliced through the dense foliage. Tim was challenged why he was so sure that a tree would take them to the truth by Miles, who described how the police had searched this region for months. Tim merely grinned and replied, “You will see for yourself.” Miles trusted him since he appeared assured and knowledgeable about the region. At the end of the dark route, he had no idea what was waiting for him.
Going Deeper
Into The Valley
Miles and Tim entered the valley of the forest, an apparently limitless green leafy basin, as the route descended a steep slope. Now, dark orange and obscured by fading storm clouds, the sun hung low in the sky. Tim explained to Miles during their walk how the jungle had taken his mother, and he said he knew exactly what Miles was going through. Was his mother’s case ever resolved, though?
Into The Valley
The Whole Truth
It took the authorities five years to close the case, he explained with a sorrowful smile. The body of Tim’s mother was discovered inside the wild vegetation. The fact that Tim’s mother had been missing for five years and the body was only six months old made the anguish considerably worse. According to the authorities’ theory, she must have endured for four and a half years while looking for a route home before dying from starvation, thirst, or the weather. However, like with Mile’s mother, nothing made sense.
The Whole Truth
Peas In A Pod
Miles realized he was not alone after hearing Tim’s story. But the revelation also broke his heart. Tim’s mother failed to return home. Miles knew how awful that was, of all people. He wiped away a tear and walked more quickly. Now he just needed some mental calm. Reaching this enigmatic tree Miles wanted him to see was the only way he could accomplish that.
Peas In A Pod
I Can’t Stop Now
The two men entered the center of the valley after cutting through innumerable trees. Now that the sun was completely down, they had to navigate the area with flashlights.
Tim recommended that they set up camp on higher ground than the surrounding area. Miles could not sleep for 10 minutes, though, because of his nervousness and his urge to find the truth. He could practically taste the truth since he was so close to it.
I Can’t Stop Now
The Clearing
He exclaimed, “We continue,” continuing to go despite Tim’s warning against nighttime hiking. According to him, “the forest is dangerous at nighttime,” but Miles seemed unconcerned. Considering this to be a losing battle, Tim persisted in his journey. Shortly afterward, they arrived in a clearing. He stopped Miles by putting a hand on his shoulder.
The Clearing
The Tree
Tim declared, “We are here,” and he flashed his light in the middle of the clearing. The damp leaves of the tree in question glistened before them. It was gentler, younger than the surrounding growth. Miles suppressed a yell as his stomach began to heat up, and after taking one look, he understood exactly what Tim had meant when he said, “You will see for yourself.” What he saw could only be explained by one thing.
The Tree
Who Planted It?
Miles croaked, “This tree is not indigenous to this place,” and Tim yelled, “Yes!” He moved closer, and pointed around the circular clearing, adding, “Someone planted it, and recently too.” When Miles recalled that his mother was a botanist with an unwavering passion for plants, he wanted to exclaim, “Someone cleared all of this.” But when a stranger emerged from the shadows, his words were ice on his tongue. He muttered, “Mom?”
Who Planted It?
A Needed Reunion
The woman came out of the shadows of the woodland and met Miles’s eyes. Her clothes were a little out of style, and her hair was a tangled disaster in loose braids. However, she had no scratches or grime on her body. In a circumstance where many would have gone crazy long ago, she appeared to be in control. When she called out, “Miles?” Miles’ heart nearly exploded in his chest.
A Needed Reunion
More Questions
He rushed forward and gave the woman a firm embrace. He was shocked to discover that it was his mother. However, another door opens when the previous one shuts. There are only two possible explanations for finding his mother alive. Either she had been genuinely lost and unable to find her way home, or she had fled from home, refusing to interact with Miles and his father.
More Questions
Cross That Bridge When You Get To It
Miles was aware that he had to address the underlying issue. But he thought he could put the questions to bed for the night after being without his mother for two years. Now that he had located his mother, he felt alive. The agony of those months could now burn in hell. He was unaware that everything in his world was going to change drastically.
Cross That Bridge When You Get To It
A Dangerous Place
Miles’ mother beckoned Tim to come closer, saying, “It is dangerous out here,” The woman laughed as Tim swallowed a lump of air and said, “I saw your flashlights and thought you were lost hikers. People rarely come this deep into the forest for a good reason. It is easy to lose your way, fall into some pit, or worse, end up as some animal’s dinner.” She took Miles’ hand and said, “But it is okay now. We are safe.” She then asked if they wanted to visit her home.
A Dangerous Place
Her Home
Mrs. McCarthy led Miles and Tim into the twisting, dark trees. The mud was still on the ground. The entire region was filled with the sound of frog croaks, cricket and bird chirps, and swinging trees. They followed the woman to a different clearing. It had a wood cabin in the center and was well-lit. With a hide rack on one side and a garden on the other, the space appeared sufficiently comfortable. That was not all, though.
Her Home
More Questions Arise
There was a solitary lantern lighting the entire area, a fireplace that Miles’ mother had covered with black plastic paper, and a bench next to the garden that appeared to be for studying. It did not appear to be a place where someone who had become lost in a forest could find refuge. Someone who wanted to remain anonymous lived there. Mrs. McCarthy indicated, “Shoes,” and then gestured for Miles to enter the cabin. His mouth dropped open; he had no idea what he had anticipated finding.
More Questions Arise
A Nice Place
It was cozy and inviting inside. The cottage had a kitchen in the farthest corner, a living room with a whole couch, a fireplace, and a coffee table, a dining area with two seats and a table, and a floor covered with a thick rag. Behind two different doors were two chambers. Miles’ mother remarked, “Welcome home,” as she made her way to the kitchen. All of this should have provided answers to the questions that were running through Miles’ mind, but instead it merely made the already strange scenario more mysterious.
A Nice Place
Home Away From Home
He fought the need to follow her into the kitchen, as he used to do when he was younger, and remarked, “Nice place, mom.” His mother said, “Thank you,” from the other side of the cabin. His mother turned around as he said, “It belonged to a friend of mine. D’you like it?” “I do. It is warm and dry – everything you would want in a cabin, in my humble opinion. A home away from home.”
Home Away From Home