Believers,
I am frusterated. There's no other way to say it.
The past few days have seen me scouring the woods outside of Pale Forest, looking for the path and the bridge mentioned in my last post. So far, however, I've been unable to find either. I am left, then, with anger and confusion over the whole issue.
How can it simply have disappeared?
You also have to bear in mind how reluctant I generally am in regards to even venturing into the forest. I have to psyche myself up for each trip, and its getting harder every time. Thankfully I haven't gotten lost again like I did that night, as I've always brought along a compass (the GPS on my phone won't work there for some reason) and only go during the day. Still, after many hours combing the area I know I was in, there's no trace of the path, let alone the bridge. Now I'm beginning to think I should just give up.
That decision isn't entirely born of frustration, though; there is another, more palpable reason to not return. I think the tattooed man might have followed me into the forest this last time. I'm not entirely sure, though, as the image of him was quite fleeting (that alone is strange, since he generally makes himself quite obvious).
I was slowly climbing the side of a rather steep hill when it happened. My eyes were mostly focused on the ground, so I wasn't concentrating on much of anything else. I happened to glance up at one point, though, and I swear he was already at the top of the embankment, staring down at me.
The next few minutes are a sort of blur, but I must have toppled backwards in surprise and hit my head on the ground at the base of the hill. I don't believe, however, that the fall influenced what I saw next. As I came too, my eyes still adjusting, the sight of his awful, leering face suddenly came into view for a split moment. It was extremely close this time, too, as if he were kneeling right beside me! I remember screaming as I sat up, only to find I was alone again.
The question is, of course, was he really there? I can't believe I imagined the entire thing, but the alternative is perhaps even more improbable. If he were following me, how was he able to remain undetected? The forest, as I've mentioned, is ghostly quiet, so I doubtlessly would have heard him at some point. Also, there's the "small" matter of his disappearance. I looked around after the ordeal; there wasn't a trace of anyone to be found. He would have seemingly had to teleport out of the forest to vanish in that fashion. Of course, I'm not too fond of writing it off as my imagination, as this along with the lost bridge begins to build a compelling case for my insanity.
So there you have it. Between my inability to find the bridge and this, admittedly, questionable sighting of my new nemesis, I have decided to table the search for now. Perhaps I'll wake up tomorrow and feel differently, but that remains to be seen. Either way, I still have a lot of questions to answer.
Until next time...
