Bobby’s Nightmare in the Woods
By Ayah Rashid
One summer day Bobby and his parents were going camping in the woods. Bobby was 9 years old and he was a boy who loved exploring. He wanted to grow up to be an explorer. Everything that he ever thought about had to do something with exploring or discovering. This was Bobby’s first camping trip, and he couldn’t bear waiting any longer.
“Mom, when we get there, can I explore the woods?” asked Bobby, looking out the car window with curiosity.
“I don’t think so,” said mom while looking at a map. She was reading it upside down. Bobby peeked over his mother’s shoulder and groaned. Seriously. Grown-ups were supposed to be the smart ones these days!
“You might get lost – and that will probably be a big problem.” said dad while driving.
“Why can’t you both come with me?” whined Bobby.
“We’re not supposed to leave the camp. Bobby, promise me right now that you won’t wander off into the woods?” said mom, turning around and looking straight into Bobby’s eyes.
“I promise! But can’t I just go a little…” began Bobby.
“NO!” said mom and dad at once.
“It’s no fun when you’re camping in a place you know nothing about! There are so many unexplored places, so many treasures, and just imagine the fun!” he complained. Usually, when Bobby whined about something too much, his parents let him do whatever he wanted. However, this was not the case. They were serious this time.
Bobby realized his parents weren’t going to let him go, so he just stared out the window and wondered at everything outside. Soon enough, they reached the woods. There was a ranger there at the entrance to greet them. After introducing themselves, the man led them to a nice, large, and peaceful camp site close to a large lake. The sight of the lake at sunset was breathtaking.
“My, I couldn’t imagine camping at such a wonderful place! Bobby, don’t even think about going in the lake now, it’s too cold out. Instead, why don’t you help us set up camp?” suggested mom.
It was very cold to Bobby as well, so he pitched in and helped a bit here and there.
After the tent was set up, mom began to prepare dinner.
“Mom, where’d dad go?” asked Bobby, as he picked up some leaves and sniffed them.
They smelled so nature-y, observed Bobby pleasantly.
“He went to collect firewood,” was the explanation.
“How come he gets to explore?”
“Daddy isn’t exploring, he’s collecting firewood. There’s a difference,” Mom pointed out.
“What if he gets lost?” worried Bobby. He nibbled a bit at his nails. He always did that when he was nervous.
“He won’t because he hasn’t gone very far. He’ll easily find his way back safely. And stop munching on your fingers. That isn’t dinner Bobby.”
With that Bobby sat on a stump and stared into the dense woods. His mother thought he was just observing the shrubbery and the beautiful view. But really, Bobby was hatching a plan.
I just wish I could explore just a tiny bit… there’s so much to see! I wonder… I have an idea! Tonight, I’ll sneak out of the tent, and just go explore a little. I won’t go far; I’ll stay close to camp. I just have to try to stay awake he thought cunningly. Tonight would be the best night ever. His parents would never know he was missing!
Staying awake that night was no problem for Bobby. After having some hot dogs and toasted marshmallows, it was time to go to bed. Bobby had to share a big tent with his parents. He was so excited that he couldn’t sleep. When he was sure his parents were snoring soundly, he slowly got up, and unzipped the door of the tent as quietly as he could.
He snuck out of the tent, and in his haste to get a move on, forgot to zip the flap back closed! He slowly walked toward the woods, and the full moon’s light helped him see his creaking surroundings. He walked into the woods and didn’t turn back. Soon the trees above began to block the moonlight, and it had become rather hard to see where one was going. By then Bobby was beginning to have doubts and thought it would be good to turn back. Exploring the woods at night wasn’t as fun as he’d expected it to be.
As Bobby was walking back, he caught something glowing between some bushes. It looked like a pair of eyes. Bobby stood, frozen with terror. It looked so scary. The eyes stared at him, and suddenly disappeared. Bobby soon recovered from his shock and turned to walk back to camp, but didn’t know which way camp was. The woods all looked the same no matter where he turned. He chose one way and began walking. Some clouds started blocking the moon’s glow, and soon it was pitch black in the forest.
Bobby sat down, very worried. What if he couldn’t find his way back?
Then he heard an owl hooting from the tree he was leaning on. It didn’t scare him much. Then he saw another pair of eyes staring at him from some bushes, and another, and then another. The almond-shaped eyeballs just popped up from every direction. Bobby just sat still, hoping that whatever those animals were would just go away. But they didn’t. They continued to stare at him.
Bobby inched to a standing position and crawled to a tree. His heart pounded so hard, he began to think the creatures heard it through his tiny chest. He was terrified. What if he was stuck out here forever? He wished he had listened to his mom. He wished that he had kept his promise. But it was too late. Mommy and Daddy were sleeping, and there was no one out there to help him.
After what seemed like ages of standing up in a stick position, the staring eyes one by one disappeared. Bobby couldn’t sit down. He was afraid that if he did, he’d accidentally sit on something that didn’t want to be mashed by his behind. He wanted to wait there until morning, and then try to find his way back to camp. After some time, he fell asleep.
Those staring eyes were haunting his dreams. Then, in his dream, he heard someone calling him. But there was no one in sight. It was absolutely black with nothing but eyes surrounding him. The voice called him over and over. It got louder and louder. Bobby knew this was the end of him. He knew it was all over. Then he woke up with a start and still heard someone calling his name.
He jumped to his feet and looked all around. Through the darkness of the night he saw a big light. As it got closer, Bobby heard some familiar voices. It was mom and dad! Bobby ran as fast as he could to his parents. He ripped through the foliage and whipped away knats. Bobby rushed into the beam of the lantern and jumped into the arms of his mother and father. They hugged and kissed him in relief.
“What were you thinking son?” asked Dad.
“I’m so sorry! I’ll never do it again. I promise! I…” he panted.
“Why did you do it in the first place?” asked Mom.
“I wanted to explore. I couldn’t help it! But how did you find me?”
“Well, I woke up with some mosquito bites and saw the tent door open. Then when I saw you weren’t in bed, I woke up mommy and we started searching for you,” explained Dad.
“Can we go back to the camp now? I’m tired.”
“That sounds like a pretty good idea to me,” agreed Mom.
Then Bobby and his parents went back to camp, and after that Bobby never went exploring without one of his parents. He learned his lesson pretty well. His parents never heard him mention the word ‘explore’ after that day. He never did want to explore anymore.
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