purlieu

purlieu

i am lost. things are familiar and yet unknown. the sky is dark above the trees. leaves rustle above my head. as i reach the edge of the wood, i enter a clearing. the trees extend on either side of me, but all is clear in front. i believe i see a figure far off in the distance. i head towards the edge of the clearing. the sky is becoming darker the by the minute. the temperature is dropping little by little. rain is imminent. as i walk on, the trees on my left thin out, until only the ones on the right remain. soon, they begin to disperse, until i am in an open field. i look for the figure i believed i saw; surely there'd be no one else around on a day like this (this land is rarely occupied on the warmest of days). i approach a tree as the sky begins to brighten a little. there are a number of small bushes and hedges around this part of the field. i have been walking for some time and so decide to take a rest. i sit under the tree and take in my surroundings. to my right is a small spinny on the side of a hill. on the top of the hill sits a tall building, which is most likely a church. to my left is another, slightly larger group of trees. after a few minutes, i notice the sky is darkening once more, and decide to head towards the hill. it is a longer walk than i originally estimated, and once i reach the foot of it, rain is beginning to fall; only lightly at first, but once i am under the cover of trees, the rain has become quite heavy. the bare, spindly trees give me very little cover, but i find the rain somewhat comforting. a quick look to my right reveals something moving atop the hill. i edge slowly up the slope, hoping to catch up with what i've seen. once i reach the top i find there is nothing moving in sight. a slight shiver runs through my body, possibly from the cold. maybe the figure has gone into the church which shares the summit. i push a wooden gate aside and enter the churchyard, the rain providing a soundtrack to keep me from a possibly eerie silence. an inspection of the doors finds them to be locked. something rustles to my side. i move quickly to look behind the church, which i find to be overgrown with nettles and long grass. the rustling continues, somewhere out of sight. another shiver occupies my spine before a black bird flies out of a hedge in front of me. the bird - a rook or crow - glides over my head. i turn to watch it depart, and it heads down the opposite side of the hill, towards a dead tree. i head in the same direction, now soaked from the rain. i pause momentarily under a considerably tall tree to get my bearings. it is hard to see which part of the wood i exited, and impossible to tell where i entered. large, white-cold water droplets drip from the tree's branches and land on me, prompting me to move on swiftly. i feel myself almost slip several times on the way down the hill, as the ground is now muddy from the pouring rain. at the bottom stands a lone tree. in the top of the tree sits a bird. it is most likely the same bird which i encountered in the church yard. i approach a gap in the hedge, and enter a very muddy field. it takes me a few minutes to reach the other side, but when i do, i am able to see lights on the horizon. i head towards the first signs of civilisation i have seen in days.