The Merging

By Stephanie Huesler

Sam Rite thought he knew the forest like the back of his hand. Until he meets the forest face to face.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stephanie Huesler
• Release date: Oct 17, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223858140

Stephanie Huesler

A melancholic pragmatist with a wide streak of mischief and an active imagination that turns into novels.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Sam Rite lived a simple life, glad for the peace and pace of the small tight-knit community he called home. The romantic part of his heart longed for adventure, but the pragmatic part was louder and far more conducive to his present life, which showed no signs of changing any time soon. The farm he shared with his younger brother was nestled alongside an ancient forest, which stretched unbroken into the mountains and had survived battles, migrations, and long frozen winters. When he took his daily walk in the forest, he was often struck by a sense of ancient wisdom, noble purpose, and splendid pasts, and sometimes he could almost imagine hearing the echoes of long ago still hanging in the leafy trees, driven by the winds of earth and of history. At least that’s what he liked to think; he’d never mentioned those things to anyone, not even to his brother, Drew. Deep thinking was one thing; opening himself up to ridicule was another.

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One fine spring morning before dawn, Sam set out down the dirt road from his farmstead through his fields and out toward the forest for what he called his sunrise jaunt. He knew the woodland better than anyone in the region, better than the back of his own calloused hand. But on this particular day, once inside the forest on a familiar path, a thick fog abruptly enveloped him. He walked on, thinking that the mountain slopes would bring him above the fog level to see the sunrise.

Deeper in, the fog increased until he could barely see the next tree; though he didn’t feel lost, he did feel disoriented, so he decided that the best thing to do was to sit down right where he was and wait until the fog lifted enough to find his way out. A great tree root jutted out of the nearest tree and formed a natural seat, so he sat down and leaned against the tree, quietly listening to the forest.

He heard something approaching slowly, wading, it seemed to him, rather deeply through fallen leaves. Whether man or animal, he couldn’t tell, but their pace and rhythm made him suspect that, whatever it was, it was probably unaware of his presence. He waited and listened until they were nearly in front of him, and then he cleared his throat to alert them.

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Hello? Who’s there? No answer, though whoever or whatever it was had stopped.