The Story of the Forbidden Woods

Once there was a girl named Natsumi who lived in a warm and pretty house near the woods. She was 22 years old. She lived with two loving parents, although strict but they knew her well enough to know where to set limits. She also lived with a loving younger sister, who was 19 years old.

Her parents told her not to go into the woods, for fear of dangerous people or things. Her sister was very obedient, obeyed every word the parents said. Natsumi, however, had an adventurous heart. She wanted to explore and learn on her own. She wanted to make her own choices, be free, and find love.

She did find love, one summer, with a boy she used to go to school with. They had a lot of restrictions on them, so sometimes, they met in secret. One of their favourite places was Dragonfly Park, near the Forbidden Woods. They saw many dragonflies there, swung on swings, lay on the grass, and spent a lot of time together there.

Time passed. It got harder and harder for them to spend time together. One day, the boy sent a message to Natsumi saying they should meet in the Forbidden Woods. Natsumi wanted to make him happy and meet up with him, so she did. She didn't mind her sister's words, "Don't ever go to the Forbidden Woods!"

When she got into the Forbidden Woods, she found comfort, love, passion, and something she had never found before. Her boyfriend showed her around the woods, and she felt like it was something beautiful, something interesting. For once they shared something no one else shared with them...They prayed that it may only be to further their relationship, but...

As the forbidden fruit had done to Adam and Eve, Natsumi and her boyfriend were cast out. They were found out, cast out, and friendships, families, and communities were ripped apart. You may think that is very dramatic, and exagerated, but that is what happened...

When Natsumi went home, she found her sister crying. She found her father angry, losing sleep, and ashamed of his daughter. She found her mom hysterical...

She had to leave her church, not that she was judged, but it was her parents' demand and her own willful plan of recovery. She had to give up her cell phone, block certain friends, expose many emails/chats to her father, and also delete many emails. She lost her dignity, her reputation, but thank God, not her faith/confidence.

She lost her boyfriend though, and with that, her best friend. They were one and the same.

She wonders how her boyfriend has dealt with it so far... she might never know. All she knows is, it's not fair that one person's happiness ends up causing so much damage. She feels numb, neutral, mostly unmoved. But she cries when her sister cries, hangs down her head when her father is upset, and feels like a naive little girl again when her mom speaks.

One day, this story will get better. But for now, it's chaos, and the Forbidden Woods still welcomes anyone who dares enter in.

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Please note that this story is not written literally, and any reference to people alive or dead may or may not be purely coincidental. In any case, don't assume you know what happened or what the Forbidden woods may stand for. You don't even need to know for sure to learn a lesson from this story .