“We could get arrested for this,” I say to myself, reaching my leg up to cross over the ‘Do Not Enter’ sign, making the camping equipment strapped onto my back shift, pulling me to the damp, leaf-covered ground. Grabbing onto a nearby branch, I pull myself up and onto my feet. “This map makes no sense,” I say, rubbing my free hand over my face. The only thing keeping me from becoming lost are the blue ribbons I tie to every few trees. Holes cover the ground, there is little to no dirt in sight, just layers and layers of tree roots covered in old leaves.
I continue walking through the dense woods until I hit a patch of flat-enough land to pitch my tent on. The only downside to this otherwise perfect camping spot was the little cave that seemed to drop endlessly into the earth. Peering inside, I pick up a largish rock and drop it into the dark abyss, putting my ear into the hole to listen for a ‘crack’. It never comes. A little worried, I put a few branches over the opening to ensure my own safety. Though, even when it’s covered, an eerie feeling still seeps out. You’ll be fine. The forest is normal, you’re only afraid of the nickname. “Aokigahara,” I whisper, rubbing my hands together to warm them up. “The Sea of Trees. That’s all it is.” But, still, I can’t shake the uncomfortable feeling out of my mind, knowing how many poor souls have lost their lives here.
After setting up my tent and sleeping bag, I decide to explore the area a little. I grab the compass I bought online and put an old lighter in my pocket and start walking south, hoping to find a little pond or some body of water as a source of food. I start to notice all the strange things of the forest. Abandoned campsites, umbrellas littered all over- some new and other rather old. Every once in awhile I follow another ribbon, hoping to save a life, but arriving to late as the area has always been abandoned with all belongings left behind. Each site I visit only causes my eerie feeling to grow, especially when I think about the fact that every campsite that get left here, means the person who had once stayed there is no longer living. I stop in my tracks when I see a large wooden sign reading ‘Beware the Suicide Forest.’. I ignore the sign, already knowing the stories, and continue to venture deeper into the forest.
A chill wisps past me as I pass between two dead fir trees. ‘What are you doing here’ a soft voice says into my ear. I spin around only to find nothing but foliage. I look in every direction, trying to find the source of the voice, but to no avail. I am alone. “Probably just the wind,” I say to myself. It has to be the wind.
I decide it’s time to head back to my tent, noticing that nighttime is approaching. I reach for my compass and hold it in the light, but all the needle does is spin in circles. Guess I’ll just go this way. I walk straight, noticing little familiar details that confirm I’m going the correct way. A small, fallen tree covered entirely in moss, a little, rusted teapot with only a miniscule amount of silver still visible, and a bright red rope hanging from the branch of a rather large tree.The rope was new- not tattered at all, except for the  frayed end where it had been cut. ‘I WANT YOU TO LEAVE’ something piercingly shouts into my ear, terrifying every inch of me and stopping my heart- an ominous humming noise now encases the entire forest, though no animal seems to stir. I sprint in the direction of my campsite as fast as my legs can carry me, beads of sweat rolling down my face. I can feel my body tingling with horror and tears welling up in my eyes. I reach my camp, but there is nothing there. No tent, no bags, no sign that anything was ever there. Nothing except the drag marks leading to the cave opening that I had previously covered with branches that are no longer in place. Without action, my mind goes blank. As if being controlled, my feets walk into the cave. My body goes limp as I fall and fall and fall. Smack. I hit the ground. I open my eyes only to discover a hundred more staring in my direction, unmoving and glowing in the pitch black atmosphere.
This all seemed like a good idea, yesterday. Go to Aokigahara, explore the forest and the legend surrounding the vast sea of trees, stay a few nights and hope my rain-proof tent holds up. However, I now realize that I should have thought this plan through a little more.
The eyes (which I assume to have beings attached to them) stay still, but I know they live. Their pupils growing and shrinking as they pierced my pale skin. The only noise that could be heard was the heavy pounding of my fear-filled heart and the occasional droplet of water from the ceiling.. I need to get out of here. Though my insides now felt like they wanted to be outside at the thought, I know I  have to make a move at some point.
Slowly, as if my skin is made of glass, I lift my right arm and slide my elbow behind me, propping myself up to see the area and my… surroundings more clearly. Small and sharp rocks dug into my skin, but I felt no pain. The glowing irises that flicker toward me with every move I make are enough of a distraction to dull every sense I have other than pure horror. What, now? I reach into my pocket, reluctantly, and pull out a small, metal lighter. The switch feels as if it’s 500 lbs as I press down, waiting in anticipation for th- click. The entire area becomes illuminated by the small and otherwise insignificant flame. Screeches bounce off of the walls as the creatures scatter in an attempt to remove themselves from the presence of light.
I get a quick glimpse, and what I saw made my heart drop and my body go numb. They look.. Human, almost- but nothing like a person you’d see walking around. Their skin is a dull pinkish grey and scraggly hairs lay atop their heads and bodies, though their bodies were mostly bald. Their teeth were rotten and yellowed, and their nails were sharpened to a point with dirt caked under. Their glowing irises now a piercing white. They’re hunched over in a way that you could see their whole smile sticking through the skin- as if they all have a bad case of scoliosis. How did they get that way? Where did they come from? They crawled into smaller sub-caves that lined the walls. The cave was a straight drop in nearly a perfect circle. There’s no way out. At least I can keep those… things at bay. I stand up and walk over to the rocky wall and attempt to climb it. When that fails, I try yelling for help until my lungs throb, but to no avail. The flame of my lighter begins to flicker and the metal hot- in one terrifying moment the flame disappears. Not now, not now- please, god, not now! Click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click. It’s gone. The eyes return. Instead of a few hundred, I now see before me no less than one thousand glowing eyes out of the darkness moving in my direction.