 |
| Cluster of Live Oak Trees, Daniel Island, SC © Doug Hickok A word of caution: do not read this story, it may cause nightmares. (Ok, you can read it if you dare, but I warned you) This eerie cluster of live oaks grows hauntingly at the edge of the Wando River, which you can not see at the moment for it is shrouded in mysterious mists. Do not linger here for long. A feeling of disquiet may creep upon you in this pale unpleasant place. Strange and unearthly sounds have been known to echo ominously from the dire woodlands here, their cause unspeakable, unthinkable, unimaginable. Wraithlike shapes fade in and out of the foreboding fog. They are fleeting movements glimpsed from the corner of the eye, raising the hair on one's skin. Fear grips the heart. One cannot breathe. One cannot reason. But, nevertheless, the fearless photographer, his pulse racing, his camera shaking in hand, endures the shuddersome sounds and sinister sights. He tiptoes closer. He finds the angle he seeks. He snaps the shutter, and as quickly as his two feet can carry him, he runs away. Later, back in the car, he takes comfort in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. But wait... what is that... dreadful... sound? |