You only have to come once, not twice, in order for it to be the rest of your life. 

The cold December air nipped at Hailey and Jonah’s face, and their cheeks were flushed with a light shade of pink. The snow glistened as if thousands of diamonds had been spilled across the forest floor. It was the first day of vacation in the intriguing town of Aarau, belonging to the unique and outstandingly beautiful country of Switzerland. Hailey and Jonah were intent on exploring every square inch of the vast mountain range. Even though their mother and father indeed told them not to trail too far away from the grand lodge they would be staying at for the next two weeks during Christmas break vacation.

  Jonah and Hailey looked up with big eyes observing the Giant Sequoia’s that loomed hundreds of feet overhead. Their eyes chased the path of forest animals scampering across the frozen ground coated with a thick layer of snow. Hailey’s long strands of golden hair kept her face warm, and her vividly green eyes took in the wonderfulness of it all. It was beautiful and in-captivating. Jonah coughed and cleared his throat, “Hey Hailey, do you hear that sound off in the distance?” 

“No, I don’t, but if there is a sound lets go and see what it is!” She responded with a tone of eagerness in her voice. Jonah brushed his auburn hair out of his face and took big steps in order to catch up with Hailey since he was in the eighth grade and roughly 4’12. Hailey was getting warmed up from this long trek and decided to unzip her fluffy sage green coat. They walked listening to the crunch of the snow as they stomped through the forest with their snow boots on, and Hailey soon heard the sound of what seemed to be a trickling of water. They treaded on and on, their calves aching from fatigue.

The sound grew louder and louder and roared so loud you would think your standing right next to Niagara Falls. As they approached a heavily leaved canopy of brightly colored green bushes covering the source of the sound, Hailey stopped right in her tracks. “Jonah,” She shouted so that her voice could be heard over the gushing of the water, “maybe we should go back.” 

“Why in the world would we do that, we’ve been walking for at least an hour!” Jonah exclaimed with a tad bit of irritation in his voice. 

“Because I read in a story once about Switzerland, that if you walk far enough into The Alps past hundreds of trees and during the month of December that you could be deported into a different world.” Hailey replied trying to sound serious about the matter.

“That has to be the stupidest thing I have ever heard, and for crying out loud you read it in a story!” Jonah remarked. Before you could blink Jonah had already planted one foot firmly into the frosty ground, grabbed Hailey’s hand and pulled her with him through the thick shrubs. 

Hailey wasn’t concerned about being transported to a different world; she was just hungry and wanted to go back to the lodge, and tried to trick Jonah with her story which obviously didn’t work. All she expected was that they would slide across the crunchy snow like penguins. As Hailey felt her face scrape lightly against the soft leaves, she opened her eyes and her heart felt as heavy as a stack of bricks. There weren’t mounds of snow, tall green thriving trees, and forest creatures. It was as if Jonah and Hailey had just jumped of the Golden Gate Bridge and were plummeting thousands of feet through the air. They were screaming at the top of their lungs and it wouldn’t be of surprise if the whole village had heard screams coming from the majestic mountains surrounding the community. It was like falling through a dark hole, an unbelievably dark hole. There was nothing but darkness as their arms flailed trying to grab a hold of something and stop themselves from the horrific fall. 

Hailey opened her eyes, as her head pounded. She looked around for Jonah, and soon realized the odd change of scenery. Bright fully leaved bushes were scattered among the ground. Snow was no longer draped across the forest floor but clumps of healthy grass. Hailey suddenly remembered the story she had rambled falsely on about. So it’s true, she thought, it’s really true. She saw a flash of movement and soon realized Jonah had awaken and was already on the move, exploring. Hailey called Jonah’s name. “Jonah, come back!” She shouted as he ran to a small creek. The sound of an instrument interrupted her thoughts. It was a harp she swore it was. “Hailey, come here!” Jonah yelled at her. As Hailey followed the sound of his foot prints she noticed that the trees had what seemed to be faces. Sad, lonely, human like faces. She heard a soft whisper in her ear, “You only have to come once, not twice, and it will be the rest of your life.” 

Her mind started racing with thoughts and questions. She thought about what her parents would be thinking, the strange engravings in the trees, the whisper in the wind, and how they would get back to the lodge. Her heart started racing, faster and faster. She approached were her brother was standing, and before she could say anything she saw a small creek, and on the bank was a grand golden harp playing beautiful harmonious notes. The harp was telling her and Jonah to jump into the small creek and swim in the cool water. Hailey knew it was a trick but the urge was to strong. With one leap she and Jonah jumped and as they fell through the air, they could fell there soul being sucked up and incorporated into the forest.