Forest Whispers

The sun was hidden behind the only cloud in the sky and bathed the forest in an eerie half-light, although it was mid afternoon. Everything was peaceful. The comfortable lowing of cows, the whispering of leaves and a warm breeze filtered through branches.
The silence was broken by the loud crack of a twig as Jan walked down the sunburned path towards the water bank. She jumped, startled at the sudden snap. She thought a branch might've fallen from the battered oak tree which had love hearts and messages scratched into its bark.
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