Throughout all of his wanderings here, and along with everything that he’d seen. This had him perplexed. Arlo was just standing there frozen, his mind went blank. But not blank enough to forget that his legs and knees were pretty weak from the eventful start to the morning. Slowly sitting down, he crossed his legs and leaned back on the palms of his hands. His eyes began to move back and forth between these two pathways, which he hadn’t come across before. Even though they had both been there for quite some time. Arlo could tell by the size of the vines that hung from either side. They were both quite worn and prominent against their surroundings. Almost as if there was, or had been, frequent traffic on them. His breathing and heart rate were slowly returning to normal. His first thought, was that this decision had already been made when he chose to leave and venture into the forest. His second thought was, what if he didn’t make it this time? Simply stood up, turned around and went back. Just simply forget that he had even seen them. But as much as he wanted to, deep down he knew that he wouldn’t be able to. The subtle but consistent itch of what if, would eventually prove to much for him to resist. The sun started to rise. Coming up from behind the trees, moving across the sky in typical fashion. All the shadows that it cast, were gradually changing direction in unison as it past. But Arlo paid no attention to any of these natural sundials that surrounded him. Over the course of the day, which he spent sitting, standing, and periodically pacing. Thinking of the stories, and the warnings, that he had been told about this place at a younger age. But honestly, he thought it to be make believe. That he would never experience it, yet here it was. Coming to the conclusion that there was no way to avoid choosing. Feeling that whatever he had chased earlier that morning, was trying to lead him in a certain direction. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to see which way it went, or even seen it since. And while confident that he would be seeing it again, there was no way to know exactly when. The sun slowly began giving way to the moon. The sky fading from a light blue to a purplish, grey hue. The stars slowly becoming more and more visible the darker that it grew. Like tiny pin holes being pricked in a black sheet one at a time. So, now with the moon almost in full view, there in the small clearing he remained. Attempting to hurry and make up his mind. Because for some reason, he couldn’t help but feel like he was being rushed. Even though he knew he could take his time, and not decide until one felt at least a tiny bit more right. Although, this distinct feeling of clarity that he desired, did not come quickly. The more he thought, and the longer he waited, made it a lot harder to stay awake. Especially since the silence of the night had set in. Except for the occasional owl and a few crickets that is. He laid back on the ground, placing the back of his head on his hands. No longer trying to deal with this mental exhaustion, he simply got lost in the night sky. Watching all the distant flickering lights and the occasional shooting star go by. With no fire going, and with it being too late and dark to start one. Just closed his eyes, and slowly drifted off to sleep.