Lost and Found: A Night in the Forest

“Kash!” Calynn hollered, searching for her friend.

The forest was dense with mature trees, which helped limit the underbrush. The moon was full, but the overcast clouds muted its light, making her search harder.

“Kash!” Calynn shouted again. “Where the hell are you?”

Calynn caught some movement out of the corner of her eye and quickly turned to investigate. She couldn’t tell what was happening at first; she just saw the repeating motion. Calynn cautiously closed the distance to the unknown movement.

“Oh, yeah,” Kash’s voice came from the direction of the movement.

“Kash!” Calynn repeated.

“Oh… hey, baby girl,” Kash stammered. “You look… you… good. You looking… look.”

“How drunk are you?” Calynn asked.

“Just a middle bit.”

“Uh-huh,” Calynn added sarcastically.

Kash stepped from behind a tree to come talk to Calynn. She couldn’t help but notice he was stark naked.

“Where are your clothes?” Calynn asked abruptly.

“Huh?”

“Your clothes?” Calynn repeated. “Where… are… your… clothes?”

Kash looked down at his naked body and was genuinely surprised to find himself naked.

“Heeeeyy,” Kash exclaimed. “Where are my clothes?”

“That’s what I want to know.”

“Did you take ’em?”

“No, Kash, I did not take your clothes.”

“No… she’s not… yeah, you are,” Kash mumbled.

He wasn’t talking to her, so Calynn was unsure of what he was doing.

“Who are you talking to, Kash?” Calynn asked as she approached.

“These lovely ladies,” Kash replied, motioning around to… nobody.

“Kash… those are trees, not ladies.”

“Huh?