9. Left

It was a very beautiful day; the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and there was just a hint of a breeze. William could certainly enjoy a nice day, though at the moment he would much rather be in his safe place. But there was nothing for it but to keep on going if he wanted to get back home.
Eventually he came to a fork in the road. Remembering what the tree had said, he veered to the left. It wasn't long before he came to another fork, and again he went left. A few minutes later he came to a T intersection, and once again turned to the left. It felt as if he had gone in a complete circle, yet he had not come across any familiar ground. At the next fork, he took out his pocket knife and carved an arrow in a nearby tree to show that he had been here, just in case he really was going in circles.
As it was, about every fifty feet or so the path forked or branched or turned, but William stayed true, going left every time. But then at one intersection he heard something coming from the path to the right. He swore that he heard the sound of voices harmonizing a do-wap rhythm. He stopped for a minute to listen;
"We skipped the light fandango;
"Did cartwheels 'cross the floor.
"I was feeling kinda seasick;
"But the crowd called out for more."
"Huh," William wondered aloud, "why would anyone be singing A Lighter Shade of Pale in the middle of a forest?"
"The room was humming louder;
As the ceiling flew away.
"When we called out for another drink,
"The waiter brought a tray."
William argued with himself. Part of him knew that he was supposed to keep to the left. But another part of him really wanted to follow the haunting music coming from the other way.
In the end, he compromised with himself. Making a mark on a tree so that he would know which direction he was supposed to go, he turned right, telling himself that he would just go a few yards to see if he could find the source of the music before turning around and going back the way he should have gone.