Written by: Jamie
In the heat of mid-day, a great red hawk screeches as it soars in circles nearby, keeping a bird’s eye view on both the strange human approaching and it’s prey. Just twenty yards to the left lies a forest full of bright colors, sounds, creatures and knowledge. The summer breeze calls out to the ancestors of the forest, the trees, to sing their song. While other lifeforms continue on with their daily routine.
All is the same as the day before. The river, with it’s twists and turns flowing heavily, impregnated with fish. The squirrels chatting amongst themselves as they fight with the birds for the best nut. The forest is a womb to the trees singing their ancestry song and the fox sneaking tree to tree, scaring it’s smaller companions as it ventures through the forest.
All seems to be the same although, today something is different. There is an alien scent flowing through the air. It is a human humming an unparticular tune as she strides through the twisted path covered in vines and roots along the forest floor. She takes precautions for the forest is not her home. She is merely a visitor who did not ask before she came barging in.
The forest belongs to the very nature around her. As she ventures deeper into the forest she sees that everything around her is alive, and they have their own characteristics. The river roaring angrily to her right, arguing with the rocks about which way the current should go. The trees singing to one another and telling tales of all the years they have seen. The vegetation, growing rapidly, traps water and provides nutrition to the entire forest.
She breathes in the scent of fresh air, distant flowers and the earth. The forest is not her home although the forest is where she belongs. Where she feels protected, where she stops conflicts, fights monsters and learns stories of the past. She makes friends with the birds and plays hide and seek with the fox. In the forest, time stops, and everything mankind has come to know is flipped upside down.
The forest is always welcoming of things both known and unknown. It longs for us to uncover it’s secrets and share in its beauty. Although the forest will not always be there, sixty five kilometers away is a growing city. Filled with unnatural sounds, smells, gases and more. How long until the horrors of the city reach the forest? It’s beauty and knowledge violently torn away.
The forest is our last shred of light when it comes to staying in touch with our inner selves. We must protect this natural beauty and take the time to experience it’s wonders. Because like the hawk and the fox, we will miss such a place when it is gone.
Low-Key Writing 