Forest Peace
Created | Updated Dec 15, 2004
It was morning in the forest. The air was icy but refreshing, rejuvenating. The strong morning sun glinted among the tall trees, casting its rays upon the unsuspecting forest floor. It willed the forest awake, alerting the sleeping animals to a new day of promise. Some would stock up on food for the fast coming winter. For some this would be the last day of their lives, for others the first.
There was a chaos of running animals, singing birds, rustling trees but in all this there was a perfect order, a peace.
This went on until midday. The sun shone scorching from above. The peaceful scurrying and co-existence carried on unmolested.
CRASH!
Every form of life stopped and froze in place listening cautiously for a repeat of the sound that had disturbed their peace. And come it did.
CRASH!
The peace was destroyed. The animals all turned and ran from the disturbance, their curiosity overridden by their instincts.
A girl crashed through a patch of brambles, the thorns ripping her dress and face. She was running blind, oblivious to the thin razor-like cuts on her face or to the obstacles in her way. She had started off running away from her life and she had succeeded this when she reached the forbidden forest and plunged in. Now however she ran desperately trying to escape herself.
Tears streamed down her face, running onto her slender neck and finally were absorbed by the edge of her flowing blue dress. She wiped angrily at her face smearing the dirt on her hands on her face. As her hysteria subsided the tears stopped and slowly so did her running. It became a slow weary trod. She had been running all day, fueled by her anger and misery, but that too was going and with it her energy.
Her knees gave away and she dropped to the floor and with a groan escaping from her rosy lips she gave into unconsciousness. The unconsciousness where she knew she would have at least partial peace. Where she knew she would encounter thoughts and memories of childhood long, long ago. Memories so sweet they are bitter.
Night fell and so did the rain, soaking her dress and washing her dirty tear-stained face clean. Though the rain was hard and cold, it did not disturb her plagued sleep.
In the morning the sun awoke her. She arose stiffly, her muscles sore and exhausted.
The forbidden forest. A place she had never ventured even near to. The stories alone were enough to make her skin crawl. But now that she was actually there, it seemed to be beautiful and tranquil. The birds kept singing a haunting, enchanting song. At least until she lost her footing and snapped a branch. The noise of it breaking echoed through the forest, silencing the birds in mid-song. She then heard a noise she hadn’t heard been able to distinguish from the song of the birds. It was a distant roaring sound, but it did not end. It just kept on going, one single unending roar. This was a sound made by no animal. The stories she had heard of the forest flashed through her head again, inspiring terror.
Her curiosity won over her impulse to run. She made her way slowly towards the noise, her imagination envisioning countless fears and horrors connected to the almighty roar which she now was getting closer to and as she did it got louder and louder.
The noise, now almost deafening, was very near she thought as she pushed through the wall of vegetation in front of her. It was getting harder and harder to move forward. She strained against the matted vegetation, pushing forward with what was left of her strength. It parted and she fell forward expecting to fall onto the matted floor but instead she found herself on bare rock out in the open.
She struggled to her feet, her dress now in shreds and a trickle of blood coming from her head. This she did not notice however because she was staring at the incredible sight before her.
Before her there was a huge cliff. This she had seen before. What she was looking at, what she had never seen before was water flowing off the top of the cliff and cascading beautifully down it, crashing into the water and rock below. All of this producing the deafening roaring sound. The spray shot up into the sky, reflecting the light making it seem to shimmer and move with colour.
The sheer size and beauty of it made her and her problems small and they faded in to insignificance. She examined it more closely and found that she had to sit down and cry. Hot ears rolled down her face and she sobbed loudly, shaking.
Her problems, her pain, her grief and her anger all came out with her tears and when she was done she felt cleansed, more at ease with herself.
To wash her dirty, tear-stained face and her sweaty dress and body, she plunged into the cooling, refreshing, healing waters. Her muscles eased and the last vestiges of pain and grief flowed out of her and into the water.
When she was done she took off her dress and hung it on a branch to dry. She lay out on the bare rock, allowing the sun to dry her and her dress.
When dry and clothed again she was at peace. So she made her way away from the awesome sight that had healed her and made her way back into the forest the way she had come. Only this time at peace.
The animals again ran from the noise of the approaching girl. She walked calmly and confidently across the clearing and walked slowly away.
Once they had made sure she was gone, the animals returned to their places.
Some would stock up for the fast coming winter. For some this would be the last day of their lives, for others the first.
There was a chaos of running animals, singing birds, rustling trees but in all this there was a perfect order, a peace.
To gain true peace a disturbance must be made.
There was a chaos of running animals, singing birds, rustling trees but in all this there was a perfect order, a peace.
This went on until midday. The sun shone scorching from above. The peaceful scurrying and co-existence carried on unmolested.
CRASH!
Every form of life stopped and froze in place listening cautiously for a repeat of the sound that had disturbed their peace. And come it did.
CRASH!
The peace was destroyed. The animals all turned and ran from the disturbance, their curiosity overridden by their instincts.
A girl crashed through a patch of brambles, the thorns ripping her dress and face. She was running blind, oblivious to the thin razor-like cuts on her face or to the obstacles in her way. She had started off running away from her life and she had succeeded this when she reached the forbidden forest and plunged in. Now however she ran desperately trying to escape herself.
Tears streamed down her face, running onto her slender neck and finally were absorbed by the edge of her flowing blue dress. She wiped angrily at her face smearing the dirt on her hands on her face. As her hysteria subsided the tears stopped and slowly so did her running. It became a slow weary trod. She had been running all day, fueled by her anger and misery, but that too was going and with it her energy.
Her knees gave away and she dropped to the floor and with a groan escaping from her rosy lips she gave into unconsciousness. The unconsciousness where she knew she would have at least partial peace. Where she knew she would encounter thoughts and memories of childhood long, long ago. Memories so sweet they are bitter.
Night fell and so did the rain, soaking her dress and washing her dirty tear-stained face clean. Though the rain was hard and cold, it did not disturb her plagued sleep.
In the morning the sun awoke her. She arose stiffly, her muscles sore and exhausted.
The forbidden forest. A place she had never ventured even near to. The stories alone were enough to make her skin crawl. But now that she was actually there, it seemed to be beautiful and tranquil. The birds kept singing a haunting, enchanting song. At least until she lost her footing and snapped a branch. The noise of it breaking echoed through the forest, silencing the birds in mid-song. She then heard a noise she hadn’t heard been able to distinguish from the song of the birds. It was a distant roaring sound, but it did not end. It just kept on going, one single unending roar. This was a sound made by no animal. The stories she had heard of the forest flashed through her head again, inspiring terror.
Her curiosity won over her impulse to run. She made her way slowly towards the noise, her imagination envisioning countless fears and horrors connected to the almighty roar which she now was getting closer to and as she did it got louder and louder.
The noise, now almost deafening, was very near she thought as she pushed through the wall of vegetation in front of her. It was getting harder and harder to move forward. She strained against the matted vegetation, pushing forward with what was left of her strength. It parted and she fell forward expecting to fall onto the matted floor but instead she found herself on bare rock out in the open.
She struggled to her feet, her dress now in shreds and a trickle of blood coming from her head. This she did not notice however because she was staring at the incredible sight before her.
Before her there was a huge cliff. This she had seen before. What she was looking at, what she had never seen before was water flowing off the top of the cliff and cascading beautifully down it, crashing into the water and rock below. All of this producing the deafening roaring sound. The spray shot up into the sky, reflecting the light making it seem to shimmer and move with colour.
The sheer size and beauty of it made her and her problems small and they faded in to insignificance. She examined it more closely and found that she had to sit down and cry. Hot ears rolled down her face and she sobbed loudly, shaking.
Her problems, her pain, her grief and her anger all came out with her tears and when she was done she felt cleansed, more at ease with herself.
To wash her dirty, tear-stained face and her sweaty dress and body, she plunged into the cooling, refreshing, healing waters. Her muscles eased and the last vestiges of pain and grief flowed out of her and into the water.
When she was done she took off her dress and hung it on a branch to dry. She lay out on the bare rock, allowing the sun to dry her and her dress.
When dry and clothed again she was at peace. So she made her way away from the awesome sight that had healed her and made her way back into the forest the way she had come. Only this time at peace.
The animals again ran from the noise of the approaching girl. She walked calmly and confidently across the clearing and walked slowly away.
Once they had made sure she was gone, the animals returned to their places.
Some would stock up for the fast coming winter. For some this would be the last day of their lives, for others the first.
There was a chaos of running animals, singing birds, rustling trees but in all this there was a perfect order, a peace.
To gain true peace a disturbance must be made.
