Dancing Trees

The trees sway gently side to side. The rustle of their leaves creating a brand-new song. Each tree holds a story, one that only they know and that they will never tell. The calming breeze washes over the forest, as it does every day. But today it held something strange. There was no way to describe it, no way you could explain how it felt to be among the trees that day, but something had changed. Something in the air had changed overnight, and now the winds didn’t just accompany the sounds of the forest. They held a song all their own, but not one you wanted to hear. There was warning in the air, a cry for help.

​

He was there that day, walking through the trees. Diligently he stayed to the path, although no one told him he must. He was a rule follower if ever there was one. But he was there that day. The day the winds changed.

​

He knew that forest better than any who had come before. It was his escape and his sanctuary. Here, surrounded by the trees he could think and feel whatever he wanted, and no one could tell him no. So when the winds changed, he felt it. He stopped mid-stride and stood completely still. It must have looked funny, but no one else was there to see. A chill ran down his spine, and he had the sudden urge to run. Escape the place that he knew so well, and never come back. He wouldn’t listen; he couldn’t. If he lost this place, he would lose the peace he felt. So instead he continued on. Unnerved and terrified, he continued. His feet moved him forward, even as his mind wandered to other things, and soon he was at the end of the trail. He had never gone past this point, never felt the need to. To stray from the path was a concept entirely foreign and unfamiliar. But today was different; today the wind had changed. His whole body shook, and he lifted his foot slowly. Something was drawing him in, calling him forward. He couldn’t think anymore, he could barely breathe. The only things that existed in that moment was his foot, moving in slow motion towards the unfamiliar ground. As his foot landed, his breath was restored, and he let out a heavy sigh. Was it from relief, or fear? Whatever the cause, it didn’t matter. Suddenly he was moving again, as if he couldn’t control his own body. His mind was screaming, telling him to stop, think, consider what he was doing. But his legs kept moving, his feet kept hitting the uneven ground, and his breath continued shallow and fast. As he moved, he tried to take in his surroundings, hoping for some familiar sight. But there was nothing. The trees became closer together, the ground was covered in broken branches and dead leaves. This wasn’t the forest he knew.

​

He couldn’t see how far he’d gone, but suddenly he didn’t care. Because there in front of his stood all he would ever need to see again. He had stopped in a clearing. An almost perfect circle of soft green grass surrounded by the tallest trees he had ever seen. The trees towered over him, but they were strange. He had never seen anything like them. The way they moved; it was like a dance. The wind still blew he was sure, although he could no longer feel the gentle breeze. And the trees seemed to take no notice of it either. They moved from side to side, their branches brushing against one another, but it was graceful, beautiful. He watched them, hypnotised by the movement, listening to the rustle of their leaves. It took him a moment, as he stood entranced by the trees, but he soon understood. Their leaves were the instruments. They created a melody. And the breeze, he could now hear, was the accompaniment. The wind did not move the leaves, but rather they moved as separate parts of the same orchestra. Each instrument played to compliment the others. It was truly beautiful.

​

Time stood still as he watched the trees sway to their own song. The graceful dance of nature he felt so unworthy to be a part of. It must have been hours he stared, unmoving, just watching them dance.  At some point his legs couldn’t hold him up anymore, and he fell to the ground. But he never took his eyes off of those trees. The sun was setting when he finally came to his senses; realising that he had wasted the day way watching branches move from side to side. But it didn’t feel like a waste. His mind told him it was silly, to feel such things about a place like this, but in his heart he knew. What he had witnesses that day, what he had spent hours upon hours staring at, was something he would never see again. He had been a part of something divine, truly he had no doubt. Something had taken place in that clearing, with the soft grassy floor and the dancing trees. He went home feeling empty. Lost in a world he no longer understood. Something had changed him.

​

He never went back there. It was as if something held him back. So instead he forgot about it, choosing to live in ignorance rather than face the reality that he could never find such peace in his life again. He still walked the path every day, just as he always had. And when he got to the place where the path gave way to rough ground covered in broken branches and dead leaves, he turned around and walked back the way he came. But every night as he lay in bed, he could not stop him mind from wandering, drifting back to that clearing and watching the trees dance. He would fall asleep praying, wishing with all his heart, that he would once again feel the winds change, though he knew he never would.