Home

The trees whispered among themselves as my feet crunched on the dry dirt path. I hadn't been on this trail since I was young, but it still looked the same. The trees still branched overhead creating shade, the sun light still peeked through the leaves, and the birds still sang their songs that reverberated off of the trees below. The air even smelled the same, like honeysuckle and fresh dirt. I had dreamed of this place for most of my adult life, mostly during times of hardship, and being back felt so surreal. I knew that I should remain in the present however, instead of dwelling on the past. I had learned that much through all of my years of trial and error. That was the most valuable lesson I had learned, and it was the hardest to remember when my mind wandered off into the memories of yesteryear.
I was coming up on my favorite tree now, the one whos trunk curved into a chair. I had sat in that tree many times as  a child, watching the birds take flight and attend their young, or the squirrels searching for nuts and chasing each other through the trees. I remember thinking that if I sat still enough, the Unicorn that I was sure lived in these woods would show herself, and maybe even stand next to me so that I might reach out and touch her soft mane. She never did show herself, but even as an adult it was easy for me to imagine her again. The woods still held their magical essence. I arrived at the tree and a smile etched itself onto my face. This had been my favorite hiding spot when I first moved here. I didn't know the people we were living with and this was the only place I could find a moment of peace. I reached out to touch the tree, a silent hello, then turned and sat down. I leaned my back up against the trunk and resumed where I left off the day we moved away from this place. I had never wanted to leave these woods. They welcomed me back as an old friend, aware that I was still family. My oldest and wisest friends sang me a lullaby, one that I had remembered for years, and I drifted off to sleep. My dreams had always been vivid, shapes always formed within the colors and images remained sharp, but today my dream was only splotches of green and yellow, swimming in a streams of blue, just like a watercolor stream on canvas. I couldn't make out any shapes, none of it was familiar aside from the colors themselves. I did not know this dream, yet it felt safe. I was cozy. The whisper of the trees above me imposed on my dream, I new where I was and that I should be there and that all was well. For the first time in a long time I knew things were fine, and that when I opened my eyes I would smile and my heart would beat with love. I held on to the dream for just a moment longer before opening my eyes to see the trees smiling down at me, and I breathed out a sigh of relief. I was home.