Inside The Fallen Tree ...

Being awakened by the sheer exasperating sounds of birds chirping never fail to irritate the hell out of me. The sun is still slumbering and only a very faint light illuminates the world outside my grimy window. I lay starring at the ceiling and the body screamed from sheer weariness. I slugged out of bed and pulled my jumper on. I had a hunch that it’s gonna be chilly out there. I stuck my hands into the shoe drawer and dragged out the first pair my hands could get a hold on. As it turned out, my blue and white stripped NBs was the pick of the day. I double knotted the laces and headed out.

The first thing that struck me as I creak opened the door was the smell of rain, wood and grass. It’s musty and yet, it enveloped me with a sense of comfort. Stepping out, I saw dozens of black ring ouzels swooping acrobatically from one roof to another ... if only I had a double barrel Winchester. I’d literally blow them out of the skies. Nasty buggers.

I walked swiftly, slightly annoyed at the squeaky sound of my rubber soles squishing against the paved road. Not a soul was in sight and yet I felt exposed. I wanted to be invisible to the world … I wanted no one to see or even notice me. A little over fifteen minutes later, the road came to an end and only a dirt path lies ahead. I sauntered on and each step imprinted the patterns of my shoes on the amber mud. I pulled on the hood snugly over my head for the leaves from the trees around are still showering me with droplets from last night’s drizzle.

I’ve been here more often that I could count and yet each time, the place seems frustratingly different. I sometimes suspect that the trees purposely switch their places just so they can confuse me. Then something caught the corner of my left eye ... a light of some sort. I’ve never treaded away from the pathway simply because the forest grounds were denser on either side and I’m weary to go into the unknown. I just dislike plunging into a state of insecurity, so sue me.

I peered inside and realised that the ‘light’ was actually sunrays piercing through the roof of the forest canopy. I had an image of Greek Gods playing javelin throw in Mount Olympus above and a few of their sunray spears landed here. I was drawn to the light and subconsciously made my way towards it. I realised that I was actually standing on a clearing of some sort and its mesmerizing beauty had me transfixed. The ground was filled with a thick bed of ivory dandelions and dotted here and there with contrasting bright golden samphires. I realised then that the common phrase people used ‘colours of the rainbow’ is inappropriate because I felt humbled by the sight of fluttering butterflies in their hundreds performing a symphony of colours before my eyes. I walked towards them and this caused the dandelion stalks to parachute upwards. I closed my eyes and twirled gleefully like a 5 year old girl and everything around me swirled in motion.

My foot caught on to something and I fell face first onto the moss filled ground. It took me quite a while to regain my composure and re-adjust my vision. My snickers are now patterned with patches of slimy green. Damnit! The butterflies had all disappeared and all that’s left was the deafening silence. Just then, the west wind blew, sending the tree leaves into a rustling frenzy. I felt that they were sniggering at me and I felt anger erupting instantaneously.

I looked around trying to see what caused my fall and realised that I had tripped on the roots of a fallen tree. This reminded me of the time Zack, the school bully stuck his legs out to send Albert and his lunch tray sprawling across the cafeteria. I felt guilty because I was one of the many who laughed out loud at that scene. Karma always has a way of finding its way back to bite you in the ass I guess.

Still I was furious that this interrupted my ‘moment’ and in dim-witted haste, I balled my fist and struck the fallen tree trunk ... hard. The pain felt was excruciating but satisfying at the same time. With at least a century old in age (I guessed), the brittle trunk crumbled inwards leaving behind a gaping hole, not more than a foot in width. I was taken aback by this for I expected the tree of this size to be much sturdier. I studied the trunk intimately and it was indeed aged and wrinkled. There is a carving not far from where I thumped it and I inched in for a closer look. It read ‘A & S till death do us part’. I snorted at the sheer corniness of the sentence. In today’s society, it would be easier to find a winged unicorn than to find individuals to commit to ... well ... forever.

Just then, I spotted a shiny reflection coming from inside the crack I made. From what I can see, it’s metallic and I was dumbfounded that something like this should be embedded inside an ol’ tree trunk. I stuck my hands on the perimeter of the hole and tugged it with force. I was just hoping that I would not be at the receiving end of something nasty ... like having my palms filled with juicy wriggly maggots. Yucksss. As the opening ‘grew’ bigger, I could make out the shape of the object. It’s a book. A leather bound book to be exact with a metal plate screwed on to its cover. My curiosity fuelled the adrenaline and as soon as the book is able to fit through the hole, I heaved it out with eager anticipation.

I examined the book intently ... tracing my fingers along the spine. The rustic brown leather is thick and I reckon the hide from the animal slaughtered for it must have lived a long life indeed. On the metal plate, in big bold engraving, read ‘The Book of ...’. The final word was deliberately scratched off rendering me puzzled. I tried hard to figure out what the last word could have been but there’s just no telling.

With nothing left to be done, I flipped open the cover very gently as if any hurried gesture would cause the entire book to turn into a pile of dust. The first page was blank and only a few auburn stain marks were visible on the very aged paper. I held the corner of the page with the tips of my index finger and thumb and again ... slowly turn the page. At the next page, my mind registered a picture with a worded paragraph beneath it. Miliseconds later, when the brain is able to process what my stunned eyes are actually seeing, my jaw dropped in response.

This simply cannot be!!!

It’s just not possible!!!

I tried reading the words below the image but couldn’t for my vision was blurred by the heavy stream of gushing tears.

Now the rest as they say ... is a story for another day ...