A Peaceful Place

Everything is so peaceful here. Lovely. Calm. Safe. It's just me and the trees and the only sound I hear is of the trees whispering into the breeze. I've got no place to go right now. I wouldn't want to be any other place right now. Here I am standing at the beginning of a long path from which I cannot see what mysteries lay ahead. There is so much I don't know. But somehow I am not afraid. I wait in wonder as I stare. I wonder what is waiting for me up there? I watch the leaves on the trees dance in the air as the breeze ebbs and flows. I sway along, trying to capture the gentle rhythm, feeling the chills creeping up my spine and around my body. I remember that I wanted to breathe that fresh air without constraint, so I left my jacket at home. I could not care in this moment. I take a deep breath to inhale a burst of energy, urging me forward. And I run. I sprint and run and sprint and run. I'm breathing so fast, so deep. I shake my head in the wind as it blows my hair behind me. I feel my face burning. Oh, this is what I've been craving! I keep running until I feel as though my chest will explode. I gasp for air, feeling my heart pounding it my chest. Slow down! Take a break! This is getting difficult! my heart says to me. I'm hunched over, holding onto my knees and feeling the sweat build on my forehead. Slowly my heart relaxes and my lungs are ready to go again. But I sit. I sit and stare. The tall grass blows like waves on water. I think of swimming in them. Then giggle to myself for thinking something so absurd. I lean back with my hands anchored behind me and look up at the clear sky. The blue is so vivid and the few puffy white clouds seem like little balloons in the sky. And look at those birds! They're chasing each other around and around, hopping from branch to branch on the trees that I was just running under. They seem to bark at each other with their shrill little voices. And then they fly away again and I am alone once more. The path under me is still a little moist from the dew of the night. But I don't care. I lay back onto the hard dirt. Everything is still so quiet. So quiet. Too quiet? I close my eyes and I drift off into a deep sleep.

Or did I? My alarm is buzzing so obnoxiously, interrupting this place that felt so real to me. I sit up and turn it off with a slam. It was all just a dream, I realize. Nothing more. The peace is gone. The rush is on. Time to get ready for work and leave. I slowly roll to sit up and rub my eyes into focus. I start to get up, but I feel something on my back, almost weighing me down. What's this? I reach back and feel with my fingers that there is something strange on my shirt. It's crumbling! I stand and look down at the sheets. I drop my hand. My mouth is dry. It's mud. It's real! But there are no tracks on my carpet, so how did it get in my bed? Cound it have really happened? Was that place of peace for real? I guess I'll never know...

---Sorry, this story is not based on true events. It is purely a fictional story for all to enjoy!