The Forest

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It wasn't long before the leaves, keeping company with his thoughts, were  tired of teetering on the edge of his toes and formed their own conspiracy of rebellion in the absence of another story to bring them to life.  And as he walked, those leaves, reminiscent of his past, gave way to a thickening of tall, lanky fur trees, saddened by the weight of heavy pine needles they endured on their branches.  The forest was showing a direction of dominance, showcasing its treetops to the sky, and he hoped the same heaven connected this forest to the ground on which he walked.    

No sooner did he lose his way when he heard a voice off in the distance, very delicately singing words to a melody he'd never heard.  He stopped in his tracks, listened intently and looked around at the dense trees so closely knit together almost appearing to hold hands.  It stopped.  He walked further on through the maze of trees, avoiding the pine cones littered on the uneven dried pine needle beds and waited for the voice again. Suddenly, it got louder and he realized it was coming toward him.  And now, he could make out the words of the tune were sung in rhymes.

"A magical night for a mystery, a mystery of  magical night. Upon a course we go walking, and walk with a course in our sight.  Make no mention of dark intention that haunts our reflection of will.  Caution is our weapon of care, so into the forest we dare."  

There, in front of him, following the same unmarked path as he, was a small critter resembling a tiny cat, prancing in an unsynchronized march of agility.   It looked small enough to fit in Jack's hands.  With four paws and a tail, rounded ears that sat like two half moons on either side of his head, he had one distinguishing feature hard to ignore. This little animal had a quarter-sized, white patch of fur on his forehead between his eyes.  His body was black and his fur was soft and orderly.  Jack thought he was adorable and wanted to reach out to pick him up.

He paused, kneeling down on one knee, "Hey little fellow."

This startled him, temporarily interrupting his song and dance.  He didn't move but his eyes were fixed on Jack as Jack retreated slowly, waddling backwards on his feet, still squat in the thick of the pine needles.

"It's ok, it's ok. I won't hurt you." 

"Who are you," the little critter announced under a soft whisper.  

"My name is Jack.  I've been walking through the forest trying to find my way out."

"You have?  That's very strange, I have been walking through the forest trying to find my way in."

Jack looked puzzled, "Aren't you already in the forest?  

"Well, I don't know for sure."

"What is your name?"

Feeling ashamed, he said, "I don't have a name.  No one has ever called me anything."

"Alright then," he paused.  "Do you know where you are going?"

"I'm not sure where I am going, but I can tell you where I came from."

Jack stood up and took in a deep breath of anticipation that created an imaginary space between their thoughts.  "I'd like to hear about where you've been."

The little guy perched up his front legs, as if he were trying to imitate Jack's pose, and sturdied up his hind legs, straddling them around a few scattered pine cones that were in his way.  He felt important.  Collecting his thoughts, he began speaking very calmly and in seconds they were both abruptly interrupted.

He began, "Where I came from, I could feel the sun shining high up in the sky. I walked through glitter rain and found shiny rocks in hollow trees that glowed. There were beautiful flowers taller than you that laughed and cried and talked to each other and I made up songs about them..."

"...and they were lovely songs indeed, weren't they," an unfamiliar voice chimed in.  

The interruption was quite the intrusion of cynicism.  Before he could finish his sentence, they were consumed with the appearance if a disproportionately arranged, human-like creature that mysteriously formed in front of them.  From a storm of roughage rising from the forest floor, a torso emerged, neatly collecting and compacting all of its contents together. Then, thick vines, intelligently tangling themselves in woven braids, made arms and legs that extended out in every direction leaving no end in sight.  An unbalanced head sat as a crown on top of this surly monster about to greet them.

"I am a literary genius! You will find my works scattered all over this forest. Ask me anything. I have an answer. Tell me anything and I will repeat back to you what you said and everything you left out. Give me letters and I will rearrange them to make sense out of something you've never heard. My words echo in my mind all day long and I can't say them fast enough!  They are sugar for my teeth and salt for my wounds. Watch as I throw them up in the air and catch each one on the tip of my finger.  Marvelous. The bounce in my brain and sizzle on my tongue and furnish my breath with substance. I could amuse myself all day with their grandeur. They dance around me trying to confuse me but I persist with rhythmic clarity.  Everything spoken in this forest came from my mouth. I do so love their company.  Look here.  Let me show you in."

She opened her mouth as wide as she could, stretching her jaw down to the ground at Jack's feet and there on her tongue were stacks of letters waiting to be spoken.  They were all leaning against each other waiting their turn to be heard.  They radiated with a glowing presence that made them look very interesting and Jack glanced in.   One by one, the letters unraveled themselves in the air above them in a perplexing order and strange words started to form.  It was all a mix of gibberish and nothing made sense.  Strings of letters upside-down, right-side up, backwards and forwards, big letters and small ones, and some he'd never seen.  She was speaking in a language he didn't know.  It was as though the letters were producing their own dialogue and it was nearly impossible to decipher.  

Jack and his forest friend stood still as the letters hung in the air trying to find a way to make sense as the monster rolled in her tongue like a dead sea scroll.  

"Who are you," Jack said.

"Me? Do you mean me," she said.  The wind whirled around her as if she wasn't there.   

"I am your nemesis.  Your last resort and no friend of yours but an energy to make you wish you weren't here."   

"I've been warned of you and all the others in the forest so you don't surprise me. In fact, I expect you."

"Then you must know my power, she said."

"Your power is the source of my conquer and I know your power."