The Heart's Tempo

Chapter 3 - Carrion and Carry-On

Stricken by the trees' wisdom, and by the fact that the trees had just spoken, the man and our speaker dash down the path of ferns, guided by the gleam of the moon, and the wisps of dust that cast gold upon the way. "What on Earth has just happened!" shouts the speaker. "I know right! I'm having trouble making sense of it!" the man responds, blurting out his words. Dewdrops start to fall from above, and a flash ignites the dark from behind the overcast. Thunder follows, and a lightning bolt zags across the night sky, as if reaching for the terrain. A streamlet gabbles, swerving round a glebe of wildflowers, and right after, a branch falls from a young alder tree, "thud!"

   "Don't look back! Just keep it moving! You heard what the wise oaks said!" calls the man to our speaker, who is growing tired. The speaker looks forth, opening his mouth and unfurling his tongue, "alrig- -" He trips over, landing in the silt, and flounders as he tries to get back on his feet. "Hey! Hey! Hey! A little help!" he commands, "Quick! Quick! Quick!" The man aids our speaker, offering a hand and pulling him up, back on his toes. They both let out an exasperated sigh, and the man watches as the speaker pats down his garments.

     But then, a raven swoops and plants its talons on his glove. It stares at him, eyes the colour of midnight, "aww, that's a cute o- -" utters the speaker, interrupted. The fledgling coughs up a morsel of carrion, before pecking the man's dark hair, and returning to the higher plains.