Craig of the creek: From beyond the creek

The lullaby of the leaves

As Will woke up, he was ready for an adventure, it was the third day of his 'surprise' vacation, he quickly dressed up in new clothes which were the same as his dirty ones and grabbed his clothes from yesterday, and went outside, it was partly cloudy, he quickly stretched and started looking for food, he spotted a mulberry tree growing close to the side of the creek he ate quite a bunch of mulberries, feeling satisfied, he grabbed his bucket and filled it with water and put his dirty clothes in it, he then rummaged through his bag and pulled out a bottle filled with a green gooey liquid the label read "bio-degradable detergent, perfect for long camping trips !" he poured a bit in the bucket and started washing the clothes, once done he emptied the bucket in a hole he had dug away from the creek, he hanged his clothes to dry on a rope tied between two trees, grabbed his fishing rod and backpack, and went towards the tree he had seen the day before, the day was cheerful. birds singing, leaves rustling, it reminded of him of an old lullaby, one that his father used to  play when he couldn't sleep when he was a baby, he still remembered the lyrics, even when back then he couldn't understand them back then as he didn't knew English until he entered the United States, but still, the birds were singing a familiar tune, just like that old lullaby, Will slowly started going fast, and started singing cheerfully "cradle me with southern skies, can watch me with a million eyes, oh sing me to sleep, lullaby of the leaves" the leaves around him rustled and shook, as if they were abiding to Will's wish, Will then noticed the blue sky and remembered the next line "cover me with heavens blue, and let me dream a dream or two, oh sing me to sleep, lullaby of the leaves" the clouds above moved more quickly as the winds blew harder, the weather was just like Will's hometown, a tropical paradise, even if Will couldn't feel it, it was 80 degrees, hot enough to drive kids inside, the wind blew harder, bringing along some breeze, reminding Will of the next verse "I'm breezing along, along with the breeze, I'm hearing a song a song of the trees, oho oho oho" Will ran side to side as he sang this verse and then continued "that pine melody caressing the shore, familiar to me I've heard it before, oho oho oho, that's southland" the wind blew side to side, mimicking Will's movements, rustling leaves, and the birds chirped louder, surely asking for more "don't I feel it in my soul, and don't I know I have not reached my goal" a big cloud began getting close to the sun, "oh sing me to sleep lullaby of the leaves" the sun began to get covered by the cloud, and darkness began falling Will didn't notice this "Rustling of the leaves used to be my lullaby, in the sunny south, when I was a toddler so small..." the cloud covered the sun entirely, the birds got quiet, and the wind died down a little " and now that I have grown, I find myself alone. . ." Will thought on that last line, and lost the cheerfulness and slowed his step, but the cloud blotting out the sun started to move, Will sang, but more somber than before "cradle me with southern skies, can watch me with a million eyes, oh sing me to sleep, lullabye of the leaves" the sun was returning, the wind picked up, and the birds began chirping again, it was as if they were shouting Encore ! Will's voice got a little less somber " cover me with heavens blue and let me dream a dream or two, oh sing me to sleep oh lullaby of the leaves ! " the wind picked up more, and the cloud completely moved away, the birds chirped as if trying to sing like Will, his voice became lighter, completely forgetting that he was alone "I'm breezing along, along with the breeze, im hearing a song a song of the trees ! oho oho oho" the trees swinged and swayed as if harmonizing with Will, and in the distance, the entrance to the ancient tree village could be seen  "that pine melody caressing the shore, familiar to me I heard it before, oho oho oho, that's homeland" the trees were dancing with the wind and the woods could not have been more lively,  "don't I feel it in my soul- ow" Will's singing stopped abruptly as he crashed into the tree he was looking for, the flimsy ladder swaying gently and carelessly in the wind, Will smirked at the irony of the next verse "and don't I know I've reached my goal, oh sing me to sleep lullaby of the trees..." he quickly climbed up the ladder . . . no one had heard this wonderful song, for just like the song had described, now that he had grown, he found himself alone . . .