A single drop of dew fell, glistening as it made its serene passage through the air, dropping from the edge of the vivid green leaf towards the forest floor. One drop of pure rain, mist coiling away in the chill morning air, fell in a perfect vertical drop, the world behind it magnified and blurry from refracted light. The sun peaks above the horizon, gold rays reaching out and teasing the jungle with bright and fiery bands of light, color and heat, brought alive at the climax of its fall, the dew flared orange-red under the light of sunrise- its pale surface turned alive with fiery intent. It strikes the ground, an insignificant ripple in all of space-time, dampening a miniscule patch of earth on a small planet, in a galaxy of millions. But it has meaning- and life wakes with the rising sun- birds rousing as its fierce gaze sweeps across the landscape. The single drop of dew, the slithering crawl of an insect in the undergrowth- he sees it all, with his eyes tightly shut, sitting cross legged in his nondescript tunic and leggings. He sees the oaks and pines that soar on either side, branches reaching into the heavens as far as they will go, bark-carved faces watching him as he sits immobile. Within one’s branches, a solitary bird raises its voice in a pure, piercing call, a sound that vibrates the air itself in a whistling harmony. The ants that stream from an ant hill only a little ways off, roiling in black swarms in all directions, spindly legs meeting the ground with purpose. He opens his eyes- tanned, weathered skin giving way to pupils. The calm was soothing, yet deceiving; it was the calm before the storm, and it lulled him into inaction in nature’s beautiful embrace. He wanted to lose himself in the land as he did before- become one with even the ground as he observed the cycle of their lives. But he had a duty. Standing, not bothering to brush off the pine needles and leaves on his tunic, he picked up his staff from where it leaned lazily against a nearby tree. If he survived, he would return. He was sure of that- but the rest of the future remained as much of a mystery to him as to any man.
