Rejuvenation
A day filled with noise, trampling feet, thunderous landings and incessant whining, tore through her and released the untamed fury she concealed.

In desperation, she bid them goodbye without a backward glance. Bedlam would only grow more intense if she acknowledged them.

She sought the spot where wind, as it caresses the leaves of a tree, would be the loudest sound her ears would hear. It would temper the blare that rang through her head.

The wall of nature spread before her. Left. Right. Straight ahead. Her entry options were endless. Confusion muddled her thoughts. A glance around and she chose, darting inward with quick steps.

Branches crackled under her feet as she stepped without care onto what lay beneath. With no path, she would forge her own and in so doing, would lead herself away — and keep them safe.

The cool spring air washed over her — calmed the fiery beast within. Nature, free from impurities, reached her senses and teased; urged her forward, faster. If darkness fell, so she would too.

They’d worry. She knew. Concern for her well being, certainly. He didn’t understand, nor could they. No one knew. Her breath came faster as her legs pulled her deep into the depths of the tree covered wilderness.

Birds sang the song of the unencumbered as a doe zipped by in a flash of fur. The branch she’d pressed to the side winged back and slapped against her pack.

A continuous tinkling, like crystal as it moves against itself, meant she’d arrived. Green grew where moisture leached into the ground. She struggled against herself, the need to return warred with a need to survive.

She forced herself to the ground, knelt, crept weakly toward the brook — knees and bare hands pressed into the soil.

At the edge she lifted her head toward the rays that broke through the cover above and let the sun draw the loathsome beast from within her to burn it away.

She’d found it once more.

Rejuvenation.

Photo courtesy of Michelle Ebbs at Pure Expressions Photography