Twigs snapped underneath her boots as she made her way down
the meandering path she hadn’t taken in a while. Shafts of sunlight broke
through the canopy of trees and dust motes twirled in mid-air like a ballerina
performing a pirouette. There was a fresh, earthy fragrance that reminded her
of rain. It’s called petrichor, she remembered.
She stumbled every now and then over the uneven ground, even slipped one time when she tried climbing over the moss covered
trunk of a fallen tree and stepped on a puddle. She wiped the dirt off her sleeves
and shook the excess mud off her boots. She resumed walking again. Soon enough,
she found a small break in the tree line and as she stumbled through the
opening, she found what she was looking for.
The tree was still there. A decade older, a few branches
less and still as graceful as before. The soft, cool breeze that created
ripples in the water of the lake shook the branches of the tree and as a
generous friend, the tree parted with a few leaves to welcome back an old
friend. She was home, at last.
She sat on the ground, near the trunk of the tree. Shafts of
sunlight that streamed in through the leaves caught on the strands of her hair
and added a soft, brown tinge to her hair.The dews hanging from the blades of grass
glistened in the sunshine. There was a small, black bird perched on one of the
top branches of a neighbouring tree, chirping away merrily. She observed a heron near the bank of the
river, standing motionless and exuding calmness. Suddenly his head went into the water and he
came up with a fish. He swallowed the fish as it waved its tail fin frantically
but in vain. After a moment, it was silent again, as if the stillness was never
broken. The predator resumed his
hunt, oblivious to the eyes of the young girl resting underneath the shade
of a tree.
She cupped her chin over her right hand and with her left hand;
she drew abstract patterns on the mud. She found it oddly comforting, feeling
the cool earth against her fingertips. She
wrapped her hands around her knees. She
was filled with a serene calmness, something that she hadn't felt in a long
time. Stealing a couple of hours away from the cacophony of a busy, hectic life,
she finally found peace, however temporary it was. At this moment, she was free
from the burden of responsibilities; she was free from the shackles of expectations.
She had no deadlines to meet and no pretences
to keep. She didn't feel overwhelmed
any more and at the same time, she didn't feel the emptiness that often loomed
at the periphery of her consciousness. The only thing she could feel was peace.
She shut her eyes and sighed. Peace. She had finally found her inner peace.
