Taian’s mind was strangely wandering, floating, on places, things, events far away from him and where he was now. He thought much on the battles that he led in Cathay, the many scars and all the bloodshed that represented his past. Fickle, he thought, the way a mind would wander from the now and present. “I could just as well be sitting here thinking not of these things and enjoying the passing day!” the words carried out into the open field before him, touching every blade of grass and echoing softly from some boulders piled nearby in resonant glory.
It had taken Taian hours to find the lovely little trinket on the earths bracelet of charms. Long hours, too, ones of walking, running, climbing, striding and plenty of trailblazing. He was quite the woodsman and wouldn’t normally be inclined to stay out for so long a time, but today was no ordinary day. A strange energy filled the air and he had intended to make the most of it. Whatever the reason, he was quite elated today, even if his angel weren’t there. As his eyes scanned the sweet-grass that blew in the wind before him, the many flowering things of even greater shapes and colors, and the space below the trees that was clogged in patches with thorny sticker bushes his attention was brought to an imposing, yet welcoming oak off to the far corner of the clearing. It’s branches were large and some strangely low to the ground, hanging boldly parallel to the ground. The deep brown of the trunk seemed a silhouette at distance in front of the washy greens of the forest. It was quite sparse of growth on the left side and the branches sagged in shameful sorrow leaving the impression of death again upon the edge of Taian’s mind. For the most part, however, the tree was quite alive and displaying it’s wellness proudly. One could almost mistake the leaves, as they were tossing in the wind, to be a swarm of butterflies hovering in dense clouds ’round the branches.
It would be quite the shame, in Taian’s mind, to crush a single one of the many elements in this masterful collage of nature. So he approached the tree with careful steps, trying his hardest not to disturb the natural beauty of the field. As he picked his way through the high sweet-grass stalks and many anthills, he thought for a moment what life would be like from a perspective so low to the ground. In a childish moment of wonderment, he dropped to his stomach and stared though one eye, as near to the ground as he could manage, at the anthill. “Wow, everything looks so grand!” he exclaimed. Whilst taking a few more moments to enjoy the splendor of everything when viewed from the ant’s altered point of view Taian suddenly began to realize how an individual is little more than dust in the wind. The very thought of it left him wondering as to how anyone could change the world by themselves. It seemed, at that moment, quite the impossible dream.
Getting up from his stomach, and brushing himself off thoroughly, he stepped the several short strides to the base of the oak. It’s roots were prominent above the ground and jutted through the earth like great buttresses. Between them it could be seen that a rabbit, or some form of boring animal, had made their home between two of them. The hole was dark and wet and leered at Taian so that he stepped several paces further ’round the tree. It was apparent that, at least at one time, the dirt had been washed away from the area since webs of smaller roots could be seen several inches down. A few feet more, nearly the opposite side of the hole, a large, thick, patch of bright green moss covered the ground, and part of the roots. It was nearly as long as Taian was tall and this was quite the pleasant surprise to him. He sat, leaning against the tree, on the patch of moss and retched a book from his satchel. He set to reading in the shifting light that drifted down between the branches. |
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