the brilliant light within the forest

A child I once knew came to me on a darkened day. His hair disheveled, his voice timid, his eyes a mysterious light. He came and spoke to me a story I’ve never heard. A story of birds and horses crossing rivers; of snakes and frogs and singing siblings; of old-time adventures and coyotes in disguise. He spoke of a place in the forest not far. A clearing where the brilliant sunshine could be felt penetrating through the leaves of the forest canopy. He spoke of the magic there that can be had as it belonged to no one. Magic that shown as if all the stars in the universe were melted into one. He coaxed me to go with shining eyes and opened heart. We went. We ventured through the groves and the meadows of the forest. Through the darkness of it’s depths. Finally, we came upon it, the clearing in the forest. And magnificent it was. The magic was there, as he said, sitting in the center upon a rock. It shone with colors I can’t quite describe….ever-changing blues, green and purples, golden silvers, and crimson fires. He picked it up, this burning light, and with a smile placed it gently into my hands. “Guard it with all of your love, sweet one,” said the boy. I looked at the light hypnotized by it’s radiant simplicity. Transfixed was my gaze as I peered further and further into its center. From a distance, like a whisper, I heard the boy say he will return. I nodded, not understanding his meaning. And there with this light, this magic, I was left, left in the clearing in the middle of the deep deep forest for the return of my friend who never came back.