It’s only when the forest is drenched in the dark hours, do we fathom that the creatures that looked so appealing and fascinating during the daylight, are nothing but hungry, harrowing predators, waiting for the right moment to pounce and take what is theirs.
Is your life theirs? Maybe not from a mortal man's perspective. Then what are you doing in their territory?
That is what happens when you walk into the unknown, your are oblivious to the threats lurking beneath the thick layer of dried discarded leaves and the wide trunks of hauntingly tall trees.
Maybe it was just a field trip. You wanted to try something new. Or maybe you were out for the hunt.
So which one of those deserves to die?
None of them but it’s not in their hands. It almost always depends on the place, the time, the situation, and the surrounding life they live in.
The morning is beautiful in a forest. The breeze carries luscious scent of green leaves and wood. Twirling through the branches, awakening every creature in its wake.
Bees and flowers alike. Preys and predators alike. You and nature alike.
The walk on the leaves is a dream come true, especially when there is a path ahead, your well-wishers behind you, a backpack full of what you need on your shoulder, a cap to cover your head, clothes to protect you from scratches and medicines to keep away the insects. you even have your dog with you.
There is chatter as you set out to discover nature, clicking pictures, inhaling fruity scent of flowers, skimming the shy leaves, and just living in the moment. The birds chirping are nothing but just a realization of how vast and huge this territory is. But the distance to be travelled doesn't worry you because you have enough time. To reach the other side. You have the road. The map. The company. And the fuel. You have time, you think you have time, so you take your time.
What is on the other side? Something you have always been wanting, something you have been dreaming about. That is what it is, the ultimate happiness for you. You know this beautiful forest is the only way there and you couldn’t be happier.
The sun slowly reaches its magic hour. Each beam of light slithers through the leaves onto the muddy surface, making it the ground look like molten gold. Each ray highlights a million particles as if glitters.
A content sigh escapes you. This is what you love doing. You love being in the life around you. You love admiring nature. You love straining your body and giving your mind and heart the thrill and peace it deserves. You love all of it. You love when you have to sit under a tree’s shade to eat your food. You love to chat with your companions who share their food with you. You love the cold water as it travels down your throat and refreshes you.
But the same things giving you the trill are the tings that allows doubts and uncertainty to consume you. Maybe it’s the sudden burst of wind or the frantic chirping of a flock of birds. An unnerving growl from your dog. It can also be the anxious look in everyone else’s eyes as they look around and tighten their grip on their belongings. They pack things up and suddenly are on their toes. Explaining how you have to be quick. They are using you as a guide. To reach the end and you know it is your responsibility to keep yourself and everyone safe, so you get up, tighten the leash around your hand and move ahead in the now scorching heat.
There is a murmur of discomfort from behind you and you watch as one of the companions turns around to leave. You try to stop them but they are adamant. They just have to leave. They can’t take it anymore. And once they are gone, the seed of insecurity is planted within your heart sprouts. Maybe you should have gotten some more cold water or a fan.
Your dog can sense your mood. It stops and rubs its head onto your thigh, you too stop and caress it gently. Thanking it for its kindness and for always being there with you. it is your family and has been for as long as you could remember. You hear scoffs and voices expressing their discomfort so you keep going deeper and deeper into the forst. The heat is burning through your skin and making you hazy and you suddenly start disliking the discomfort. You are averse to the idea that you have to keep walking in this condition, so you slow down. When you glance over your shoulder, there are only a couple of companions left. You get to know that they were too frustrated with your slow speed. So they chose to take another route. Did they know a different route?
The ones remaining shake their heads. They weren’t too confident. So you just look ahead and keep walking. You are hungry again. You need to rest again. So you stop. But this time, the air is imperative. The sun is lower, no longer serving as a crown to the jungle but as someone who peeked into the depth and brought warning of what lay ahead. Your dog sits beside you and you gently run your fingers through its golden fur glimmering in the evening hour. It gives you peace, more than anyone else can.
You look into the pet’s eyes and you see the same diamonds twinkling with the same energy you had when you started, so you get up, with the goal still persistent in mind and the two companions share a smile, passing a couple of encouraging words. Their smile shrinks when the sun sets a little more and they ask you to keep moving and remind you of your collective goal. Their goal.
It was turning darker by the minute as if with each step you were stepping on the orange sun, pushing it further into the blanket of the horizon. The energy and enthusiasm that you had begun with were now draining down your spine as you overhear the words of your companion. As if they were speaking for you to hear. Suddenly you realize that they have been saying the same slashing and hurtful words for a long time. Quite a long time, but you couldn’t hear them over the joyous voice in your head.
At the now newfound voices, a chill runs down your spine, you are so focused on them that when an bone-shattering howl tears through the air, the leash in your hand slips right through your fingers when your dog breaks into a run. You trip forward, landing on your knees and palms sending jolts of pain up your palms and knees. Your blood is pounding through your ears, your breath coming out shallow when you fall back on your butt and crawl back against a tree trunk.
You close your eyes and, clench them hard in hopes that the pain will disappear. But it only makes you aware of the sudden silence surrounding you. Deep, thick, and clutching silence. Not even a single leaf moved. It was dark, dense, and pitch black everywhere you looked.
No dog, no companions, no sun, no light, no winds, no birds, nothing but emptiness surrounded you. And the howl? Where was it from? Did the voice grip your companions or what did it get to your pet first? The mere thought sent a slash across your heart and you curse yourself. It was all your fault. Just your fault. Only if you hadn’t seen the dream. If only you hadn’t helped anyone to here. If only you wouldn’t have wasted time in admiring instead of focusing on the end. If only the leash was a little bit tight in your palm and if only you weren't so caught up in other’s words.
You kept cursing and mourning the unknown and unconfirmed loss until the wind once again starts blowing. A small whiff of air that carried the scent of flowers and fruits. But you hated it now. Despised every inch of the place around you and inside you. Despised everything you thought was beautiful because it had taken everything away from you,
But you knew that you couldn’t sit any here any longer. Or you too would disappear into thin air with no one to search for you. And what if your dog was alright? What if it was here somewhere? Hope once again strikes within you. And even more than the goal you are now focusing on the one life of your dog. someone who was with you through our your life.
You stand up on shaky limbs, taking the support of the tree, you scratched palm sliding up against the rough wood but you didn’t care. You had to move,. you needed to move. If there is hope it is only now. Now is all you have so you move. Even though you despise the walk, the heavy weight on your shoulders and all the pain this forest has caused you, you follow the trail again, knowing your pet, it would smell you. You don't call out his name, knowing someone unwanted might hear you, instead you keep moving.
You think of giving up a couple of times, one when a large Slytherin crosses your path and you are forced to stay still until it leaves, but the image of your pet warped in the clutches of such a creature forces you to move ahead and faster. The second one was when you heard a rustling in the leaves and a large night owl flew over your head, not close enough to hurt you but close enough for the fear in your heart to tighten painfully. Too painfully.
But then you kept going, and you realized that you had crossed the path twice as much faster and were almost towards the end. A mile or so more and you would be out, but suddenly you didn’t want to reach yet. You wanted to find your pet first. You wanted him to come with you. So giving it your last shot, you call out. Loud and echoing in the dark. And you hear it.
A growl. Deep, guttural, and predatory. Then you see it; two eyes staring at you through a distance. It growls again and the sound almost makes you feel like the dark eyes have already clutched you, and you are at your death. There was no pet, and no more the end. This was to be your last.
As the creature leaps out of the shadows you shut your eyes preparing for the impact, but instead, you feel a breeze past your head and a thud behind you. You don’t open your eyes until you hear a growl again followed by a bark.
**You whip around and there he is. Wagging his tail with a smile, baring his canines slathered with blood. Your eyes fall down to the creature that attacked you. But instead of fear, love fills your heart, and with the overwhelm you crumple to your knees. The pet pounces on you and into your arms with a soft push. As if it dissolves within you. Its paws gently landed on your shoulder, easing the tension in your shoulder, its head snuggling into your neck, getting the blood on its muzzle on your cheeks in the process. Its soft belly warms your chest as you clutch it harder and thank the universe. Thank it for keeping your pet safe.
But when you open your eyes, he is no more there, you still feel the warmth, the blood, and the untensed shoulders but now the blood is on your hands, tears on your cheeks, and the creature still lying in front of you.
