As I walked up the stream bank I kicked my boots like it would instantly dry them. It was then that I knew the journey would go from hard to annoying. One’s legs were already tired and could get no worse so I paid little attention to giving them a break. I had been traveling for three days with out one stop, it was nearing time to pitch a camp for a few hours. I couldn’t spare the time but I couldn’t go forever. But on the other had to stop would mean defeat and I wasn’t ready for that, not yet.
As I walked dazed, tired, and constantly rambling to one’s self I noticed the wild life was abnormally quiet. Not only was it abnormally quiet, but it was oddly missing as well. I glanced nervously at one’s surroundings and saw nothing but trees and under growth. Then something caught one’s eye, a flash of something, but the more I looked the less it was there almost like it was trying to hide in the green of the forest. I walked toward it but immediately lost it, but the section of forest it lead one to was not right in many ways. The utter lack of animals and any other life capable of moving it’s self. The ground was covered in a moss that was the strangest shade of green I had ever seen (still haven’t seen anything like that). This was the only undergrowth and seemed to be the source of the disease. It lead up to the trees but didn’t climb the trunks but rather stopped and it was here that black stains took over and grew up the trees slowly spreading and slowly killing the section of forest.
It was spreading slowly in every direction, even up the trees and into the ground. One wouldn’t notice the spreading if one didn’t have the will to see it and I had the will and was looking for an excuse to stop anyhow. Something wasn’t right here; I was staring at a section of forest that just one month ago (this is a rough estimate, I always did think time was rather arbitrary) I had walked through in the opposite direction. Yes I may not have walked through this certain area but I would have sensed it through the animals and in the air, the longer I stayed the more I noticed the stench that seemed to rise from the ground.
It was then that I noticed it, a pillar of moss in the middle of the disease, but it wasn’t a pillar of moss but a pillar of metal covered in moss. This was the glimmer of light that drew me to this section of woods. I didn’t want to touch the moss but I needed a better look at the pillar. I cleared the top off with a stick and the rest with one’s freshly cleaned boots. When I touched the moss it seemed to emit black ink, I quickly looked behind me to realize I had been leaving footprints in the moss. I couldn’t have this, no one could know I was here, but there was no way to clean the ink off that moss with out exposing one’s self to it. I quickly scribed down the design on the pillar and headed out.
My thought were jumbled so many things this could mean, but only one seemed real. “Wait!” I thought, “ if I leave that uncovered it will really reflect light, then they’ll see it and check it out, then they’ll see one’s foot prints in the moss and know I was here and that will only ensure to them that they are heading in the right direction, but maybe they’ll be dumb enough to touch the ink to see how long it has been. It may not kill them but I’ll bet everything that it’ll make them sick.” Finally deciding that it’s better to go unnoticed then be noticed and poison your chaser, I quickly covered the pillar with nearby branches and brush. Since the brush came from the ground I made note not to touch one’s face or make any other contact with one’s body using one’s hands. I needed to camp but not on this forsaken land. I wanted as much distance as possible between this unholy of places and one’s self.
I traveled for two more days without rest and could travel no further. I had noticed that they had found the pillar and were foolish enough to camp there. I was right about the poison they were hardly moving at all and I was way ahead and pulling away. The diseased land had bought me some much-needed time and maybe even some room for error, which I always invite, but in this case the cost wasn’t worth it.
The forest was poisoned and they didn’t seem to be falling behind quick enough. I had to come up with something else. Room for error is nice, but never enough, you should always have more. I was passing their speed, but it wasn’t enough, I felt I had to go faster…
I had to do something. “A forest fire… sure it kills trees, but it stops people just the same”. I thought to myself as I pulled the magnesium from my pocket. With a quick sprinkle and a few choice words I spread it across the ground. The fire grew intensely and quickly warmed my cold heart. Only then did I realize what I had done. It wasn’t too late, but it made sense at the time so minds as well go with it. “BURN IT, BURN IT ALL!” It seemed at the time and even now it was the best decision. “Better be rid of it now than deal with it later, but is that how it really is or should I look at it differently in the future, I’m sure I will but is it right? Should I back track or should I move on? Have I moved too far or not far enough? One shall never know, but only move on in blind faith that something better lies ahead.”
The forest fire did nicely. They were either dead or retreated, I couldn’t see through all those flames. I had been traveling for quite a while and I needed a break, plus I was coming up on the West Mountains and they are rather strenuous. I always had a knack for those mountains, could always pass through them quickly, plus the sky was on one’s side. The sun on one’s back and the breeze kept one cooled. It was prime travel time and even for this season this was exceptional. “Yes, my quest has been blessed by the gods.” I said with a foolish grin as a feeling of utter happiness passed across my body. This was a prime moment in one’s life. It’s even comparable to the Tibetan hillsides.
It took me two months to pass through the West Mountains, good even for me. That was the quickest I had ever done it and even in this beautiful weather any other would have taken at least six and that’s assuming they ran the whole way without stops. As I neared the edge of the mountain I had to pause. The scene was the most magnificent I had ever seen. I was pressed for time, but I would have been a fool not to enjoy that moment, I have still never felt anything like that. I was on cloud nine ever sense burning that forest and I didn’t know why. Every thing was perfect and everything was falling into place perfectly. The god’s were truly smiling upon me and this view only proved it so much more than everything else. It screamed touch of the gods. The way the sun hit the woods below and the way the stream ran quietly by me and down only to water the trees and the way you could smell the fresh air rising from the trees and the way the animals went about their business without a single care in the world. It was how everything fell into place and how everything served its purpose. I had never and have never since felt such a joy in one’s heart.
As I descended upon the woods I jogged happily down the mountain, I couldn’t help it. It was like I had infinite power just begging to be released and I was more than happy to accommodate. With a permanent grin on my face, I could feel the beautiful earth beneath my feet with every leap and bound more beautiful than the last. The woods was bursting with wildlife and beautiful songs from every one of them. These woods were usually dark and intimidating, dreadfully silent, but the sun busted through all that and the animals screamed and hollered in delight. This truly was the highest point in one’s life. Which would normally make me nervous, every rise must have its fall, but not this time it was up and up for me with no end in sight. Even one’s task seemed almost moral at this point.
I ran circles through those woods for days before I decided to get back on track. Sure it made me a little later than I would have been, but it was worth it. I have never been so one with nature and so blissful about everything. Even one’s current job made me happy, sure it wasn’t moral, but it seemed like it at the time and it never did before, but that sort of thing never should. Suddenly with a painful snapping action reality sank its bloody talons into my reality, it was time to get back to work, no matter how happy I was.
“The sooner I do this and get back the sooner it’s said and done.” I said to one’s self as I often do. I stood motionless for a moment, still blissfully happy, but a bit more focused. “Well let’s get on with it then.” I said in a calm voice as I turned to the edge of the woods. As I stepped out into the field I remember looking back and seeing the sad look in the eyes and in the songs of the wildlife. It was like they didn’t want me to go, which is an odd behavior for animals, but to them it was like I was one of them and not a person any longer.