[Contest Entry 2010] The Forest is My Stage
1
The Forest is My Stage
I wake up to the sound of rustling leaves. The deep green of the forest is the first thing I see in the morning. Away from the entire city’s hustle and bustle, the forest’s beauty and quiet gives me peace. I emerge from my tent barefoot and start walking towards a nearby river.
The crunch of the slightly damp and cool mixture of mud and dry leaves accompany me throughout my trip to the river. Upon reaching the river, I splash my face in an abrupt motion, immediately awakening my senses with the ice cold water.
I sat down on a huge rock nearby and admired my surroundings. Here I was, spending the first day of New Year away from my daily life in this imaginary Garden of Eden. The creatures in the forest seemed to still be snoozing in their comfortable homes, I could hear no chirping, no croaking, no squeaking, and I could hear only the sound of the river moving gently downstream and the occasional rustling of leaves.
I admired the mature, tall trees which towered over me and shielded the sun with their dark, green leaves, causing beams of sunlight to hit the forest floor and giving the effect of a surreal illumination.
I liked to think that here, in my own peaceful world and stage, I was the main character and that this whole space belonged to me. Here, I was away from the constant force of life in motion which dragged me along with its currents and transported me towards some unknown purpose.
I’m away from those crowds of people, the unceasing talking and noise, the plastics and the concretes, the hell of it all.
To have the luxury and pleasure to feel time slipping through my fingers, to feel myself floating freely without restraint, I was in my own heaven.
And if I closed my eyes, I would sink into this world, sink into the beauty and serenity of it all, devouring and absorbing in all the pleasure that I can obtain from that moment. I would sink and never come back, I would just disappear.
But that is if I close my eyes and let myself slip. I let myself savour this moment only briefly, before walking back to my tent and leaving the momentarily blissful moments where it rightfully belonged. I exit that world, that stage and go back to the world of daily life in motion.
Sometimes when I am in the process of exiting that stage, I wonder why I even bother making the effort to go back to the so-called †˜reality’, why I even bother trying to hold on to the ups and downs of life.
Maybe, this unknown rule of going back means I’m living and because I even bother to make an effort, I’m living - this is how I answer myself. And maybe, just maybe, one day when I decide to let go and come back into this world, this stage, I would finally let myself stop living, just stop bothering to keep up and just let go.
But for now, I will move forward to a new year and brace myself for the ups and downs it will bring yet again.
“Happy new year,” I say to myself in a low voice.
And as I got into my car, I smiled to myself as I pictured the next few hours of lurking in FAKKU with a cool cup of tea. All the pain and suffering of my life are assuaged by these simple hobbies of mine that make me be able to live on.
[P.S. To everyone who read this, a very happy new year to you all =)!]
[u]
(Author's note: This is my second entry by the way, the first entry is here: [Contest Entry 2010] That Rainy Christmas
I wake up to the sound of rustling leaves. The deep green of the forest is the first thing I see in the morning. Away from the entire city’s hustle and bustle, the forest’s beauty and quiet gives me peace. I emerge from my tent barefoot and start walking towards a nearby river.
The crunch of the slightly damp and cool mixture of mud and dry leaves accompany me throughout my trip to the river. Upon reaching the river, I splash my face in an abrupt motion, immediately awakening my senses with the ice cold water.
I sat down on a huge rock nearby and admired my surroundings. Here I was, spending the first day of New Year away from my daily life in this imaginary Garden of Eden. The creatures in the forest seemed to still be snoozing in their comfortable homes, I could hear no chirping, no croaking, no squeaking, and I could hear only the sound of the river moving gently downstream and the occasional rustling of leaves.
I admired the mature, tall trees which towered over me and shielded the sun with their dark, green leaves, causing beams of sunlight to hit the forest floor and giving the effect of a surreal illumination.
I liked to think that here, in my own peaceful world and stage, I was the main character and that this whole space belonged to me. Here, I was away from the constant force of life in motion which dragged me along with its currents and transported me towards some unknown purpose.
I’m away from those crowds of people, the unceasing talking and noise, the plastics and the concretes, the hell of it all.
To have the luxury and pleasure to feel time slipping through my fingers, to feel myself floating freely without restraint, I was in my own heaven.
And if I closed my eyes, I would sink into this world, sink into the beauty and serenity of it all, devouring and absorbing in all the pleasure that I can obtain from that moment. I would sink and never come back, I would just disappear.
But that is if I close my eyes and let myself slip. I let myself savour this moment only briefly, before walking back to my tent and leaving the momentarily blissful moments where it rightfully belonged. I exit that world, that stage and go back to the world of daily life in motion.
Sometimes when I am in the process of exiting that stage, I wonder why I even bother making the effort to go back to the so-called †˜reality’, why I even bother trying to hold on to the ups and downs of life.
Maybe, this unknown rule of going back means I’m living and because I even bother to make an effort, I’m living - this is how I answer myself. And maybe, just maybe, one day when I decide to let go and come back into this world, this stage, I would finally let myself stop living, just stop bothering to keep up and just let go.
But for now, I will move forward to a new year and brace myself for the ups and downs it will bring yet again.
“Happy new year,” I say to myself in a low voice.
And as I got into my car, I smiled to myself as I pictured the next few hours of lurking in FAKKU with a cool cup of tea. All the pain and suffering of my life are assuaged by these simple hobbies of mine that make me be able to live on.
[P.S. To everyone who read this, a very happy new year to you all =)!]
[u]
(Author's note: This is my second entry by the way, the first entry is here: [Contest Entry 2010] That Rainy Christmas
0
Xenon
FAKKU Writer
How very quaint and peaceful. A Happy New Year to you as well, esteemed gentlemen.
0
Nicely done. I don't know if you feel the same, but it seems this piece could be even better if you a) Refined it, possibly using a theasuraus to give it even more impressive imagery and b) were not restricted to the rules of the contest.
Very nice.
Very nice.
0
Hmm..I do feel that the story is still somewhat unpolished but it's already past deadline. Thanks a lot for your critique, I'll improve more and try harder if there's any more upcoming competitions =)
0
Jericho Antares
FAKKU Writer
Only thing I can say besides "I liked it" or "Great job" is that toward the fore of your piece most all your paragraphs start with "I", but in the latter half the trend ended.
That being said, good work.
That being said, good work.