The oak canopy bed sheltered me from the sunlight beaming through the stained glass windows. The room was filled with the scent of pine and cherry. Mounds of daisies graced the marble floor and the sound of pots and pans clanging in a distant area of the house broke the warm silence.
Thousands of might oaks covered the forest floor. the monotony of gargantuan trees was broken by the occasional pink dogwood. The thick blackness of the forest was pierced by the glowing crystal blue stream running through the forest floor.
the path was covered with limbs and debris created by the spring storms that had now dissapated as summer trickled in. The path was clearly made for a single traveler and was outlined with large stones. Grass had long since ceased to grow on the well-worn pathway.
The path appeared a never-ending stretch of dusty earth. As I tired from the journey, I became certain that i was haluccinating. Rubbing my eyes I squinted through the darkness, startled by what I saw. The crystal blue stream had emptied into a calm, engulfing body of water. The water, unlike the stream feeding into it, was murky and black, making it impossible to discern it's depths.
Weary and discouraged, I lay beside the water's edge to rest for a moment. Certain that the vision of this dingy river would be my last, I pounded the muddy water with my fist. At that moment, a wooden "trail" rose from the waters that lay before me. Renewed and excited, I sprinted forth into the unknown. A gate graced the other side of the bridge and as I pushed it open, a small, round clay vessel tipped over on the ground. Leaning down to retreive it, I noticed an inscription on the side. It read simply: back to the flowers".
Looking around as though someone might noticed, i carefully slipped the cup into the breast pocket of my jacket. Another, wider path lay before me. Without hesitation, I began moving quickly forward, so as not to be caught unaware by the darkness of inevitable nightfall. taking my eyes off the path as a large, gray eagle flew above, I tripped over a stone jutting up from the ground. I had jarred it from it's resting place. In my attempt to replace it, I noticed the glimmer of what appeared to be a ruby in the crevice where the rock once sat. Digging it out, I discovered it to be a key on a gold chain. Unsure of it's usage, but clearly fascinated by it's mystery, i slipped it around my neck and began to walk on.