I got lost. Everyone knows how it goes in the woods; the trees all look the same, the dirt is always dirt, and leaves… They just love to stay green. The leaves and dirt joined forces to lead me to the clearing. Burned leaves mixed with dust and the dust swallowed my eyes and sucked on their moistness. I tried to close them, but the surfaces were like crackled deserts; my eyelids skidded against their peaks. That’s when I appeared before myself.
“You know you are finished with them anyway,” I said.
“Not yet,” I replied.
“But you are ready,” I said.
Then I felt the woods change behind me though I could not see them. The greenness gelled and set, and became solid. The trees were different too, and they frowned upon me. I knew how much they hated me. The trees stretched out into the clearing and their branches slashed at my thighs; they slashed at my throat. They slashed at whatever their wicked arms could reach.
The clearing went from barren to smooth. Now slick with wetness all around me, I slid my way along it.
2007