Rise of Mother Nature

Dreams

I opened my eyes. I must have fallen asleep as I was lying in the sun. I yawned and stretched. The grass grew longer underneath me as I stood up and stretched again. Smiling, I looked around at my warm creation. I felt so proud to have transformed the forest and the village from Spring to Summer. My small animal friends ran up to me to say hello.

A squirrel placed a nut at my feet and I crouched down to pick it up, “Thank you.”

I giggled and the squirrel ran around my feet. My best friend, Vixie, came over and brushed up against my legs. Her orange and white fox pelt shimmered as I stroked her back.

“It’s good to see you too, Vixie!” I giggled.

Her deep brown eyes seemed to smile at me and she whined. I hugged her and she ran back home to the small grove where she lived with the other foxes. Sighing, I began my daily walk through the forest. Every day, I would look through my home and help to regrow dying plants. I had befriended every single animal, every plant in the forest and we considered each other family. I tapped a brown leaf and green flooded through its veins bringing life back. I smiled but stopped when I heard a twig snap a foot away. I furrowed my brows and put my ears back slightly. I stepped silently toward the sound and pushed the leaves of a bush aside. Through the bush I saw him. His pitch black hair shined in the sun and his pale skin reflected light in a beautiful glow. My tail twitched with curiosity as the young man looked around him, admiring the plants and animals. Tilting my head in wonder I approached him slowly and quietly so he wouldn’t see me. But really, what do I have to loose? I asked myself, No one ever sees me anyway. I threw away the approach and walked into the open expecting that he wouldn’t even notice me standing next to him. Even though I knew he wouldn’t hear me, I decided to talk to the young man just to get a feeling about what it was like to talk to another person like me.

“Hello?” my voice sounded more melodic than usual.

The boy jumped and whirled around, “Aaaaaah!”

I blinked in complete astonishment, “You, you can hear me?” He looked at me like I was a beast but nodded. “Can you,” I stuttered, “can you see me?” He nodded again. “He sees me...” I almost cried with joy.

“Um...” the boy still looked a little scared.

“What’s wrong?” I asked walking closer.

He stared at my ears and I knew they bothered him. Instantly, they disappeared under my invisible cloak.

“Who are you?” he asked, “What are you?”

I twirled a piece of my green hair around my finger, “Um, my name’s Autumn, I’m the protector of the forest.”

He seemed to relax a little and he breathed a sigh. “What’s your name?” I asked stepping closer and batting my eyelashes.

The boy leaned back a little and rubbed his neck, “I’m Peter.”

I tilted my head and smiled, “That’s a nice name, Peter.”

He smirked as his face turned red. After a while, Peter really got comfortable around me. Maybe he just thought that my ears and tail were a hallucination and he forgot all about them. We talked but I talked more and I found out that he was really shy and bashful. I was outgoing and fun. We were COMPLETE opposites. Nightfall came very soon and I asked him if he had to go home.

“No,” Peter answered, “I don’t have a home. I live here, in the dark. I’m usually not awake during the day time but I just wanted to see what it was like.”

I smiled, “Are you like me?”

He raised his eyebrow, “Of course I’m like you Autumn. We’re all people.”