The Emerald Forest

The bombarding thunderous storm showed no sign of stopping, so I decided pretty early in the evening that it was going to be a restless night. I patted my chest down and realized I wasn't wearing the family heirloom, and quickly searched in the usual spots that I leave it on accident. I end up finding it next to the sink, I must have taken it off when I was shaving before I collapsed into bed. I almost cannot believe I tried going to bed without it. I walked into the kitchen, and decided to add candlelight to the moonlit room. The more the refreshing aroma filled the room, the more I focused on the scent rather than the song of storms. I pulled a chair next to the small fire I had made, and sat down to try to collect my thoughts.

As I twiddled my necklace gently between my fingers, I focused on the refractured light from the small flames that reflected through emerald gem in its center. Whenever I missed home, I would light a candle that brought back the smell of pine trees from my old backyard, and I would reminisce with my favorite present I had ever received. I always had this trinket with me, it was a gift you gave me on my 9th birthday, and I have clung onto it religiously since. Honestly? Sometimes I even showered with it, like the idea of having to take it off felt like a betrayal to who I truly was. You see, because every time I looked at the emerald necklace, I could relive the past. Every time I gazed into it long enough, I could remember what it was like to be 9 years old again. I could remember what it was like before the world fell apart. I could remember seeing their face before the car accident. I could remember what it was like when we would walk in the forest together.

Yes, I would have that be the memory I focused on, walking through the woods. I hoped that the more I would focus on the woods, the less I would focus on the storm. When we walked through the woods together, it was only partially cloudy, and the breeze was relaxing. The only sounds we heard were the light crunches of the autumn leaves beneath my Chuck Taylors and your work boots. This is the memory that I return to every time. It's not that anything meaningful was said or done that day, but the fact that it was a moment that just you and I shared together that we enjoyed regardless of it being special. I found it fascinating, how a moment could be perfect just based upon its simplicity. It was a moment where nothing else was going on other than the weather, and that we were walking side by side. Step after step, I tried to synchronize my march to yours, wondering if I was doing it all correctly. Here I am now, restless and with children of my own, wondering the very same thing. I looked in the reflection of the gem again and saw your face looking back at me, and we smiled at each other. I put the candle out and latched the necklace back onto myself, before heading back towards my bed.

Walking down the hallway, finally heading back to sleep, I see a brief flash of green light come from underneath my son's door. I tried to remain quiet as I crept near his room, wincing as I heard the creek of wood I caused while leaning near the doorway, trying to listen to what he is doing up so late. Nothing, not a sound, the type of quiet defined by someone trying to make no noise at all. I thought back to all the times where I was staying up past my bedtime, playing handheld games in my room, thinking everyone else was asleep. I take a moment, I heard the sounds of myself as a kid, turning the game back on after thinking you had definitely left the doorway to go back to bed. I smiled, and followed in your footsteps, and left him to his games. He deserved to stay up late, he had a big day coming up; his 9th birthday was the next day.