The day the ducks stayed

#LetterstoForest

I watched a shadow slowly make it's way over the hills, swallowing all color until the trees shown naught but darkness. Time seemed to move slower, and it made for unhurried and quiet living. When we left the house, not a soul lurked outside. Others stay tucked away in thier homes, covered in thier blankets and knits, glowing in familiar warmth. When the sun disapears and the wind brings a chill that invades your bones like a needle that slowly freezes over your veins, it makes people want to hide... but not we--we followed our usual trail but had to take a slight detour as it had flooded over and two small ducks were currently occupying the land and water upon it. You were too emersed in the long stretch of the branches and wet leaves that surrounded you to notice, but when the ducks noticed us, they did not fuss. They looked at us carefully, taking us in as though they were wondering weather or not to stay or flee as they usually do when we get too close. They decided, in the end, to continue thier drifting about in the small pool of water as though we hadn't interrupted at all.  I smiled to myself and thought of how you are a friend to the animals already.

The ground sunk slightly bellow my feet with each new step and I breathed in the familiarity of the cool, damp air. It brought feelings of notalgia and inventiveness, and ignited my soul with its bewitching song. You felt it too, I could tell. I saw the way the day folded over you like an envelope hugging a most precious letter. The way the wind lit a fire in your belly to spread joy and light across your skin and in the curve of your smile. 

I will never forget this day

I think to myself, commiting to memory the way your tiny body hugged against mine amidst the brisk breeze; the way you stared in awe at the water and laughed at my silly faces. 

Maybe you won't remember this day...but years from now, when the wind carries the scent of freshly fallen rain and damp leaves to your nose, it will spark a glimpse of the magic we felt. It will light the fire in your belly once more and you will wonder why this feels so familiar and what brought on this feeling in the first place. I hope it will make your heart warm and your mouth curve upward and that you hold on to that light for as long as you can. These days of magic are a gift, keep them for your bad days.