I’ve dreamt of a forest.

There is a forest. I’ve dreamt of a forest green and bright and rainy and warm. I knew where to go. There is a forest. I ache in the middle of the day for scenery I do not know and have not seen before. But I know sunlight filters through leaves and I know that farther in there is a break in the trees. There is a forest. In my dreams, I reached the break, and there lay a throne, the seat empty and open and so daringly quiet. There is a forest that is so green with streaks of golden glittering between leaves. The forest is unbearably loud until it is not. There is a forest. It is tranquil but there lies something more under its blanket of calm. It larks, shadowing me. I know this place, these woods. I know it’s guardian. There is a forest. And there is a beast. A wolf but not, fearless and starved. Spikes protrude out of its back, warped and sharp. Angry teeth will rip and tear and angrier feet will trample. There is a being and a forest. I have seen it many times in my dreams. But this time, I am here, standing at the break in the trees. My shoes caked in mud, I am here. It is warmer than I dreamt but I am here. There lays a throne beyond the break, in a clearing. It sits, empty and open and so daringly quiet. I sit and smile. The forest is so so green. It is everything I’ve dreamt of. This time, I didn’t wake up. The forest is green. Slowly, I grow red. It is peaceful. It doesn’t matter that the longer I sit, the less I stand, the more tired I grow. Red stains the green. They mix well together, I think. It is hard to think through. Red reaches the brown rusted parts of the earth and the throne in its twisted form. If I could see better, know better, I’d say my red was mixing with that of the others who sat before me. But it is peaceful and green and warm and rainy. The beast comes, less furious than what I’d thought she’d be. She stands before me and I understand. The last breath I breathe is a sigh, in tandem with the beasts. And when morning breaks, I know the throne will be empty and open and daringly quiet. Surrounded by a forest, all bright and warm and rainy and green.

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