Dreamwood

A ray of early sunlight poked through the moth eaten hole of the old sheet. It came through and into the gloom of the tree burrow, hitting his eyelid. He woke slowly with a stiff stretch and a deep yawn. Crawling to the entrance he drew the sheet to one side, squinting as the dawn lit up the emerald of his eyes. He sat haunched and scratched at his disheveled, moss-like hair, a leaf falling from its tangles. A grey squirrel peeked at him from outside the hole. He blinked tiredly at it for a moment then reached back and pawed about, finding a nut and flicking it to the creature. It caught the treat in its mouth and disappeared with a swish of its tail.

He gave a last yawn before sliding from the hole and scampering up the massive tree trunk, his nails digging into the coarse bark and deftly lifting him. He climbed until he reached a high branch and began digging about the leaves. At the end of his search he had five acorns. One by one he eyed them, finding the dreams of the seedlings in the blemishes and patterns of the wood. He held them carefully and shimmied further along the branch until he found a long vine. Crossing his legs about it he descended slowly onto the forest floor.

He trekked about for the whole morning, finding where each acorn desired to fall. One by the spring where the small things came for water. One at the center of the grove of moss and mushroom rings, where late at night the wisps came to play. One on the tiny lake island where the ancient turtle came up to feel the sun on his shell. The twins that grew off the same twig he buried close on the edge of the great cliffs, where they would grow around the other and look out on all the world.

He returned to his tree for more acorns, and the sun was high and warm. When he reached that same branch he caught a whiff of something on the breeze. He looked out over the tree line and saw far off in the distance were thin plumes of smoke. The breeze called again, this time it brought the scrape of steel and the crackling of fire.

He sighed and shook his head. Time to run again.