jasmine

Jasmine

I slowly made my way through the forest touching the rough bark of the trees as I passed them. The wind through the leaves sounded like a nearby ghost highway that nobody had ever found. The light from the rising sun seeped through the twisting branches leaving a golden glow on the earth beneath my feet. I stopped in my tracks and looked around myself in amazement at the beauty surrounding me. Each tree trunk was different in some way; each had a slightly different coloured bark and each looked as though it were trying to tell a different story. Sometimes, I wish that nature could speak; I wonder at all the tales it could weave with the intricate patterns that have shaped over the thousands and thousands of years.

"Where am I," I faintly whispered to no one in particular, not even bothering to expect a reply.

"You're in a place where dreams come true�" a small voice responded. I looked around searchingly trying to find the origin of that small voice but I did so without success. Not a single blade of grass looked different and now, even more than before, I wished those old trees could talk and tell me their secrets.

All at once, a girl, no more than six or seven years old, crept out from behind the largest tree and looked up at me like a deer who had been caught in oncoming headlights. I did not know how to react to this. "Follow me," she beckoned as she turned and started running through the maze of trees before us.

Following behind her, I watched as her light brown hair was flowing in the wind. At once, I wanted to reach out and touch her silky mane but, with every step I took, she was two steps ahead of me running breathlessly. Her feet made no noise as they made contact with the precious earth below; the only sound I could hear was the pounding of my heart as I followed her. She took me on a winding chase through the forest never even hinting at where her destination lay. I still had the unbearable urge to reach out and touch her and perhaps that was the reason why I kept on following her.

All at once, I lost sight of her. She was no longer running in front of me and showing me the way; instead, she had simply vanished and left me without her. At this point, tears started to fall freely from my eyes and moisten my cheeks but I did not know what caused them. Perhaps it was the unforeseen beauty of being alone in such a magical instant or perhaps it was the simple fact that I was alone in a place I had never been. I looked around me and realized that I was in a big green open space with a river flowing near me. The crystal blue of the waters and the rich green of the grass had me entranced. The sound of the river flowing continuously was like a sweet lullaby sung by a mother as she gently rocked her child to sleep.

"Who are you little girl?" I muttered to myself as I paced back and forth parallel to the river, yet again not expecting a reply. This time was different though because I was not given an answer. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something move as fast as a speeding bullet. It took me a few seconds to register that what I had seen were the tips of that little girl's hair flying so familiarly in the wind only a few feet away from me. On impulse, I decided to follow her again, hoping to find out her name.

As though she could read my mind, I suddenly heard her voice call out "My name is Jasmine. Now if you plan on following me, close your eyes and trust that you'll know where to find me as you run�"

Without thinking, I listened to her instructions and let my feelings guide me to where I believed her to be. Just as her feet had done before, mine too made no noise as they made contact with the ground. I felt as though I was flying. Then, unknowingly, I leapt off the edge of the cliff on to which I had just stepped. The feeling of falling in darkness is one that I had never before experienced. It seemed as though there was no definite end to this leap. I thought that maybe I could just float around here forever, feeling at peace because I had become one with everything around me.

Without warning, I opened my eyes and leaned forward in my bed. I looked around myself, no longer falling, as though expecting to see that little girl at any moment. Nevertheless, I was alone once again.