Here is the second except from the little weird thing I’ve been working on here and there in segments. This section is called A Walk in the Woods.
Her most recent excursion into the same wood brought a different feeling with it. All the questioning remained as to what she was, that never went away, but her sojourn hadn’t been about answering spiritual questions. She hadn’t even been looking for answers except to get out into nature and enjoy the silence. As much quiet as one could find on that particular path with the construction going on across the gully, building more homes for people who could barely afford them all for a good look at the water. Hammering and saws or maybe the constant hum of a leaf blower from the other neighborhood bordering the winding path which led deeper into the preserve. Even with the quiet of nature, the buzz of life never left her. She tuned it out while she walked.
This day, stepping carefully among the muddy and leaf covered path, she worked her way down the rutted path, stepping over roots and protruding rocks. Other people had been through there earlier because deep skids and steps from bikes and shows showed off their impressions in the mud. Even on the unmarred parts of the trail, she skidded over the leaves as they hid muck. Her eyes stayed on the ground trying to avoid obstacles, but among the debris, something caught her eye. Next to her a squirrel chatted at being interrupted from searching for its lunch or scattered nuts it needed to add to its horde. Birds twittered away around her. Twigs snapped from other smaller critters going about their day as she bent down and saw a muddy feather half buried in the leaves.
Silence surrounded her at that moment and her heart stilled. A black feather. Torn and dirty, not perfect, but she wasn’t perfect. A crow feather. Well it could be from a duck or goose, but she highly doubted it. Her heart told her it was a crow feather. The first one she’d been gifted in over twenty years. The sign letting her know she was on the right path, she slid into her pouch and kept on walking trying not to cry at the sign. If she gave into the overwhelming feeling then she wouldn’t be able to continue with her walk. She needed to keep on going. Keep on pushing until she could get home and clean up the feather and place it on her alter where it belonged.
While she walked, the ever so chatty forest spirits remained mostly quiet. She sent her normal silent thanks and hello to those watching over the patch of wood. The one message she received back from the elemental. “You’ve been blessed.”
The reverence she heard in the spirit’s voice made her wonder. Blessed was a strange choice of words coming from the one who didn’t want her there in the first place. When she tried to counter that, he wouldn’t answer. Even the Green Elder told her to stay on the path, but the feeling he sent of her being there almost had a sense of belonging in it. Did the wood spirits know she was chosen by the crow and the raven. Although, they were different birds, they meant the same thing and she counted them as one in the same. Once upon a time, she had been asked to chose been Raven and Wolf as her main Spirit guide/guardian. She chose Raven as it seemed the right fit and still does.
The rest of her walk remained uneventful except for the dogs she met and the people walking buy. Turtles sunbathed on downed trees half, lined up like soldiers waiting to be called into action. Once and awhile, the shelled creatures plopped back into the stilled water sending barely a ripple across the surface. Herons perched on all legs searching the greenish water for their meals. She walked on stopping once and a while to take in the beauty of her surroundings. Squirrels kept on chittering at her since they were the most abundant thing she saw. Once and awhile a small snake greeted her on the sunlit path in the small expanse of fields, but as she walked, the echo of the woodland message lingered in her thoughts.
“You’ve been blessed.”
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