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crazkoala

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        Complete isolation, beautiful in its peaceful silence and smudged jade green halo of canopy, my newfound sanctuary is perfection in itself.

        Only smooth river stones cobbled the winding path below my bare feet. The trickling water of the dried stream washed over my toes as I placed them on the slippery stones. The river had evaporated in the lengthy drought, revealing a road left to be discovered.

        My slow steps carried me forward, beneath the tunneled hallow of trees. Their thick leaves blotted out the sun and bathed me in their cool shade. The winding maze of gnarled, moss blanketed trunks greeted me from every angle, splendor both amazing and foreboding.

        It was as though I had stepped strait into a fairy tale. It all seemed so magically untouched, like no soul had ventured there for years on end, and its magnificence had only flourished in the absence of an observer. Wild and overgrown, but entrancing like a feral animal—something not to touch but to look at and yearn for.

        Twining vines weaved freely between the arcing trees on either side, fencing me into the river-stone trail. The lulling melody of trickling water sang to me therapeutically. Every care my being possessed slipped free of my mind, drifting away in the slight kiss of the wind.

        Golden light cascaded down upon me as the tunnel gave way to the rolling expanse of a hill. It morphed so seamlessly, gliding down into the swaying grass below to one side and the still surface of a pond on the other. Cattails jutted from the water’s edge, sharp blades of grass tipped with a white orb. The mirror like, teal water rippled ever so subtly in the breeze; the light of the sun crashed onto it without disturbance.

        The sudden thunder of hooves roused me, their gentle vibrations recognized by the souls of my feet. My keen eyes caught a flash of chestnut to one side, and turning, I lost my breath in the awe of it all. Horses. Wild horses. Four of them, tucked away in this valley haven, had managed to slip away from civilization. Three brown coats, each a different hues but all gleaming in the sun’s rays. And the single shock of white glared against the golden hay that bent around the four under the will of the wind.

        Their hooves crashed into the earth with a resounding rhythmic thud, their gallop catching their glorious manes in the backwind and strands of the silken hair lashed away from the rest. They moved as one, when an individual turned, they all changed direction in order to remain in unity with those they loved.

        I allowed myself to sink onto the hillside, my astonishment too great for me to remain standing. The sun slinked sluggishly beyond the border of trees on the horizon, bathing the whole refuge in serene, faded light. Closing my eyes, I breathed in the untainted air.

        Complete isolation, beautiful in its peaceful silence and smudged jade green halo of canopy, my newfound sanctuary is perfection in itself.