Gnomeville's Mystery -- A Collaborative Story
Part V
An aura of colors burst forward from the tree in a rolling motion, rushing in and then disappearing, one after the other, in a frantic yet pleasing manner. All the colors of the rainbow came and went and then reappeared, over and over, from every branch and every crook of the old, gnarled tree. Each hue flowed seamlessly into the next, creating a mesmerizing transition of shades.
Without realizing it, Emma, eyes still framed with the bluish pigment offered to her by, by....well she just couldn't remember exactly how she got this paint on her face, and it didn't matter as she was slowly backing away from the great tree to better take in the spectacle. That's when she noticed the ocher on her face seemingly taking on a life of its own, shimmering and glimmering in response to the tree's enchantment. She stood spellbound by the vibrant, moving colors feeling safe and warm as well, the way a dog or cat must feel when they curl up in your lap for a snooze. A sense of wonder and joy filled her as she stood there, unable to tear her gaze away.
The rolling colors emanating from the great tree were brighter now and as she took it all in she noticed the aura, as a whole, was dancing with a rhythmic pulsing that seemed to match the beating of her heart.
Mindlessly taking another step back Emma unknowingly reached the perimeter of the "dead" area around the tree and in one swift motion (not felt by Emma) her heel caught on a vine and she fell back into the waiting leaf of a Butterbur bush. She blinked, momentarily disoriented by her sudden change in her surroundings. Looking down she saw her feet dangling in the air, was she floating, she thought to herself, half hoping it was true. Then she realized she was sitting in a leaf, and upon that realization the Butterbur leaf cradled her ever so gently, as if it were the hands of Mother Earth incarnate, and it felt like home.
At that moment, Emma noticed that she could feel the pulsing of the great tree's aura coming through the large, heart-shaped Butterbur leaf that had caught her fall. She refocused her attention on the tree and the rolling colors and noticed that the colors were now rolling inward, toward the tree rather than outward, and they seemed to be drawing her attention to the core of the tree, to its essence.
As she sat there, feeling perfectly content and cozy, she noticed in the periphery one of the tree branches stretching toward her, slowly. As soon as she perceived that she also noticed the Butterbur leaf raising her upward. Hmmm, she though, though it felt like she should be worried she was not. Quite the opposite actually, she was starting to feel an anticipatory excitement, like standing on the edge of the high dive knowing you're about to fly free like a bird (if only for a moment) before hitting the water. She had given herself to the tree long ago (at least it seemed like long ago to Emma, though in reality it was only minutes), and was eagerly waiting for whatever was about to happen.
Then it happened. In one swift movement the leaf tilted her out into the arms(!?) of the tree and the tree pulled her into the pulsing aura, where she felt the excitement of a free fall without the worry of landing, the feeling of coming home without the feeling of ever being away, and she was part of the tree now.
As she merged with the tree, a profound sense of unity washed over her. She could feel the ancient wisdom and energy flowing through her newfound existence. Her consciousness expanded, intertwining with the tree's vast network of roots, branches, and leaves. And that's when Emma came to the realization that the great tree was not dead at all, far from it actually, and it all made sense to her, she couldn't wait to get back to Gnomeville to tell everyone. Well, she could wait just a minute longer, she thought to herself. "Just another moment or two of this bliss, then I'll sprint back and let everyone know, just....another....moment..........
