The Introvert

Hush.

The wind is speaking quietly.

You can rest now. 

She leaned back her head and took in a breath. Everything needed to be observed in silence. She opened her eyes and her gaze flickered from branch to bush to patches of barren sky to crowded dips and hills of her haven. She scanned below her - a seemingly endless array of branches and greenery. 

Silence. 

Tranquil bliss. 

She heaved a sigh and basked in the pure peace of it all. In the distance, she heard her nieces and nephews running about and having glorious fun. She knew the boys were fashioning shelters and fortresses to ward off oncoming, imaginary armies. The girls, the maidens in distress, perhaps locked in the dungeon that the bravest of the lot may know how to escape. 

No matter how far I travel, I can still hear people. 

She fiddled with a loose twig. Her heart still thumped wildly from her trek. She took slow, deliberate breaths to ease the exertion. Her ears sharpened and amplified every rustle of brush and creak and footstep. 

It's much worse when she had been out and about, traveling and talking and conversing with social life. It's like every sound dialed to one hundred, and suddenly she didn't know how to answer the question or say the next line or-

Hush.

The wind is speaking quietly.

You can rest now.

She checked herself - her breathing had quickened. Nodding, she began a slow climb downwards, the mighty willow's swaying vines brushing her arms and cheeks. Her feet plodded on the ground as she resumed life on her two feet. 

Footsteps echoed around her haven, and her head twisted to the forest. A young man emerged. 

"Hi?" The formality came out a question. "I thought you were at the creek."

She shook her head. "No. Here."

His eyes darted excitedly about, as if they couldn't savor one aspect of her haven for more than a second. "Nice place. Look, I was thinking, about tonight? All of us were planning to go traipsing around and grab dinner someplace - see, I was thinking this nice place down near..." he rattled off many different restaurants. She nodded her head politely, and though her ears were ringing, she managed to say "Yes."

The young man stopped abruptly. "Um, wait, why am I here? Riiiiight okay so I was thinking you look like you wanna be alone-"

It shouldn't be that obvious, ought it?

"-so, I was thinking, on your behalf, should I make a suggestion to the crew as to not go out tonight? You know, since we are doing somethings tomorrow night, and the rest of the weekend is booked-"

"A slow night, then?" She interrupted. The thought fascinated her. She nodded swiftly and he grinned. 

"Good, then! See you later!" He threw her a jaunty salute before plunging back into the thick overgrowth. 

Silence. 

She heaved a breath and sat down, the log beneath her cool and mossy. Thin threads of light weaved through the trees and settled on another poor tree that had met its fate just a month before. Charred remains scarred the once glorious oak. 

She sympathized with the tree - reduced to such a quiet state, not able to stretch its limbs out any longer or feel the wind brushing against its bark or the swift way hidden music intertwined with its leaves. 

But somehow, she knew, it was at peace. 

Moss was already starting to grow around the stump, and grass tickled the sides of its roots. It was joyful in its new state, a state of presence and being that could still enjoy life to the fullest. 

Much like her, it had been jubilant in its early years, but waned for an unknown reason. They had both adapted to their new forms and found peace in where they were in life. They were grateful and blessed to be here, here in her haven. 

She smiled. 

Someone crashed through the brush. The young man shot her a sheepish glance. "Sorry, but how do you get back?" 

Laughing, she stood from her log. "I'll show you." And, casting one last look around her haven, whispered with the wind. "I'll be back." Then, she dove into the brush, ready to take on the world.