When The Trees Sang: Prologue
by Nicole
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Come round now friends this battle's done
We're through the fire and rain
We've stood the test of courage yet
Withheld the blinding pain
We'll bed tonight beneath this wood
With joy our hearts content
For while we fought with fear and strife
Still on our quest we went
And now the journey's nearly done
We've made it for you see
For when the sun awakes us all
Towards home our path will be
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Darkness seemed to envelop the treetops as they made their way through the forest. The lonely cry of a bird echoed around them as they struggled to keep their heads up as they walked, weary from the long battle. The ground beneath their feet seemed to mark their pace, and the trees sung the song of their journey. Never before had they felt the pain that was ripping through their bodies as they dragged themselves the last few steps until they reached the place that they were to rest for the night. As they fell to the ground, weak and beaten, their minds fought to block out the memories that had come to haunt them through the whole of their journey. Thoughts of what they had seen, what they had lost, and what they had left to face flashed in their minds. What courage had been found in themselves that they never thought capable of even existing. A gentle wind blew across their ragged bodies as they lay, breathing heavily on the ground. So long had it been since they had smelled the sweet air of their home. So long had it been since they had begun their journey, once a whole, now, dwindling away to only a few. While happiness fluttered through their bodies, a bitter sadness overcame them, and clouded their eyes with the salty vision of tears. Never again would they go an instant without thinking of this day. Never would they return home again, the same as they had left. For now, a change had overtaken them too great for any of them to handle. A change that would keep it's grip on them for many years into the distance. As they turned over to face the moon looking down on them from the starless sky, a thought crossed their minds that hadn't made itself known since the start of their journey. When the sun made its grand entrance over the mountaintops in the morrow, they would begin a new journey that would bring them to a place that they had been longing to see for so long. Home.



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