My legs were begging me to stop the ascent, and at last, I was able to appease them. I hauled my body over the hill and exhaled into the chilled air.

My breath caught.

Douglas firs scoured the area. Frost decorated the trees as far as my pupils could perceive. My boot crunched through the fresh powder as I approached a colossal evergreen. Adorned upon the branches, frozen dewdrops caressed the fragile blades of pine as did the glistening snow—stippled along the sharp foliage. My fingers brushed along the leafage, the frost sparkling like sugar crystals.

I felt moisture cloud my vision as a joyous sense of relief overcame me. A broken heart had led me here, and though the air was chilled, it was not as bitter as the pain that gnawed at me. I needed to escape, for no one knew of a way to mend the broken bits of my interior. Everyone had resolved to move on, but I didn’t know how. I had been abandoned by all facets of life; except for one.

A cloud obscured the light, and a shadow consumed my vision. I inhaled the fresh scent of timber and realized  how the Earth still lived, even after suffering such loss at the hands of what it breathed life into.

The clouds passed and so emanated light.

I smiled. For it is when light shines, hope dawns, and realization springs, that we realize what was lost can begin again or be created anew.

-Kiran Bains Sahota