Back to the Earth

Emily walked out of the stuffy schoolhouse with her gaze fixed. Her uniform felt tight and uncomfortable; her freedom felt strangled. She shivered in the chilly winter breeze. Under her breath she whispered, "Oh, how I do hate the cold!" Leaves rushed at her as she headed for a tiny, gravel covered path. The cool air made her braids flap behind her. Slowly, she trodded towards home on that little path carved into the brush. Although she was not feeling very energetic at the time, she felt a thrill of excitement as she passed a break in the trees. Emily stopped to take a look, her curiosity overpowering her. Along the wall of trees and bushes, there was something like a little door through them. Prickly thorns were blocking the way. She strained to see through them without getting pricked. There behind the spiky wall was a golden field full of many delicious grasses blowing in the wind. Little blossoms were falling through the air like a light rain. She hadn’t seen anything so beautiful the whole 12 years she had been alive. Emily looked at the field with envy, and decided she would try to reach the field anyway, even if it meant ruining her school clothes on the thorns, for which she would be punished. As these thoughts were considered in her mind, the garden of terrible weeds melted before her eyes. She stared at this for many a minute, thinking it was just a trick to her eyes, but it was not. It was the power of nature for those who seek it. Thus, she continued on through the wall of brush. As she entered, she inhaled the sweet ginger air, as fresh as morning. The gentle sunshine shone down on her golden locks. She got another shot of adrenaline, and though she was tired and beaten before, now Emily had as much energy as anything. She skipped around the field, gathering wildflowers. She undid her braids, and let them fly loose and free behind her; the wind whistled through it. Spring had arrived.