becoming one with the trees

i drive on to a few more outlooks. they're all the same to me at this point. mountains, trees, rocks, depths, skies... just a pretty picture. there has to be something else? something more?

i pull off to the side of the road. not an overlook. but a wooded area. i get out and just start running. running to i don't know where. to whatever lies beyond the trees. whether just another cliff... or something else? i need to find whatever it is. running. over broken branches and rocks. darting between trees. running. but there is no end. i pause. out of breath. i lay my hand on a tree for support. the bark crumbles beneath my weight. i slip slightly. then recover. i look up at the tree. it's body burned. covered in soot. i look at my hand. now, the same - palm dusted black.

what am i doing? why am i here?

i slowly walk back to the car. paying more attention to my blackened hand than the path before my feet. i reach the car without noticing an incident. i pass a cautious wandering glare to the woods i've just exited before i sit down in the driver's seat. i close the door.

what was that all about?

i start to drive off. but something catches my eye. thru the passenger window of the car i see something move. just a few feet from where i exited the woods, a pair of moose (or elk) enter.