Social Short Story – The Enchanted Pine Forest
Photo credit: Schick from morguefile.com
As I was walking through a thick pine forest, I suddenly felt something was following me and…. Waves of fear rolled through me. Nervously, I turned my head back. But I found nothing unusual. An uneasy feeling crept on my nerves. Nevertheless, I trudged on the snow path.
A blizzard was raging on. I was admiring the intricate patterns on the snowflakes. The snow was glistening in its full splendour. In fact, my soul was spiralling in frozen fractals all around. One thought crystallised like an icy blast, I’m going to explore and discover something new today. The wind was howling fiercely and I was shivering with cold and fright. I was all alone and even my jacket couldn’t keep out the biting cold.
Then, I heard a rattling sound coming from the middle of nowhere. What if it was a rattlesnake? My mind was racing. I turned back once more. My eyes captured the sight of a heap of pine cones and one of them was vibrating as if it was calling me . I was puzzled. I guessed it must have been my imagination playing tricks on me. I shrugged and moved on. But the rattling sound was persistent and was reverberating through the forest. I looked back and found to my astonishment the little cone teetering towards me.
I tenderly picked up the cone in my hands and whispered gently, “What is the matter, dear pine cone?”
A nature lover, I could understand the language of all creatures great and small. I felt it was beckoning me to follow it. Little did I know that this pine cone was to become my saviour and that an everlasting bond was going to be formed. I was hesitant initially. I had no clue of my whereabouts and did not know anyone. But looking at this pine cone’s earnest expression I trusted it completely. After all, it was Mother earth’s child.
It was getting dark. We moved on with the pine cone directing our path. Finally, we arrived at the base of a pine tree, probably the pine cone’s mother tree. The cone glanced at me and I nodded. I closed my eyes as it unleashed shimmering magic dust on me. I found myself shrinking. The pinecone exclaimed, ‘Welcome to our home sweet home.’ I was touched. Even a little pinecone understood my plight and showed kindness to me. It had protected me from freezing to death by providing me a natural shelter.
I entered the pinecone’s home and first embraced the strong roots. I climbed up the ladder like grooves on the tree, following my friend. Then we were dangling on the branches and swinging on the leaves in sheer joy. My dampened spirits were now lifted and my chilly feeling was washed away by the warmth of our friendship. We jumped on the flexible branches and bounced up in unision. I inhaled the fresh mountain air. Musical welcoming notes were played by the pine family members. We visited all the sections of the house and my friend introduced me to all the family members. The central tower (the bark) was the family meeting ground . Later, a fellow pine cone scurried inside the central tower and delivered the depressing news that a home in the forest was destroyed and that many residence were injured. This came as a shock to all. Tears welled up in our eyes. We agreed to offer necessary assistance. Even I felt a feeling of belongings to the family.
As the new day dawned, my friend and I made it to the pinnacle of the tree. From there we could have a picturesque view of the hills. Eyes moist, my friend looked at me earnestly and said, “Will you help us preserve our natural habitats? Please “.
I nodded,” of course. I promise you , my friend . I’ll do whatever I can.”
And we held hands and vowed to never break our friendship ever.
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