A PORTAL IN THE FOREST

The forest was still as the same as Emma remembered it. Full and interesting; glamorous even. Although she noticed that her senses were more heightened and attuned to the forest than the last time she had been here.

She could hear the branches creaking, as her feet shuffled through the detritus. She could hear the squirrels chattering, the birds singing, insects humming and churring, the rustle of animals rooting in underbrush, the scrabbling of lizards on tree bark. She could also hear the leaves rustling, the wind whistling around trunks and disturbing the leaves.

She didn't know why she could hear these sounds more distinctively; but whatever it was, she liked it. 

She felt safe to be among tree trunks. The forest was like a safe haven, a place to rest. Fewer thoughts come to her mind, and the hustle and bustle in her head quietened down. It became easy to enjoy even the little things and distinguish between what