Way Deep in a Dark Wood

Ostara floated through the air on her very personal cloud. Meanwhile, Jokul sat atop a cloud of his very own, his legs folded, his hands upon his knees. His gaze followed something far below the clouds. He studied children as they climbed through the trees.
Like Ostara and Jokul, the children found themselves enjoying the magnificent playground within in the forest.
"Jokul, what are you thinking?" asked Ostara.
"To be a child must be a grand thing."
"I agree whole-heartedly."
"It wears me out just to watch them play."
Jokul climbed down from his cloud, using a mountain as a step-stool. Ostara stretched out a hand. He helped her off her cloud. They descended the rocky mountain together. At the bottom, he found a patch of grass and laid down.
“What are you thinking about, Jokul?”
“The color green,” he replied.
“Why green?”
“Everything in the forest is green.”
“What would you like it to be? Green is the color of nature.”
“But it isn’t enough,” he said.
“Then what?”
“I think the grass should be one color of green and the tree leaves should be another color.”
“Why change the world?”
“Why not?” answered Jokul.
“I don’t know,” she replied.
Jokul looked all about, wondering what the grove would look like in a color beside the forest green he had always known. Jokul laid down, his body swallowed in the tall grass.
"I think I shall sleep," he said.
“Okay,” said Ostara. As he rested, she combed his hair to one side and planted a kiss upon his forehead. "Sweet dreams," she said.
While Jokul slept, Ostara walked through the forest. In his dreams, he saw her, alone, way deep in a dark wood.
Jokul followed closely behind her. At times, she preferred to walk alone. During those times, he let her wander freely. He always walked a good distance behind her, not too close and not too far away.
He took great joy watching her venture among the trees. Exploring the grove was among her favorite past-times. She ran her hands over tree limbs.
With each new tree, her skin changed moods. With a shimmer, it changed from brown to gray to green to brown again. Rays of sunlight reflected off her hair in shades of electric yellow
"How wondrous is the forest?" asked Ostara.
“Very much so,” said Jokul.
As Jokul stood in the middle of the forest, Ostara walked down a crooked path. Her hand waved across a tree limb. The leaves turned bright green. Jokul watched, as one individual tree glowed in the darkness. Ostara continued walking along, running her outstretched hands along tree limbs. Each tree shook under her touch. Each leaf changed from dark to bright.
“Ostara! Turn around!” he called.
Behind her, a line of bright green trees marked her path. She smiled, then disappeared from view. Jokul chased her through the grove. She lit the leaves with the magic of her touch.
Ostara hid at the top of the hill, her back pressed against the trunk of a tree. Jokul tiptoed between the bright green trees until he reached the top of the hill, too. Jokul placed a hand upon Ostara’s shoulder. Ostara shivered and the tree shivered, too. Each leave turned the brightest shade of green either of them had ever seen.
“Your turn to be the seeker,” he said.
With a twist and a jump, Jokul darted into the darkness of the forest. He found a bright tree and stepped behind it. The leaves turned dark as he rested his hands upon the tree trunk. He lifted his hands for a moment and the bright leaves returned.
Jokul danced through the trees and found another hiding spot, further away. He crouched low, pressing his back against the trunk of the tree.
Ostara’s shadow cut through the grove, passing the bright green trees. He held his breath and closed his eyes as she came closer.
Whenever it was Ostara’s turn to play seeker, she sang a soft lullaby. Jokul could hear it, even within his dreams. He stayed there, both eyes closed. A single finger reached around the tree and found a target.
Jokul jumped upright. Ostara had startled him from a dream.
“Did I scare you?” she asked.
“Not too much. I dreamt we were playing hide-and-seek.”
“Maybe you weren’t dreaming,” she said.Jokul looked up from his place next to the tree. Some trees were dark and some trees were bright. Now, he wasn’t sure if he was in a dream or awake. For Jokul, it really didn’t matter, because he had the comfort of Ostara by his side.