From: glen@pandora.sdsu.edu (Glen)
Subject: Rain, Part 3
Summary: rain
Keywords: rain
Organization: San Diego State University, College of Sciences
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL5
Date: Sun, 4 Oct 1992 01:39:17 GMT


Another night comes.  The rain falls quietly down through
  the trees.  Through the open window, gentle night winds
  bring the memory of another place and time.  A place where
  the cool winds were always there, and the rain always
  gentle.

As dusk draws to a close, leaving behind only
  a trace of the twilight, the night winds slowly
  pick up.  The passing storm leaves a freshness in
  the air that is too often missing from the land.

Awake, and alone, he sets out.  From the houses come
  hints of firelight, sounds of life.  Still, outside,
  there is only the breeze.  Far above, the stars send
  down a soft radiance, seen only on nights like this
  one, when the moon is new, and dark.

Ahead, the forest sits quietly, awaiting his approach.
  It is strange, he thinks, that the forest is here, that
  such a place should still exist among the tortured and
  busy cities.  But here, though the towns themselves
  may be nearby, their influence has not yet reached.

It was not always this way.  Ages ago, the forests were
  alive at night.  Fires, feasts, music, dancing and
  merriment were standard fare here.  There were no
  large cities and careless people - no hint of the
  loss that was so evident now - only joy, happiness,
  love.  By day, the sun shone peacefully down between
  the maple leaves and pine needles, and at night, as
  gentle winds drifted through, there was a continuous
  party.  The people, and the land, were one.

He never knew those ages... but he could remember them
  nevertheless in his mind.  As he entered the forest,
  the troubling memories and thoughts of the night 
  before left him, at last for good.  At last, he knew
  the *feeling* of peace.  He walked alone into the 
  forest, with only a quiet flow of air for a companion.

The smells stood out the most - clean, quietly fragrant -
  things that many people cannot experience, and that
  many more choose to ignore.  As he inhaled each breath,
  he took in more of the calm that surrounded him.

He came to the stream - close to the source, it ran clean,
  for a time, talking quietly to him in the night air,
  speaking of other lands, and other times.  It spoke
  to him a wordless truth - that it is, and he is.  He
  knew what it was saying, yet it could never be expressed
  in mere words.

This would be his last visit here, he knew.  The signs at
  the edge of the forest were unmistakable - and he knew
  that soon others would walk here, without ever knowing
  where they were.  Construction signs.  Destruction signs.
  And, regardless, it would soon be time for him to leave
  forever.

As he turned slowly for home, he knew that the spirit of
  this place, of what it was meant to be, would remain 
  with him, rather than with the forest itself.  The 
  forest might die - but only to others.  To him, it would
  be where he was, even though he still did not know where
  that would be.

Walking back along the path, he can feel without looking
  the two that walk beside him.  Here, there is the forest
  and its peace - its quiet life in the night - and it is
  now his companion.  And here, his other companion, the
  one he is bound to but has never met, she walks with him
  also.  Not yet in body, perhaps, but, somewhere, always
  in spirit.

His mind and spirit finally at peace, he leaves the forest
  for the last time.  Through the hills ahead, there are
  hints of firelight, sounds of life.  Still, outside,
  there is only the breeze.  Far above, the stars send
  down a soft radiance, seen only on nights like this
  one, when the moon is new, and dark.

To be continued...