Birch Trees of the Snow

Is this a dream? I’m walking through the birch trees half covered in melting snow as the breaking of dawn comes closer and closer to the snow-covered forest. The swift breeze is blowing against my face, making my hair blow in the wind as the broken leaves get blown into the sky far away. The snow, as soft as fur, is giving me time to think about what’s going on and it feels as if nothing in the world could ever disturb this peaceful moment in time.

I’m hearing the owls traveling back to their home and the sparrows just awakening and starting to sing their morning song. I feel this moment in time might be the most peaceful moment in my life. I feel as if I could see the whole forest right from where I’m standing. The sound of the stream flowing down the forest soothes my mind and makes it feel in a deep slumber. A pack of wolves howl together in perfect harmony like they had been for years, and a fox is protecting its family with its full concentration. A couple of fawns are playing together as if nothing bad could happen in the big world. A hawk is bringing food back to its infants. All these animals living together in absolute perfect harmony and all in the same snow-covered forest.

I climb up a birch tree half covered in snow and get to a high stable branch next to a sparrow’s nest. As dawn finally breaks I remember that I have been out for two hours and maybe even more. Then I realize that there is a distant voice encouraging me to keep walking deeper in the forest. I don’t know if I should, but I have a strange feeling I probably should. So I walk further into the forest and as I walk the snow crunches with every step I take because of the twigs in the soft snow. But then all of a sudden my sight is drowned in a bright light! I close my eyes so the light doesn’t hurt them and when I open my eyes again I find myself in my room. I hear my mom calling, “It’s time to go to school!” so I get out of my pajamas, put my clothes on, and get my backpack ready for school. As I make my way to school I remember the dream I had last night about walking through the snow-covered forest and how peaceful and vivid it was. Then I think about what it would be like if this was a dream.

Pranav wrote this story when he was 8.