Feelings of the Forest A Fairy Tale by Angie Gowen Once upon a time,
There was a girl who lived in a cozy cottage in the woods.
It was a sturdy little dwelling,
Securely protected by a heavy red door.
The girl was snug and safe,
If a bit lonely.
She busied herself each day caring for her home,
Keeping it neat and tidy.
She checked the door often,
Making sure it stayed firmly closed.
When she was brave,
She would sneak a peek out the window into the deep woods.
She knew the feelings of the forest were lurking out there.
She wistfully thought back to a time long ago where she played freely with these creatures sadness,
Anger,
Joy,
Fear,
And others.
But as she grew and her identity solidified,
What once was play became very serious indeed.
Games became too rough and overwhelming.
The feelings' teeth somehow became unbearably sharp.
Their fur prickled and chafed the girl's soft skin.
Their unpredictable movements turned from exhilarating to exhausting.
So,
The girl believed it safest not to play with feelings anymore,
And she shut herself behind her heavy red door.
Day after day,
Though,
The feelings of the forest would knock,
Knock,
Knock,
Wanting to play.
Go away,
The girl would call.
I don't want you here.
I don't like you.
You are too much for me.
I can't bear it.
The feelings would pound,
Pound,
Pound,
Needing to play.
The girl would push her body against the heavy red door,
Resisting their entry with all her might,
But the feelings were too strong and they would rush in,
Having been denied entry for so long.
As they rollicked and romped roughshod over the cottage,
The girl cried and hid,
Desperate for their wild shenanigans to end.
When the feelings finally fled back to the forest,
The cottage was a mess,
But still standing.
The girl set to work tidying and cursed the feelings.
As time passed,
The girl became more and more isolated,
Hidden inside her little home.
What was this safety costing her?
In her attempt to keep the feelings out,
What else was she missing?
She spent more and more time at the window,
Staring out into the deep woods,
Wondering.
She knew the feelings were there.
Perhaps she could let one in,
If just for a moment.
What if the next time a feeling knocked,
She just opened the door?
It was worth a try.
Later that day,
She heard a knock,
Knock,
Knock on the heavy red door.
She hesitantly turned the knob with a shaky hand and opened the door,
Just a crack.
She spied the drooping eyes of sadness staring at her.
At once tears welled up,
And her throat constricted and burned as she glanced back at it.
I don't like this,
She cried,
And she pushed the door closed,
Forcing her eyes shut and swallowing hard.
Knock,
Knock,
Knock.
Releasing a tight,
Shaky breath,
She opened the door,
A little wider this time,
And really looked at sadness again.
It was familiar,
But new somehow.
Now when the tears came,
She let them fall.
Her throat ached and burned as she sobbed.
Sadness pushed its head through the door,
And she let it.
Sadness skulked its way around the cottage,
Sniffing in the corners,
Haphazardly knocking over a curio or two.
She desperately wished the feeling would leave,
But she did not force it away.
Eventually,
In its own time,
Which was far too long for the girl,
Sadness made its way out.
The girl was spent,
But felt oddly renewed.
She wondered what might happen if she invited the feelings inside.
So this is exactly what she did.
When a feeling came knocking,
She would invite it in.
Some were easier to admit than others.
She was pleased to have Joy stay for afternoon tea,
But offered no refreshment to fear,
Even though it seemed to come around quite frequently.
When anger arrived,
It was sharp and cutting at first,
But she came to learn how to play its game with no lasting injuries.
Feelings came to visit,
Played,
And left when they were ready.
After a time,
The girl found it became easier to simply leave the door ajar so the feelings could come and go as they pleased.
She discovered she liked the freshness of the breeze and the mysterious sounds of the forest.
One fine day,
The girl woke to discover her little cottage was gone.
Vanished.
No walls,
No heavy red door,
No sign that it had ever existed at all.
So,
With the fresh breeze in her hair and the mysterious sounds of the forest in her ears,
She began to walk.
Surrounded by feelings,
She set out on a grand adventure with absolutely no idea where she was going.
And strangely,
She felt right at home.
