If you are reading this and 4 chapters in Just want to wish you a safe and happy Christmas and a blessed New Year. 2020 has been all types of %^$%^& please stay positive healthy and safe. Much love from Australia

Chapter 4

Isabella POV

It seems there is much they need to learn and know with very little time to do it.

I remember a time of such peace when all life was in harmony I am one of many guardians tasked with ensuring all life was respected and cared for. That all those under my care respected each other, I was breathed into being by the willow. I was a seedling that had fallen beneath her shade and grew ever so slowly as light was sparse below the foliage of the willow. It was there that her tendrilled branch brushed against my slowly growing stem like a soft tickle that went down the length of my form. It is where a white glow began and hands took shape and legs took form with crouched stance in a pillowy white dress that fell to my knees, I remember my first breath on shaky legs as i fell to my knees in front of the willow tree.

They say you can tell the age of a tree by the rings you see when you cut part of the trunk, what they don't know is that each ring has played witness to some of the greatest love stories some of the biggest heart aches and even played centre stage to wars whose foot prints were washed away by the passing of each season.

I stared at the tree and saw a vibrant glow, like shimmering lights surrounding every leaf and branch It was so bright i had to shield my eyes "Hello my child" I looked around in confusion seeing no other being i could see on the forest itself "Do not be frightened dear one for I am Mother willow" I looked to the tree "Mother Willow?"I didn't understand what mother meant nor what i was myself but i could feel everything from the fishes swimming in a nearby stream, to a bear scratching its back on the bark of a tree, to the birds nesting high above on the tallest trees.

"I gave you life dear one and because of this I am Mother" I was not use to the term but she must be right if she gave me life "why did you give me life" The tree began to shimmer brighter and in the centre of the trunk of the willow tree images began to appear" I watched you on the ground as you struggled to take root under this damp cold earth,I watched you nestle in deep and begun to take root such a stubborn sapling you were. Where most do not flourish, you began to grow you took what little nourishment my leaves would provide and you waited for the midday sun to shine its small rays of light through my curtaining leaves" I watched as i began to grow and sprout before my eyes.

"You weathered forest floods and dry days yet you never faltered, thats when i knew you would be the one" the one was very strange to me what did she mean "I have given life to all things that live and have grown in this forest I was one of the first to create a home with many children and wonders the eye could see. I have waited for the one who would take my place" Take her place what did she mean take my place "I do not understand" "come child sit with me and allow your spirit to walk with mine and you will know all" at this the roots below my feet began to shake and the ground began to tremble, the roots itself rose from the ground and began to slither into shape creating a circled floor clear of dirt and mud "sit with me child" so i moved closer to the circular floor and sat among the roots of the tree. As i sat the roots began to grow vibrant green moss with blushing flowers and scented leaves. "Close your eyes and feel my presence let us share the energy and heart of the forest" behind my closed eyes i felt as if i was in a never ending field of mist "let the energy flow through you do not think to hard just feel" so with that i took slow and deep breaths to calm my beating chest. Then the mist began to clear and i stood amongst a vast land of nothing just dry dirt and a bright sun, there was no forest there was no water.

"This is what you want to call home this is nothing, this is barren" said a shimmering form "It is my canvas to draw life upon it is what i have chosen" said a familiar voice "you know why we searched for such a place, It must be heavily guarded at all times it must not break" said the shimmering voice "It is why i will no longer take physical form brother I will paint my prison full of wonders and ensure it will never be asunder"now i know why the voice was so familiar it was Mother she was so beautiful Long flowing auburn hair and eyes as green as the leaves which grow on her branches her skin so luminescent it sparkled like a jewel, with a dress that was spun from gold it flowed and swirled below her feet.

"I will make my home here" she said as a glowing red orb swirled between her hands.

"Will this be the last time i see you sister?" said the shimmering lights

Mother stood before the lights and raised her palm which was free of the orb "may your travel be safe and your heart yearn not as the stars will bare witness and seek only when the final call comes" said mother as she lowered her hand from the shimmering light. She stepped away from the light as it burst in wondrous colours and took to the skies leaving nothing but a seedling on the dry earth. As mother stepped back she lowered the red orb to the ground she rooted her self above it she began to dress fell to the ground and morphed into thick and long roots that dug beneath the ground she raised her arms into the sky as her fingers began to change into branches and her hair dissolved and eyes became nothing but a memory. There she stood transformed into mother willow, grass began to sprout from the ground trees began to grow streams began to appear until i now recognised where i stood. I was in the very forest that mother created,with that i stood from my seated position disoriented and dizzy not quite understanding what i was seeing.

"Did you see how the forest came to be child" mother willow said "I do not understand why I am here"

"did you not see" she questioned

I did not know what she meant as i replayed what i had witnessed

"My brother left behind a seedling,when he departed this land"

I remember that i saw the seedling was left at the base of the willow tree until suddenly i remembered "may your travel be safe and your heart yearn not as the stars will bare witness and seek only when the final call comes" thats what she had said to him before he left "you were his final gift to me the stars have made their final call young one,for what is to come i pray only that you have the strength to prepare yourself for time grows ever nearer"

Author notes:

I took inspiration from Pocahontas and the Mother willow tree...

Please review and let me know your thoughts