CHAPTER FOUR
SILVER TREES~



Softly a small chickadee landed beside the fallen man and his horse. Soon its mate and he chicks followed, all waiting patently beside the two fallen creatures. With in then next few minutes a family of sparrows along with a family of chimney swifts landed next to the bodies, soon followed by a group of wild turkeys and a small flock of crows. In the next ten minutes at lease one of every bird in the forest surrounded the two unconscious beings. The duo of morning doves whispered their sweet song to the other birds and at once they began to encircle both man and horse. Within only a few heartbeats the birds had organized them selves in to a regiment of feathers, talons and long, short, wide and thin wings. Still following the soothing commands of the morning doves the birds began to beat their wings in a strong rapid heartbeat. The dead leaves around the man, the horse and the birds began to flutter around in the wind created by the birds flapping wings. The long, sweet smelling lemony grasses began to swirl and send their sweet sent into the air. The short and fuzzy mosses began to agitate in the wind and send there little spores off into the air. The birds, carrying the two beings between them, lifted off into the air and began to lift above the thick canopy of trees, surpassing the mists that shrouded the big trees, there silver mantel of cold wet air. The birds soared high above the trees, their wings beating with a power saved only for flights like this one. In Owen had been awake is would have been amazed by the height the birds could reach and the patter the forest made below him, like the tunnels beneath a rock made by the thousands of insects creating there own labyrinth. He also would have been scared out of his wits most likely. The wings of the birds agitated the silvery mists around them, sending cloud of spirals, whirls, circular patterns of metallic wind. The moisture clung to Owens closed eyes, the shining gold hair and his dark feminine lashes like the forest drops of dew in the morning after a rain storm. The bank of mist muffled the sound of the thousand birds that carried the boy over the forest. The moonlight slanted through the clouds once in a while, casting it bright glow over all the bird’s wings. Time passed as the birds flew, but who would know, the boy and horse were asleep and the birds felt as if they would fly on forever, they would never stop. All the animals below never awoke from their sleep to find the birds all left their nests. The only sound to be heard down in the forest was the loud coo of a hunting owl. That owl how ever was not an owl, but a spirit charged with the protection of this part of this forest.
However the birds above kept flying for the destination was drawing ever closer.

Just as the sun was reaching over the horizon and casting golden light through the thick clouds the birds began to soar lower towards the ground. They were above a part of the forest where rarely did any humans come to. It was a spot for spirits and for animals. However the birds knew something that the boy didn’t. When the birds came lower to the ground something different was about with the trees. When they laid the boy and his horse upon the ground the birds stood back, there feathers a little askew.
“Thanks you friends.” Said a beautiful voice from the shadows.
The voice sounded like the bubbling laugh of river and the song of birds and the clash of lightning all at once. Yet there was something soft, almost maternal, about the voice, like she was the voice of all the world. From out of the shade of the trees came a woman. She was just as beautiful as her voice. Her hair was long and as golden as the sunlight, her eyes were a pure brown that glowed, even in the dim light of the morning, her body was long and slender and she was a face composed of soft features, long eyelashes and small pink lips, the color of roses, that smiled down on the birds. She brushed her hair out of her face as she leaned down to pick up the bird in front of the rest, the morning dove who had been leading them all. He sat, his head bowed modestly, in the nest of the tow long fingered hands of the woman, her slender finger tips gently holding the bird off the ground.
“You have done well my, friend. All of you,” She said casting her eyes out over the many birds who all looked up, reveling in the praise.
“This boy has a great destiny to complete and he can’t very well complete it if he is dead. You have helped save our forest, I hope you bear that in mind the rest of you days.” The tall lady bestowed a small, gentle kiss upon the head of the bird in her hands. Suddenly the wind around the bird picked up and went from a soft gentle breeze to a swift tornado of warm summer air.