Return to Nature Index

You have a hard time getting to sleep this night. You don't know why you are so awake, maybe you are excited or anxious about something tomorrow. Slowly you begin to close your eyes, and you finally drift to sleep.

Opening your eyes, you think you are still in the darkness of your room, but things look different. The place is still dark...you can almost barely see anything, really. The only light you notice nearby is a lone street lamp, and as it is the only thing you can seem to see in the area, you are drawn to it.

The street lamp illuminates only the area around it, letting off a warm golden glow. It is a tall and black, the shape of the light seems strangely familiar to you. Crickets chirp off in the distance, the only sound in your surroundings. You notice that a few moths are circling around the light, and you then see that it is an electric bulb and not a flame.

You then begin to think about this place. The other places you have visited didn't seem to have any kind of civilization or presence of humans, where this place obviously shows signs of electricity. This is very curious to you.

You aren't expecting it, but a crow flies by and perches onto the lamp, looking down at you and cawing loudly. You nearly jump out of your skin, staring up at the bird as you catch yourself from falling over. You watch as the bird picks off the moths flying around the light. This must be its usual feeding place. You feel bad for the insects that are eaten, but eventually come to the conclusion that it is part of nature.

The crow, well fed, caws out one more time before flying off. You watch the bird disappear into the darkness, and feel like your only friend in the place has abandoned you. You start to hear something, though, coming toward you. The tapping sound makes the crickets silence their chirping, and you focus on the sound, looking in the direction that it seems to come from. You are suddenly startled as you see something in the darkness.

A pair of eyes are approaching, the eyes glowing brightly and staring right at you. You start considering what kind of animal it could possibly be, and considering that you have no idea what the area is like, you feel like there is nowhere for you to run. The eyes continue to approach, and you begin to step back into the darkness, and prepare for what the eyes belong to.

As the creature approached, you began to see who it really was - your deer had come to visit. A wave of relief filled you as the light from the lamp brightened the deer's body. They finally were standing underneath the street lamp, headtilting curiously at you for backing away. You approach and greet your friend happily.

The deer smiles, then begins to walk around you, as if they were studying your person. While they're doing this, you ask, "Were you the crow earlier?" Your deer smiles and nods their head. This surprises you a little, and you ask, "...You eat moths?" The deer snorts, making a slight sound like they were laughing. You remember that the Endless Forest deer could be turned into other animals like frogs, squirrels, and crows, so you come to the conclusion that when they've been transformed, they act like that animal. Still...you can't imagine a deer eating moths.

After your deer stops inspecting you, they smile and bow. Almost at once, the light from the street lamp goes out. You are startled that the area suddenly became dark, but then you see why - very slowly, you can see the horizon begin to glow.

A sunrise, perhaps the most beautiful one you've ever seen. The sky gradually brightens from a dark violet, red, orange, yellow...and the Sun's warmth feels wonderful. On the horizon you see silhouettes of trees, and you see deer out there, grazing, playing, enjoying the sunrise themselves.

It all seems too perfect.

"Beautiful, isn't it?", the silence was broken by the most unlikely voice. Your deer looks to you, speaking for the first time. "Yes, it is.", you reply.

You awake suddenly, back in your bedroom. It's still dark, but you look at the clock - a few minutes before sunrise. Hurrying, you climb out of bed and look out the window, and little by little the night fades and you see a similar sunrise like the one in your dream.

"It is beautiful...", you say, hoping that your deer hears your words.