Haven

To everyone else on the farm, she looked like a single oak. She was the type of tree my Daddy called a climbing tree.

She grew alongside what my eight-year-old mind believed to be a magical lake. It was only a pond, but for a child, there is little difference between a pond and a lake. The real difference was in what made the lake magical. That would be the silver mist that occasionally covered it. Because the mist only appeared when something extraordinary was about to happen. When the silver mist came, mystical and wondrous events were not far behind.

The lake had captured my imagination from an early age, but my tree, my Haven, awakened my senses and showed me visions of what the world should be. She was my safe place. Sitting beneath her was like a warm hug on a cold day.

I first realized my tree was far from ordinary when, one morning, she inhaled the silver mist from the lake's surface. This may sound like a child's imagination, but I know what I saw. Her trunk moved as the mist, with one deep breath, completely disappeared and entered through an opening I had not seen before.

I witnessed this one morning while running barefoot through the field to my Haven. I ran to her when the world was too much for me. Hince her name.

I never climbed her because the first limb was far too high to reach, but I sat beneath her and shut out the world when my parents were "discussing" matters. They often "discussed" matters loudly, which was never pleasant.

That morning, after she inhaled the lake's mist, something even more extraordinary was revealed to me.

Tears began to flow as I sat beneath her. She gently lowered one of her branches and nudged my shoulder. At first, I brushed away what I thought was an insect, as the touch was as light as a ladybug landing on my shoulder. Then, slowly and gently, she nudged me again, wrapped her tiny branches around my body, and slowly pulled me up.

It was such a caring touch that I was neither scared nor surprised. She moved her limb even lower, almost to my feet, inviting me to climb on. The limb above was now the perfect height for me to hold while the lower one lifted me to the next limb and the next until I was lost in her branches and higher than I thought she was tall.

As I was lifted, there was a break in the leaves, where the sunlight shone through. I could see the lake, our house, the barn, and the cattle grazing in the field. Everything looked so small from my precarious perch, yet I felt no fear, only amazement at my Haven's wondrous abilities.

As her limbs lifted me higher, the density of the branches and leaves increased, and I could only see her trunk. Her bark was a beautiful shade of silver and black. Then, what my Daddy called a knot hole appeared. This was no ordinary knothole. At first, it seemed the size of those I had seen on other less magical trees, but then it grew until it was as wide and tall as me!

It was very dark within the opening until small orbs of light began to appear and dart from one place to another. When they slowed down, I saw that they were not simply lights. They were similar to fireflies but unlike any fireflies that inhabited my ordinary world.

These creatures were the size of the palm of my hand. Their eyes seemed too large for their tiny faces; yes, they had faces. Their fantastic eyes were very large, bright green with black vertical slits where their pupils should be. They blinked curiously at me. Their tails were shaped like miniature bulbs, giving off a bright yellow light. The more they slowed their excitable darting around, the more I could see the details of their bodies.

Their wings were luminous. There were not just two wings on each side of their bodies; there were at least four or maybe six. It wasn't easy to count them with all the movement. The wings did not emit the light that the tail did but instead glowed a pale amber as they vibrated. I suppose the wings' frantic movement is what made them appear to be suspended in midair.

Then they smiled at me, not a clownish smile but one of kindness. Although their mouths did not move, I could hear them chatting in a strange language, and I instinctively knew they wanted me to join them.

One of the branches gently nudged me, and I lost my balance. I toppled into the opening and began to fall.

I was frightened for the first time since I began my assent into Haven's wondrous world. I closed my eyes tightly as I fell. The strangest part was that the wind should have rushed upward as I fell downward. But there was nothing: no sound, no wind, only a sense of falling faster and faster.

Then, a calm came over me as my fall slowed. I gradually opened my eyes, and I saw why. The Fairylight Flies surrounded me, vibrating their wings so fast that they appeared only as a blur. It must be the puffs of air they generated that were holding me up. However, we were still descending, but now, it was ever so slowly. As we descended, they chatted wildly, although their mouths still did not move. I could not understand a word of the strange language, but I felt their sweet nature in the glow that surrounded me.

Suddenly, the Fairylight Flies slowed almost to a stop and laid me on the softest grass I had ever felt. It didn't feel like grass at all. It felt more like velvet, very smooth velvet. I had thought it to be grass because I could see it was dark green from the glow of my saviors' wings and tails. But it was softer than either moss or grass, so it must be unique to Haven's core.

I lay there as I watched the Fairylight Flies hover above me, staring curiously with their large green eyes blinking and tilting their heads first right then left as if trying to decide what kind of being I might be. A few approached closer and nuzzled against me as if encouraging me to stand. I felt a vibration with each touch, almost like a cat's purr. Contained in their frantic chatter, I could only make out one sound repeated, over and over again: Eeep, Eeep, Eeep. I think they were saying up.

As I gathered my wits, I started to stand, which startled them. They flew to the archway that suddenly appeared before me and latched onto the edges of the structure. I am unsure if they flew away because they were frightened or to light the entranceway. They chattered frantically, and amidst all the unintelligible chatter, I could distinctly hear Keem, Keem, Keem! I am sure they meant for me to come.

As I walked forward, they directed me through the archway out of the darkness into the light. A distinct line divided the darkness where I had fallen and the light I was entering. As I stepped through the archway, I was greeted by a blinding light. I blinked furiously, trying to adjust to the change in my environment, and gradually, my eyes adjusted and began to focus. What lay before me was beyond comprehension.

As my eyes adjusted to the light, I could see overhead that my eyes had not adjusted at all. The trees on either side of the path of bright green grass had arched and brought their leaves together, protecting me from the harsh light until my eyes could adjust. These trees ran the length of what seemed to be a town—an odd little town but a town all the same.

The trees were not just trees. Each tree's roots were oddly above ground. They were tightly woven together to form houses at the base of each tree trunk. All the trees were of different sizes and varieties. There was pine, maple, birch, magnolia with the most lovely scent, tiny houses of dogwoods, and other varieties I didn't recognize. My Daddy would be upset as he had spent hours quizzing me about our farm's trees and plants. I was never an outstanding student.

I thought, "This gives a whole new meaning to the word treehouses." Walking barefoot on the soft green grass, I was in awe of the houses lining my path. I couldn't help but wonder what kind of creatures inhabited this place.

Then something swooshed by me. It barely missed colliding with me, and I fell back. As I lay on the ground, I saw many birds flying above me. As they flew closer, I could see they were not birds at all.

As I lay there, they hovered above me. I could see that their bodies consisted of small, flexible limbs about the size of my arm, with smaller branches extending on either side. Large leaves grew from the branches to form what appeared to be wings. As the branches moved up and down, the leaves fluttered and propelled them.

As I stood up and wiggled my toes in the grass, these odd little creatures darted all around me, up and down, back and forth. At times, I was afraid they would crash into me. But they would always stop in mid-flight and slowly flutter by watching me intently. However, I could not make out their eyes. Even with no eyes, I could feel they could somehow see me. It may have been the two tiny branches extending from what appeared to be their head that gave me that impression. They continued diving toward me as I stood there, and at the last moment, they would always slow and flutter by.

The more I studied them, the more I saw that they were more insect-like and resembled butterflies. They looked like large, odd butterflies without all the pretty colors. They made quite a racket as they flew. The sound came from the branches and leaves on their bodies creaking and crackling like the sounds trees make in a high wind, but much louder.

These Flutter Byes were like the houses that lined my path. The similarities only concerned the material from which they were made. They were made of oak and pine and some maple, birch, and magnolia leaves. Once again, there were others I could not identify. My Daddy would be so disappointed in me.

As with the Firelight Flies, the Flutter Byes did not frighten me. I knew instinctively that they meant no harm. As with my Haven, there was peace and kindness in this place. However, I wondered what strange creatures inhabited the houses that lined my path. I was sure that with all the commotion the Flutter Byes were making, they would be venturing out soon to check on the source, and I wasn't wrong.

First, one door opened, and then another, and another, and so on for as far as I could see. The doors were smaller than the house's inhabitants as they all had to duck slightly to exit. And exit they did, almost all at the same time.

Although they were covered in fur and resembled woodland creatures more than they did a human, as they exited their homes, they stood upright on two legs. They stood slightly taller than I did and looked like a cross between a squirrel and a woodchuck. They had large, blinking eyes and twitching noses. They were a range of colors. Some were white, some black, grey, and brown, and a few were muted red.

As I took in this spectacle, I noticed that there appeared to be entire families exiting many of the homes. I stopped in front of one made of magnolia; its blossoms were in full bloom. The smell was lovely. In front of this home, four creatures had emerged. One was slightly taller than the other, and there were two little ones. They hid behind the feminine-looking creature peeking out from either side. It's hard to explain how I knew the creature was a she, but I did, as she had a softness that did not appear in the taller one.

There was absolute silence as all eyes were trained on me. I must have looked as odd to them as they did to me. Then, they slowly started to surround me. A few reached out to feel my hair pull on my clothes and touch my bare arms. As they didn't wear clothes and were covered with fur, I assumed my clothes and bare skin were a curiosity.

The more they realized that I meant no harm, the more they started talking to each other; well, they weren't exactly talking. Their language was a series of squeaks, barks, and grunts, and the younger ones sounded more like chirping birds. They were very similar to the squirrels we had back on the farm.

They all seemed to understand each other, but I had no clue what they were saying. However, as with the other creatures I encountered, I was certain they meant no harm. I stood very still so as not to appear threatening. I let these creatures fawn over me until they seemed to have satisfied their curiosity. Then, two of the smaller Treatures about my size took my hands and led me down the bright green path to a lake, just like the one on my farm. On the other side of the lake was a mighty oak; it was my Haven.

How could this be? She should be behind me in the darkness where I fell. But there she was in all her glory at the lake's edge directly before me.

A silver mist materialized out of nowhere and covered the lake as if on cue. A sign that something mystical and wondrous was coming. Then, without warning, my Haven took a deep breath and inhaled the mist and me right along with it. As I was pulled from Haven's world, I had one last glimpse of the Treatures before I found myself sitting where I had begun that morning. It was dark now, and I could hear Daddy calling my name. Dinner was ready.

I quickly decided that we would not discuss this at dinner and that it would remain my secret, at least for now.

Then, I felt a slight pain in my right hand, and several scratches appeared between my thumb and finger. Upon closer observation, I saw that the scratches had formed an exact image, though small, of a mighty oak of my Haven. I knew then that this was not the end of my adventures—this was just the beginning.