Each step echoed through the hallway as I stomped out the door. I was distinct. Visible.
But the moment I submerged my foot in the sea of grass, my strides became inaudible over a chorus of buzzing insects and warbling birds. My every sound was muffled and my heartbeat was in harmony with the cadence of life. I slowly camouflaged.

My eyes carried me to the forest floor filled with wrinkled tree roots, decaying leaves, and fallen branches. Above the dead waste rose powerful and strong tree trunks bearing lush and colorful leaves. At a casual glance, I could only see the lithe, vibrant tree tops of the distance and not the grim deterioration of the floor. Yet death and life coexisted peacefully, borrowing from each other like friendly neighbors. I felt the strength of the course tree bark. I shrank amidst the towering forest.

During my trek, I noticed a series of small black dots moving across my notebook. Miniscule critters who chose, nonchalantly, to utilize my paper as a temporary highway. I crouched down to drop them off at the nearest clover only to meet a civilization on the grassy floor that I was so carelessly stepping on. Suddenly, I began to realize that perhaps the buzzing and chirping of the field were a series of conversations. Instead of seeing insects moving aimlessly and birds screeching obnoxiously, I saw a family having an evening picnic and a young couple contemplating where to settle down. I gained my citizenship in the United Nations of nature, yet life passed me by, like I was no longer present. I was insignificant

I vanished into the light of the forest thicket. The crisp autumn air filled my absence.