“Google.” Google. 25th Feb.2016. Tumblr. Web. 25 Sept. 2016.
Leaves get crushed by the visitor’s shoes as he walks through the path of the forest. The yellow, decaying leaves fuse with the newly moist mud creating a mixture on the pathway. Tree branches move with synchronization with that of the wind. Sunlight breaks through the departing rain clouds and begin to be focused through small slits between the branches. Birds and small creatures come out of their interconnected shelters only to discover the blessings of viewing the sunset. The path converges as the young man continues on wards to his final destination. Large, brown colored bears gently gaze at the man and gently move across the pathway, their fur glistening in the sun light. Held upward by small shrubs the youth discovers a small golden key, this enables the young man to recognize the beautiful connection between nature and spirituality. Suddenly, the traveler has been taken to a scenery defined by short hills and free flowing water. His fingers run through the vegetation, feel the rough texture of the trees and similarly tap the surface of lakes emerging from large rock formations. The path directs into a passageway behind the trees but the young man hesitantly stays, in a constant standing position, extending his arms to the beauty before him; he has found his paradise. He smells and takes in the sweet aroma of gentle, red roses oscillating back and forth alongside a soft breeze. His glands secrete saliva at the very thought of tasting the maple sap expiating from small pours on the trees. Civilization had become more distant and the young man understood that his final abode had been reached.
The forest and all of what it contains symbolically alludes to one of many journeys that an individual can take after the acceptance of death. With varying atmospheres and moods one can find many final destinations within its forever branching pathways. Composed of falling yellow leaves and freshly moist soil the forest provides a gateway to the afterlife for a soul whom of which is guided by both fear and curiosity. Sunlight and darkened clouds quarrel over which takes power over the sky but ultimately the sun’s rays brighten the horizon: the traveler’s fate will end peacefully.
The animals are forgotten in the world of the living but are never archived to history in the life after but rather reincarnate to a more beautiful form, inhabiting a life in which they neither face trials nor tribulations. Bears roam to suffice their own needs and protect their young, resting only when there is a safe haven that has been secured. It is interconnected to the nature of the traveler who protects his body, heart and soul from falling between small cracks that may lead him into a never ending hell. He suffices his mind with remembrance of his past life and embarks on a journey to meet his final resting place, a safe haven for his heart.
The key, held firmly in the hands of the youth, is his reward for living a righteous life and instills within him unimaginable contentment. His new abode never deteriorates nor does it cripple but rather its aromas increase in beautified smells, and begins to resemble a paradise that never ceases to weaken in its reward. Civilization itself no longer concerns him, the problematic situations he was tried with are now but a forgotten memory. The traveler lived his life as just that, a man who took shade in the Earth’s palms trees and continued to his destination wandering to his paradise: the forest.
The atmosphere and mood both change significantly throughout this journey which is a symbolic representation of how the emotions of the traveler develop. Since the tale begins with a melancholic tone it is easily understood that the character feels a sense of great sadness and apprehension as he contemplates his place in the afterlife. This, however, is quickly resolved when he discovers the inner beauties that lay within his perceived life after death in which cause the traveler to be instilled with optimism and hope. The environment in particular reflects these inner emotions because of its sudden alteration between darkened rain clouds to the penetration of the sky by illuminating sunlight. Through the emphasis of a paradise like setting the mood has been uplifted from a state of depression to a state of happiness and contentment. Evidently through the actions taken by the traveler towards the end of the tale it is clear that they accept their new existence, joyfully, after death. It is by creating these subtle yet large differences that the story progresses with much coherence and connectivity.