Work Text:
I wake up in the midst of a wood.
I don’t know how I got here or where I am, but I can tell that I’m not in Wisconsin anymore.
Something tells me that I may not even be on Earth. These woods have an otherworldly feel about them, the air heavy with secrets.
I pull myself to my feet, blinking the sleep from my eyes as I try to get a sense of where I am. This is a thick wood, and an old one by the looks of it. I take note of the spot where I woke and begin to wander, hoping that something in the forest will give me a clue as to where I am.
That’s when I notice that there’s something odd about the trees. In certain lights, it looks as though some of them have faces, but as soon as I turn for a closer look, the features become harder to make out.
A wind rises up and some of the branches begin to move: not normally, but as if there are arms stretching after waking from a long sleep.
Now I know where I am: Fangorn Forest, although this is not the Fangorn where Merry and Pippin found themselves. This is a younger version of the wood, unburdened by the Shadow and filled with a depth and breadth of life that gives me more peace than I’ve had in months.
Under other circumstances, I would worry about getting lost, but I fear that my time here is short. Visitors from other worlds are rarely allowed to stay for long, and even if I am here for more than a few short hours, I hope that one of the Ents would help me find my way out (or at least help me find some food and water).
It’s almost too much to take in, so I go slowly, hoping that my memory will capture every glimmer of light through the trees, every sway of a branch, every color of every leaf. Whenever a face emerges from within the bark, I pause and incline my head respectfully, hoping that the Ents will know that while I do not mean to disturb them, I would not shun their company.
If I knew how long I would remain, I might pause to catch their attention, but I do not want to waste any time. It has been far too long since I spent any time in a wood and I mean to savor it, because like Tolkien himself, I am at home among the trees.