A wash of relief swept over me as I pushed through the thicket of branches and stepped out into an open valley. Then, a gasp of awe escaped my throat and caught on the frigid air. Before my eyes loomed a massive range of mountains, a black silhouette against the glow of dawn. The sky behind them was illuminated with a faint turquoise light that crawled ever upward like an ocean tide encroaching upon sandy shores.

A wind blanketed me, slow and gentle as if the land had taken its first waking breath. Though I could barely make them out in the darkness, I swore I could feel the pines behind me shiver right down to their frosted needles. I wouldn’t have faulted the for it; the cold mountain air was stifling. An elemental sense of camaraderie linked us as we waited desperately for the sun’s warmth. It was something of a comfort in the twilight, that eerily silent period when you’re almost positive that you’re the only living being in the world.

My eyes slowly adjusted to the new light. Beyond the copse of pines, alone at the edge of the valley’s decline, I spotted a lonesome tree.  It seemed more of a brother to me at that moment than any other creature- human, animal or otherwise. The world around me took on a pale blue tint as my eyes finally adjusted, and perhaps it was the blue’s influence which made the tree seem so despondent. Perhaps it was simply my own distressed mental state that allowed me to witness it cry out for sunlight, begging for its shadow to reach out and touch its fellow pines in the forest. Whatever the case may have been, I felt a kindly obligation to extend the tree an offer of my company as I sought comfort beneath its boughs.

So we waited for the sun, my newfound floral friend and I. The cold fire from beyond the mountain had developed into a burst of red and orange while I was lost in my ruminations. The light overflowed from the horizon almost as if it were about to leak into the mountain passes. A ceiling of wispy clouds was revealed as the dawn reflected off of it. A brilliant pink blended into the dark sky and I knew it was only a matter of moments until the engulfing chill of darkness dissipated. As the world above me transformed into a god’s palette, the sun finally broke against the mountainous horizon. An orange beam of light blessed the top layers of the forests and the valley sprang to life with the incandescent glow of morning dew. The oblivion of twilight was at last defeated by the feeble chirps of waking birds. The sun’s gentle caress slowly stretched across the forests and fields, its warmth melting into my cheeks. The mountains shone with a mellow blue hue, now seeming so meager before the might of the sun as if prostrating themselves before it.

I leaned against the trunk of the tree and smiled softly in fascination of life’s daily renewal. The sun ascended into the newly azure sky, the wildlife crawled amongst the sun-kissed flora, and I continued my journey with a rejuvenated sense of hope.