There was a time I thought nature had forgotten me. That I had been gone too long to hear her breathing. I decided then that I wasn’t going to let her walk out of my life like so many others, so I left. I found myself in a place so easy to become lost in. I looked out upon the landscape of trees, flowers, grass, and a river and I knew I would have to act fast if I wanted to maintain the bond. So I walked. I took a step for every day that I had been gone and when I took the last step, the skies split open and it began to rain. To many this would be a sign of failure, or frustration, or sadness, but not to me. Not where I come from. This torrential down pour was a baptism in the tears of Mother Nature herself. Welcoming home her child the only way she knows how. Giving me the most sacred gift she can possibly give, rain. In a matter of moments, every inch of my body became covered in water as it slid down the bridge of my nose and deposited itself upon my lips. I watched drops crawl down my hair and land in the dirt. Every drop was precious life for the many plants that covered the forest floor. I watched the soil absorb as much as it could but the rain kept coming  and began streaming downward towards the river. Joining the droplets that had come before them in a mighty torrent. Building in size and speed as it screamed through the mountain side in search of a place to rest. And just for a moment, my tears became the rain and just for a moment I became the forest. I pictured jumping into the river to let it carry me away, to find a place for me to rest as well, but not today. Today was not my day to disappear, today was not my day to dissolve back into nature, but today was my day, to live.