Nature Walk

Katie’s shoes crunched crisply in the newly fallen leaves as she walked down the narrow forest path. A few lone crickets, not tired from the long night’s symphony, sung duets with the birds in their gleeful wakeup call. A cool morning breeze tickled Katie’s face, bringing with it the fresh autumn scents of pine needles and dew. She stopped and took a deep, refreshing breath, lost for a moment in the magic of the woods, untainted by the hands of man, and pure after the long, cleansing rain. She was brought back to reality by the soft scurrying and chittering of a squirrel as it crossed the path. The birds were quiet now, but the rest of the forest was just waking up.  The trees and bushes were alive with the sounds of furry creatures, hurrying to stock up for the winter.

Katie heard voices ahead.  The trail was coming to an end. She would miss the beauty of the forest—the rustling of the trees in the wind and the pattering of tiny feet in the bushes; but her class would be waiting for her. The teacher was taking attendance when she arrived; she was the last one back.  As the students headed back to the bus, Katie could hear the girl in front of her chatting with a friend.

“I love walking in the woods! There’s just so much to see--” She cut off, stopping for a moment, then hurried forward, whispering guiltily to her neighbour. Katie smiled to herself. She would never be able to experience sight the way that girl could.

Katie was blind.

But when she was in the forest, she could see the world in a magical way that girl could never imagine.