The Freed

I sit cross-legged in the dark forest, the silhouetted trees leering over me, like strong wooden arms reaching into the sky, branches waving at the stars.

It’s been a moment since I let my Bat free, I watched it tumble into the night sky away from me, black caped wings disappeared into the dark night.

Alone, I close my eyes and remain as still as the leaf-covered floor. I sit with my grief and hands in my lap, and sigh.

A rush of air and flapping wings suddenly envelop me from all sides and lift me and a few browned leaves off of the ground.

Still cross-legged and shut-eyed, the surge of weightlessness fills me, first in my chest and then my whole body.

I could be miles above the forest or just a few inches, nothing below me and nothing above, only the silent sound of flapping wings surrounding me.

I keep my eyes shut, unafraid and calm. I feel as free as he who I unchained, and I finally understand why I couldn’t hold on any longer. I understand what it’s like to be freed.

(2025)