Mystery Tree

                                  The open door caught her eye.

Well, she thought of it as an open door. It was actually an opening in a tree.

The dogs seemed particularly interested in it. She went over to take a look.

The snow was still on the ground, but inside the tree it was dry. And there were, what looked like a collection of sticks and rocks. But not just any rocks and sticks.

As she began to pick them up and look at them they all seemed to have a story. The first one she picked up was a stick, just a piece of what in the ocean would be driftwood. But this one looked like a rabbit. You know with tall ears and a protruding nose. And it was funny or ironic or just plain curious or serendipity because it was Easter Sunday. Seriously what are the odds? An Easter Rabbit.

 She picked up a rock that looked like Jay Leno, especially the long wide chin and big forehead. Then there was a heart stone and a stick that looked like a cobra head. She wondered who had collected them. Was it a person or an animal? Did they just like the shapes or did they see what she saw? There were no footprints in the snow except for theirs. Maybe somebody stored them here and were going to come back. I can’t take these, she thought. They would be missed. It wouldn’t be right. But they were so cool. Maybe she could take one. Just one. Or maybe she should just leave them alone and come back later with a camera.  But what if someone else comes along and takes them? Maybe I should take them to keep them safe. 

If I leave it here I can visit. It would be like seeing an old friend every time I go to the woods. But what if someone takes it?

Maybe I left it there for my younger self and this is some kind of a time travel thing. Or maybe my younger self left it for me and it is a time travel thing. So, do I take it or not? How will I know if I saw it, if I take it? But how will I know if I saw it, if I don’t take it? Oh god, this is confusing. I think I’ll just leave it and tell people about it. Or maybe I shouldn’t because what if they come and take it and then deny that they took it? I’ll have to be careful about who I tell. Maybe I should get a camera or a cellphone with a camera and then I can take a picture and send it to someone but I just won’t tell them exactly where it is. You know just in case they think it is totally cool like I do and can’t help themselves and take it. And then when I go back to the woods and it isn’t there I won’t know if it was them or if it was someone else. So maybe I should just take it. But it wouldn’t be the same. Because it needs to be in the woods. Being found in the woods and not knowing where it came from is what makes it special. Or is it special just because it is cool. And if I found it on some sidewalk in the city it might be just as cool. But it wouldn’t be magical, it would just be some junk on the sidewalk that somebody dumped there because they didn’t want it in their house anymore. Because they took it out of the woods and it wasn’t as cool in the house because it needed its proper setting. I guess I’ll just leave it and hope it is here the next time. Oh I hope it is. And if it is it will be like an old friend.