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#19- Ahisutah's Home
I turned my head high up to look at the forest canopy. The rays of light shining through gave the impression that many spotlights were gleaming onto the forest floor. As I walked past a ray of light, the brightness stung my eyes harshly. I squeezed my eyes shut and looked away from the canopy. There were many twigs and branches covering our path aside from the huge stumps and fallen over trees. Many times I would accidentally step on a twig myself and jump of fright at the noise I had caused. Whitey-chan laughed out loud every time I did that. Ahisutah just sighed.
I felt a lot warmer now too. All this walking was drying up my pants and jacket and I was able to feel my numbed hands again. All the snow was gone from the ground now and the atmosphere was pleasantly dry with cool drafts coming from time to time.
Before long, when I had just felt comfortable walking in the forest, Ahisutah turned her head back to Whitey-chan and I, calling to us in a relieved voice, “We’re here, my dears.”
I looked up and searched for a house or a small cabin that could have been Ahisutah’s home but couldn’t find anything if that sort. I looked from side to side to see if it was perhaps hidden behind a tree. The only thing I saw that was extraordinarily noticeable was an overly enormous cedar tree standing tall in the middle of the forest. Its roots were almost as thick as a car and its massive trunk was as wide as a twenty story tall building. It had a head sized knothole on the side of its trunk, near the bottom. The tree was free from moss and other pests that were supposed to roam on it. That was vastly peculiar for me. I wondered how a tree could grow this tall. What kind of magical tree was it? I decided to question Ahisutah.
“What is that?” I called to her, pointing at the overgrown tree as she was looking at me.
She turned to peer at the tree and then turned her gaze back to me, her red eyes sparkling.
“That, my dear Ayumi,” she said with a mystical but sincere smile on her face, “that is my home.”
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