I slowly walk down a beaten path, thick foliage all around me.

My ears swivel in place as I hear birds chirping in the distance.

I feel the damp leaves of tall plants brush against my fur, and feel the warm and damp plants under hooves.

I breathe in deeply, the humid air filling my nose with all the scents of freshness and plants.

I continue down this untrotten path until I reach a large rounded clearing.

It is filled with pink plants that sway gracefully in a low wind.

In the middle of the clearing stands a lone dark wooded tree.

It stands tall and adamant, but at the same time a sense of sorrow and regret lie beneath its protective bark.

A steel defense to protect the vulnerable tree from collapsing under its own weight.

Its branches sway gently, and pinkish blossoms dot its many branches.

I stop in front of the tree, and gaze at it.

As if by response, a single flower drops from the tree and lands between my right ear.

I blink as I stare at the tree, an alien feeling rising and burning in my chest.

Suddenly I hear a whisper, then, without any warning, the whole clearing lights aflame.

The maleficent pyre burns with a magenta hue as it consumes the tree.

All I can do is watch as the once beautiful burns away before me eyes.

Before I know it, I am standing in a field of ash, a burnt stump sits before me, cold and dead.

I gaze at the ruins of the once majestic life then, slowly, reach up between my right ear.

I free the flower from its perch and stare the unblemished pink flower.

A single drop of rain slides down its pedal, where it deposits it over the cold remains of the tree.

I sit there for decades, eons, as the rain continues to pour unrelentlessly.

Slowly, I return the flower between my right ear, and trot back into the foliage.

The sound of leaves crunching beneath my hooves.

The dead silence of the nature, without birdsong or cricket tunes, haunts me like a ghost.

I return to where I began and, without a word, take the final step into total darkness.

A single word is carried on the wind after i have left.

A soft, unspoken word filled with empathy and remorse.

"I'm sorry."

Author's Note

the real doc can be found here