The twister dropped the Fool off at the edge of a large old forest. The trees were huge, and the interior dark. He could smell the damp decay of the forest floor wafting out from the giant oaks. The sinister thing was, he could hear no bird. With a burnt arid expanse of rock and grit behind him, the Fool took a step into the cool humid shade of the ancient wood.
The forest canopy was thick and overgrown. The tree roots battled for real estate in thick soil that was littered in leaves. The Fool had to step carefully to navigate the trees. The trunks were fat and swollen, twisting up into large branches reaching for the sky, blotting out the sun entirely. Here and there pinprick dots of sun made it to the forest floor.
As the Fool walked farther and farther into the dark wood, the light got dimmer. He started feeling his way through. The smell of earth and decay became strong. The ground got thicker with trees’ sacrifices of branches and leaves.
He started hearing twigs snap and the rustle of leaves. The darker it got, the faster the Fool’s heart got. He was convinced that he wasn’t supposed to go any further into this forest. The climb up the hill was getting steeper as well. He kept getting caught in the roots and tangled up in branches he couldn’t see.
He was scrambling up a small ravine that had a trickle of water dripping down when he saw a light up the hill. It made shadows dance and flicker. He could see the definition of the patterns on the bark of the oak trees. He smelled smoke. He started for the source of the light.
Ahead of him was a giant oak tree. Biggest the Fool had ever seen. He could see the night sky above it and realized that he had reached the top of the hill. Beneath the vast tree, a man in an old tattered robe sat in quiet contemplation. To his side was a skull with a candle on top and to his other side was a lantern glowing with an unknown light source. On his shoulder he balanced a staff that had oak leaves and acorns on the end.
The Hermit patted the ground in front of him and the Fool sat there. The Hermit remained quiet with his eyes closed. As the Fool settled into his seat and studied the old man, he could hear the Hermit humming ever so softly.
The Fool felt like he recognized the Hermit. While he knew that he had supposedly walked these lands many times before and met the inhabitants many times before as well, he couldn’t muster a memory, but this old man humming a quiet tune to himself was creating the deja vu feeling within the Fool. The Hermit’s eyes opened and the Fool felt like he was looking into a mirror.
The Fool noticed that behind the tree, stars were falling all around them. Some of them landed nearby, and would create a greenish glow that reflected on the trees. The Hermit just stared at him, and the Fool could see the reflection of the falling stars in the Hermit’s eyes. There was peace in that.
I know you more than anyone else here, said the Hermit finally. The Fool knew the words to be true.
You will travel this land many times again, the Hermit continued, but you will find things to keep instead of losing everything you find.
My lantern is a supernova, said the Hermit, but someday it will become a black hole and eat everything that exists. The Fool stared into the glow and he could see colors swirl around each other in different morphing shapes and sizes. His heart felt heavy as he stared at the star.
You keep forgetting because you are a Fool, the Hermit said. You think you should have been something you are not, and you are at the twilight of your life grieving for something that isn’t dead, for it was never born. The Fool felt like the Hermit knew what he was talking about.
The months turned into years – or maybe it was minutes turning into hours.
I have been alone here for a long time, said the Hermit. I have contemplated my life and I have found that I have done exactly what I was supposed to. I have contemplated the wrongs and injustice in the world, and I have found that it all happened exactly the way it was supposed to. I changed the world the way I was supposed to.
When you finally get what you need you will find this exact spot, the Hermit added, but I won’t be here. You will sit here and wait for you to show up.
The lantern started glowing brighter. Something was changing within the Fool. He felt a fragment of himself shift and he thought about things. His head was full of questions – not just questions about the Hermit or the world they sat in, but about many other trivial things. He remembered all his regrets and how he chose to forget them.
The light blinded the Fool. He felt weightless. He had that feeling in his lower stomach that either comes from panic, or falling a great distance.