Gaia

Short story on nature, and the reconnection humans must gain with it.

She stood in the shallow brook, chilled water nipping at her feet as she held the bundles of her skirt in her small hands. The wind embraced her and the sun kissed her cheeks, inspiring bronze flames to trail in her hair. She closed her eyes only to hear the laughter of the stream, and memorize the chants it sang. Inhaling, the smell of rich soil and wild flowers enticed her, society only a distant remembrance cast over her shoulder. Leaves rustled, creating a rhythm to accompany the heartbeat of mother earth. She knelt in modest genuflection, then bowed to kiss the ground. 

With one swift turn, she began to dance. The rhythm hypnotized her, weaving a connection greater than that of life and death, until she wasn't sure which beat was her own heart. Turning faster and faster, she threw her hands up, praising the sky and froze. As she rested, she looked down only to find roots trailing from her heels into the earth. Her skirt had turned a rich brown, her eyes a vivid green. She smiled in a most tranquil manner, and raised her hands eternally to the sky.