A Bird in the Forest

 There was once a bird who found herself trapped underneath a thick canopy of forest trees. It was a horrible feeling. To fly beneath them for shelter and then find oneself hidden from the fresh breeze and the clear sky was enough to throw the little bird into a panic.

    She tweeted loudly again and again, flying as high as she could as she cried against the dampening echo that reverberated through sheets of leaves.

    A day and a night passed, and still she could find no exit through the forest ceiling. This was long enough for her panic to give way to exhaustion, and when she finally landed for more than a few seconds on a heavily shaded branch, she fell asleep.

    When she woke, she remembered her predicament. Fighting against her fear, she took several breaths. Then she looked about her.

    That was when she saw it.

    Shining in the distance.

    A small ray of light that had broken through the trees.

    She flew toward it carefully.

    And then she smiled. 

    She tweeted a little song as she inched her flight upward, through the trees and into the wide open air.

    And as she flew, she thought that the next time she found herself buried under waves of panic, she might rest first and look about her after.

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