Heart Of The Wood The mole reached his porch by late afternoon. The door was neatly built into the hollow of an old tree, with double steps fitted into the thick roots, upon which new fallen leaves lay in all shades of green. He swept them away with his foot and turned the key. The entrance hall was round and wide, rising twenty feet to a second hollow. Warm sunlight shone through this window, dusky …showed first 75 words of 943 total…

…showed last 75 words of 943 total…over the horizon, gliding across new fallen snow. Untouched by wind, pierced by moonlight, she floated through his trembling arms, a sister to the spirits and shades. He woke with wide eyes and fevered brow. That very night he dimmed every lamp, leaving only one halo of gold in the heart of the wood. And there, on the stone table, lay a message written on new parchment: "Gone in search of you, come what may."