The Offering by the Oak Tree
By Contributing Author/Artist Carl Franz
Illustration by Carl Franz
I raised my eyes up to admire the beautiful Oak tree. She in turn swelled out her canopy, inhaling an oval portion of the clear blue sky.
I moved closer and her sharp-edged leaves rustled and sliced through the sun's falling gold. The splinters of dazzling light showered down over me.
 
I couldn't think of a more welcoming place to rest and so I sat down in her shade. Then feeling like a busy little animal I began to forage in my rucksack.                            
I retrieved some dried fruit, nuts and also a few pieces of stem ginger (brought along for my itchy throat).
 
It seemed the polite thing to do to share my food with her. A token of my appreciation.
I picked out a juicy fig and searched around for an inviting place to leave it.
A small tree stump stood just by the side of the oak.
On inspection I found the inside was completely hollow, leaving me the perfect postbox for my offering.
 
I dropped the fig into the mysterious velvet softness, wondering what would become of it.
A squirrel or a mouse would no doubt discover the juicy little treat before long.
It wasn't until I returned to my place that I felt the presence of a very different form altogether.
Dull and blunted by education, my eyes only observe the superficial shell of reality.
Instead I searched with my other, still curious and free spirited, third eye to discover what kind of creature had taken an interest in my offering.

In doing so I acknowledged and opened up to the humming vibrant companion dimension about me.
The surrounding unripe cornfields I had previously slighted with a mundane glance bulged into a sea of plump velvet green cushions.
In the centre of it all the oak tree buoyed up to the surface. Her roots gathered about her a welcoming island which floated on a quilted cornfield ocean.
 
I settled down into the rippled refuge between her roots to meditate.
I followed the powerful roots to where they submerged into the rich peaty land. There they spread out, gently but firmly cupping the soil under her before they tapered softly away into fine fingered strands.
Eventually I discovered them surrendering form altogether. They simply dissolved away into peaceful symbiosis with Mother Earth.
 
Discarding thoughts in favour of wonder I concentrated on the hollow tree stump.
I was immediately granted a brief moment of the simple yet exhilarating joy emanating not from the stump itself but from the surrounding foliage.
The energy was strong and bright, cascading fast and flashing with anticipation.
It shivered through me like silver silk in the wind.
                                              
I was at once elated and perplexed. What could be causing such a wonderful sensual cacophony?
The question weighed down my perception.      
But I could still 'see'.

There was something very close by my side and it was glowing.
Incredibly it was my own rucksack. The tatty old canvas was illuminated from the inside by a pale yellow light.

I understood then the focus of all the excitement.
It was the stem ginger.
The little plastic container was shining like a pot of fine fairy gold through the fabric of my rucksack.
What to me was a medication (albeit a tasty one) was for this elemental something delightful and delicious.

I opened the rucksack and picked out one of the little sugar encrusted cubes.
On my way to the tree stump I wondered what it was about the ginger that made it so special.
Was it the calorific value or the strong flavour? And, perhaps most intriguing of all, in what way does an elemental consume something like this?
 
Just as I dropped it into the convenient hollow I glanced up.
There she was.
She had an angular face with high cheek bones and a sharp nose.
Her eyes were the most fascinating of all.
They were almond-shaped pools of dark honey, centered with eager black shining ovals.
The rest of her was indistinguishable from the surrounding foliage.
She had allowed me a glimpse of her face and no more.

I returned to my hollow under the Oak tree.
I could still see the bright energy radiating out from the offering in the stump.
Was this how nourishment appeared to these amazing nature spirits?
Was this energy her tasty treat?
About the Author:
Author and artist Carl Franz lives in Yorkshire, UK.
He regularly contributes to his local magazine 'Howden Matters' and also features in various websites and magazines.