15 True Stories from the Oak
Creatures
Creatures are interesting things, and one which we at first cannot get away from. The moment we enter the land, lacking a true physical shape, we come across these energies. Not really physical, much like ourselves, we take them on and bind them to ourselves. Our first creatures are often our most treasured, having grown with us from the very beginning.
Some people think that creatures walk around with us, but I find it to be far more of a metaphor. They grow with us in spirit, and when we have no more use for them, when we do not want to or cannot help them grow more, we let them go, and they give back all we have given them. The giving back occurs during sacrificing, and something that may seem sad is actually beautiful and freeing.
I remember my first sacrificing. It was a quiet day, and I wandered to the Fenth’s Press. Seeing no one around, I had an instinct that one of my creatures needed to leave. It tugged at its ethereal leash, whispering in my ear of what it wanted, where it wanted to go. “Anywhere but here” it said to me, and I took its string in my hand, and cut it at the Press. A swirl of wind, that did not move a hair on my hand, blew around us all. The creature thanked me, and was gone.
That day I took the creatures that I had recruited my first day here and let them free, one by one. I pondered the significance of this letting go, and the moment although seeming at first malevolent… really showed itself to be a good and pure thing. They sprung forth from the sacred place I had kept them in, and kissed me on the forehead, all in succession.
Whether I helped them move on to somewhere else, or they will only thanking me for the company, I don’t know. I keep some creatures, but I know one day I will let them all go. One by one they will thank me, and once they have all gone, I will sit down and weep. Although the moment is beauteous and pure, there is an innate sadness in the release, both out of pleasure and a longing for a space to be refilled. Once I have cried to myself over my losses, I will stand up, without my creatures, and I will continue on. No longer possessing the crutch of those that for so long held me, I will take my steps with my head held high, my arms ready to defend themselves for the first time.
This day, it is far off. I am weak yet, and weakness is a sickness not easily fought off. One day, one day, I will release all, and all will thank me with their kiss of joy.
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