Into the Woods

His hand in mine,
we step into the woods.
It is quiet.
The distant sound of a woodpecker
breaks the silence.

I take a deep breath.
We walk.
He stops,
looks down.
A track captures his gaze.
He examines it,
and calls me to join him.
I do.
We are swept up in the challenge,
of finding out who it
belongs to.
We follow the tracks,
we search,
we question,
we enjoy the adventure.

He stops,
again.
He looks up,
a bird call has grabbed his attention.
He searches for it.
He asks if I hear it.
Yes.
What bird is it, he asks.
I ask a few questions,
guiding him to
the answer...
cardinal.

He smiles,
a full, happy
smile.
My heart is
full.
Time stands still.
He reaches for my hand.
We walk,
quietly at first,
then he breaks the silence with a
squeal,
as he drops my hand
and runs after a butterfly.

There is joy,
pure joy,
in his movement,
his laughter.
I soak it in.
I slow the moment down,
capturing it in my mind.
I am here,
present,
with him.

He runs back,
takes my hand,
guiding me along the trail.
There are no words exchanged,
just a smile.
We walk,
together,
slowly,
his hand in mine.