The trees were different here. Varying in size and crowded together so tight you could hardly tell one apart from the other it was no surprise their leaves concealed so much about the terrain below. That did little to muffle the sound however. The forest was alive. A symphony of sound filled the air with chittering, croaking, snapping, fluttering and a steady dull hum. If she focused hard enough she could make out the sound of water nearby. It was a stark difference to the quiet, moody forests of her home. That, and heat. She was fortunate to have found a comfortable place in the shade, but even there she was siping sweat from her brow. The patches of sun that made it to the forest floor provided a glimpse into the blue of the sky above and every now and then little birds darted from branch to branch.

This was a beautiful place. Her camera could not do it justice. For a moment she considered pulling out her sketch pad to try and better capture the diversity before her, but she wasn’t sure her skill would be enough. Instead she watched; tried to commit the place to memory. She would use her words to paint this picture. And she hoped to paint it for a long time.