Webography
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As I came over the brow of the hill the ground ahead leveled out but the trees grew much thicker making it a little darker and cooler. I was ready for the cool air after the climb from the stream and I stopped at this point for a quick drink from my water bottle.

I could sense that things were not as they usually were. Normally the birds would be chirping away and squirrels would be scampering back and forth collecting their winter rations. As often as not a small rabbit or two would poke its head around a tree and then disappear again quickly. This morning was different, the birds had stopped chattering and nothing was moving at all. It was so quiet I could hear my heart pounding in my head and as I stood there drinking the cool water I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck begin to stand up.

In the distance I could just about make out a shape moving slowly between the trees, coming in my direction. As it got a little closer the leaves made soft rustling sounds beneath it even though this tree shaped thing appeared to be hovering above them. It floated towards me at a steady speed and I felt threatened by its presence even though it appeared to be a tree.

When the tree got to within twenty feet of me it stopped and I had the strangest sensation of calm and well being. I was no longer worried even though I seemed frozen in time not being able to move a single muscle of my body. The only parts of me that seemed to be working were my eyes and my mind. I looked down as best I could and realised that my feet were no longer on the ground ... I too was floating!

This couldn't be happening. I was moving gently towards the tree creature, thing, but I felt no fear now. When I got to within about two feet of it I stopped and just hung there, limp and quite defenseless but not afraid or worried in any way. This was strange beyond belief.

Suddenly there was a sound inside my head, at first it was just a sound that started quite low and steadily changed pitch until it got so high it began to hurt and I could feel my face distorting slightly with the sharp sensation of pain. Almost immediately the sound stopped. This thing was controlling that sound in my head and it must have sensed my pain and stopped it.

So it was attempting to communicate with me and it was not trying to harm me, so that was some relief anyway.

As I stared at this small tree before me it began to alter its shape and in an instant had transformed itself into a human form that resembled ... me!

It was almost as though I was gazing into a mirror. Words began to fill my head, but they made no sense, they were just words, coming in a random sequence from the creature who looked like me.

"Me, tree, sky, man .... morning ... leaf ... tired ... bright ... friend ...".

Gradually the words came more slowly finishing with that last word - friend.

I wondered how I could communicate some response.

I wanted to ask so many questions.

This was some kind of telepathic communication but how do I make it work the other way round? We hadn't covered this in English classes. I figured that I must try to think of just one word or a sentence and see if this thing could pick up that thought.

Now, what would be the best thing to think about .... well I needed to know what to call this strange alien creature before me so maybe if I thought about my name that might work. I began saying inside my head, "My name is Harry James", "My name is Harry James", over and over ten times and then I stopped, stared at the creature and waited.

As I stared at myself my reflection opened its mouth and words came into my head in short punchy sentences,

"Hello Harry James."
"Please don't be afraid."
"My name is Spero."
"I mean you no harm."

The words seemed to echo inside my head. I could feel the excitement mount inside my hovering body with my pulse quickening and my heart pounding I concentrated really hard and thought,

"Hello Spero. I trust you. How can I help you? What do you need from me? What do you want me to do?"

"I have seen you come this way many times. You are the first of your species that I have approached since I landed here over two hundred earth years ago. I have lived amongst the animals of your world and been content to do so as I am resolved now to never leaving this planet again."

"Two hundred years is a very long time to live in an alien environment", I thought, almost without thinking, if you see what I mean.

"My time here has consumed my life and I have been happy to have made so many loyal friends amongst your animals and plants and sad to have missed the company of my own species for so long."

"Why have you waited so long to talk to me, or anyone else for that matter. You must have seen quite a few people during your stay in these woods."

"Yes I have seen many people and many things over the years. I had no desire before today to meet with any humans. They consume and destroy everything around them and I have always found their actions to be unexplainable and pointless."

"I can see how it could look kind of strange to an observer. But what's made you want to talk to me now, today?"

"It is quite simple really unless I can join with another creature today I will cease to exist, die. Although I don't relish the prospect, it is all I can now do to save myself from extinction. I thought that I would make contact with humans in the hope that I could join with your species."

"So what do you look like in your normal shape then?"

"I am what you would call pure energy or maybe the simple essence of life. In my world we join together and share our energy existing as one for all time. We have no concept of death only existence with all things. It has been a lonely time here trying to find a creature that I could combine myself with to sustain my existence but so far I have failed. Each joining has only lasted a short time, has always had severe limitations and restrictions and then ended shortly after it began. I have been what you call a tree for over 30 of your years and although it has been good my energy has consumed the tree and it too will cease to exist shortly."

"If you manage to join with me what effect will it have on me. Will I become two people instead of one and have a split personality? Will you consume my energy too and make me cease to exist?", I thought.

As I spoke I could feel the sensation returning to my limbs again and I realised that I was no longer floating above the ground but standing once more firmly on it. Instinctively I backed away slightly to reassure myself that I had control over my movements again. Spero came closer and closer to me until his nose was almost touching my nose and then in an instant he vanished. I assumed that he must have managed to join with me, as he put it, and so I waited to see what would happen next ...

By Tony Green