It was then, with haunting melody echoing through the empty woods, that Lilly felt the wind stroking her arms. The trees whispered as the wind caught their empty branches and screamed as it whipped their snowy bark. Lilly let the symphony hold her and support her and embrace her. Her own voice rose high above the quavering trees. Then her notes faded away. Lilly sighed and swallowed her chill saliva that had risen during the performance. Her head had spun but now she felt calm and at peace. She opened her eyes and snow stung the sockets. As quickly as it had begun, the tree song ended. Lilly leant back for a moment and considered singing again but she had emptied her feelings. She had no lyrics to use. The wind sank to the snow and carried the mist away on its wings.
“I can live now,” Lilly whispered, like a pact to the frozen earth, “But one day…one day I will die like the Tree Song.”