You’ve seen it in your dreams. You have, though you might not remember it, or know that it’s what you saw. But everyone dreams of the Forest of Souls. We dream of pale green grass, the softest carpet under our feet, too fine to ever leave a stain. We dream of flowers, a rainbow of petals lining the shores of an ever-sparkling stream. We dream of birdsong barely heard - just scraps of an ever-familiar melody, just out of earshot - and of the sweetest, most gentle breeze on our skin, like the faintest of kisses on our cheeks. Most of all, we dream of trees. Thick trees that block the view of the outside world, thin trees that bend and sway to the touch, rough trees and smooth trees with bark of all shades of brown and grey. A canopy of leaves spreads above, held up by a network of branches - green leaves, red leaves, yellow and orange leaves, a mixed quilt of summer and autumn, all at once. These dreams are our souls’ way of remembering how we were once a part of this forest. You were once a petal, or a leaf, or a whisper of birdsong on the wind. You were here, and you were a part of everything, and you were content. You knew nothing but the forest, then, nothing but the light filtering through the leaves and the cool wind causing the blades of grass to dance. You knew nothing of schedules or obligations, for the Forest of Souls exists outside of time. You knew nothing of desire, for you had everything you could ever need, and you wanted nothing more. You knew nothing of pain, because you had no body - you were only a soul. We all begin in the Forest of Souls, and a part of us, deep down at our core, knows that we will end there. One day, the forest will call you back. It will woo you away from the Earth, away from people and places and things, away from schedules and obligations, away from trial and error and reward. It will woo you away with its promise of an end to pain, an end to fatigue, an end to longing and loneliness. You will give in. Everyone does, in the end. You will return to the Forest of Souls, and once you enter, you will never again come out. After all, we each only get to live once.