Nature's Rhythms

The small wooden hut sits on the edge of a steep valley where the leaves of the rainforest canopy grow ever
up,
up,
up
towards the infinite expanse of sky above. From behind the fine screen of the mosquito net, I watch as the branches of the coconut trees gently touch upon the veranda; their leaves caressing the smooth wood as they dip up and down in the easterly breeze. Down on the rainforest floor, tree ferns, wild orchids and other creepers grow with arms outstretched, ready to seize the light of the dazzling midday sun and catch the fat drops of rain that will fall when the heavy storm clouds roll in from the horizon.

To my right, swirls of haze lift from the ocean and are caught in the yellow light of the sun like the translucent twine of a spider’s web. And for a moment there, everything glistens and the air is still. The call of a bird echoes off in the distance and it’s almost as if this
moment is suspended in time. I don’t dare exhale for fear of tainting it.

But it is early still and I am alone; no camera by my side, no one with whom I can share this moment. So I catch it and lock it away in my memory; the smell of salt, the touch of earth, the sound of life in the heavy heat of the buzzing rainforest below.

I turn my head again to the ocean and see a figure standing by the wall of the neighbouring hut. She does not notice at first… that I have noticed her. In her expression, I recognise the sense of awe I felt only moments before. She watches the rainforest as if in
trance, enthralled by the energy that seems to emanate from within; the echo of birdsong, the vibration of insect wings that cut the thick jungle air. She turns to see me watching her and immediately looks down at her bare and dirty feet, smoothing the creases in her bright floral dress. Beneath her fingers, the printed pink hibiscus flowers ripple on the thin fabric.

I smile warmly; there is no need for anything more.

A thrill ignites in my stomach as a sense of understanding passes between us, as if we are communicating in some private language that is capable of losing its true meaning in translation. She returns my smile, and in that moment something is articulated that is universal beyond time and place and circumstance; a moment of beauty that has no need to be spoken or described in a familiar tongue...

Because it seems that if you are lucky enough to catch a moment, it doesn’t matter who you share it with.