For as long as the worlds have battled the man had the memories.

In his youth he had tended the young stem of an oak; watching it grow until the day the Oak let the man harvest it

A relation/marriage where the two aged yet never died.

Oaken staff once supple now withered and dry.

Knurled with a burl only experience can gain while in the hands of skin tougher than the rock mantle of most worlds.

Sitting there today next to an eternal stream the man tended to the damage the world constantly bestowed to the foundation of stone mountains.

He always had much to do and to tend too.

Complaints and pain, sorrows and scorn; never ending, always changing into a new moment of worry and care.

Next to the man on a branch of an oak still in its adolescence, a bird laughed.

Oh my, how the bird giggled and guffawed.

The man gripped his staff tighter. So tight much of his life joined with the wood just as the wood’s life had joined with his.

“Why are you laughing little bird?” The man questioned an obviously amused bird.

The bird still smiled and aside from the laughter, remained silent and stared into the soul of the man and oak staff. This caused the man to blink…

Upon opening his eyes from the blink the man noticed there was no longer an old man holding an old stick, no longer tending to anything, no longer in existence. Instead, the man was now the bird and my goodness how the bird laughed

Flying away from the worlds the bird took flight and sang a song so powerful even the Owls were humble and the geese turned in circles.

Far away in a meadow there was a bird sitting the the growing fresh branches of a young oak tree, together the two would live, laugh, and sing.

Never more would the two care for what did and does not want to be helped. Instead there would be debate on the muses of the Seasons with the crickets now playing in the meadow beneath the bird and oak. There would be the success of flying past the heights of the Sun. There would be frogs and turtles playing cards. Fish learning how to dance on the Moon…

Today.

Today was a new day, a good day, and the laughter was as sweet as the music.