I sat against the window smoking a cigarette, staring out and thinking of nothing but the passing world.
It was then I noticed something for the first time, not that it hadn't always been there, but now it was as if seeing it as a child.
The gigantic mass of an age old tree, writhing upwards in solitude as it always had, each branch grasping at the air above it, in contest with the others as they continue their endless race for the heavens.
The birds circle high above it laughing mockingly at the tree, but it remains composed, it's a long race but in time, it will exceed in height and width.
Its branches spread wide as it holds the sky in place, shaking at the roots as it balances the weight of the world, I strangely felt compelled to touch the tree, realizing I'd never done so before, I rubbed my cigarette out and made from the house and then towards it.
As I gazed up I felt overcome with insignificance, its colossal might seeming to bend over to peer down at me.
It was at this time I touched its delicate bark, a surge of power ran through my body as the stories of centuries echoed throughout my head.
I spun as the noise increased, seeing the seamless warp of time drift around me, buildings rose and fell, grass grew and so did people, until finally, for nothing longer than a brief second I saw myself as a child, staring thoughtfully at the tree.
The surge stopped and the world around me returned to its previous state, I turned to the tree, which still seemed to hold the sky in place, its branches remained reaching for the heavens in an endless race.
A smile crept across my face and I patted the tree happily, no longer feeling insignificant, but safe, as if time itself stood at my protection.