In search of a hermit in the forest.

On the 21st day of my trip to Laos, 

I searched for the hermits in the forest…

When I came back from a long trip down
memory lane with my first love, I realized that 
my life itself had been a journey, and that there was no great meaning
in me that I was  traveling now, but that
I was still in nature, in search of the forest, and that I was also in search
of my own forest.

 It was a new feeling to be on a special
trip. When I set out on the road early in the morning, I realized that I had trudged
over 1.000 kilometers, and I was grateful to myself.

 However, after taking a few steps, I ran
into a problem and had to stop. The reason for this is that when I was walking
on the asphalt road where I was leaving Savannakep, I ran into some troubles such
as the tires I wore were running and I had a flat that I didn’t expect.

 It would have been quite a discomfort to
just ignore it and keep walking, but I had to stop for a while and at least
take first aid, but no matter how much I looked at it, there was already no
room for regeneration, so I felt like I had to be willing to throw it off.

 However, for the time being, I was thinking
about ending the asphalt road and entering the yellow clay road, and
considering my pocketbook, I wanted to walk barefoot with the excuse of foot
health, but when I imagined that it was not a spectacle, it seemed that it was
too much for me to be barefoot and youthful.

 Eventually, it was clear that I would have
to replace it, but at the market at the end of the field, it was hard to buy a
pair of sturdy-soled shoes that were specialized in walking that I won, so I
stopped at the nearby market.

 At the very least, I felt like I had to
make a makeshift move. Pick and choose, but it’s a little more expensive than
slippers. However, as long as the ventilation is won, I decided on sandals that
are cool with air cooling, and the shape is convincing, I don’t know how long
they will last.

 Anyway, I felt like I had to put them on
and at least save face as a traveler. And when I got on it, I realized that no
matter how cheap the shoes were, they were still new shoes, and their gait was
even better.

 So, I started my steps lightly and was able
to set off vigorously towards today’s final destination, Bualapa. After about
10 kilometers, when we left Vilaburi, the boring fields ended, and the
beautiful forest began to open.

 The forest I had imagined all along was
waiting for me, and the tall trees were towering against the sky, most of them well
over 10 meters high, and the white clouds of the blue sky were gathering on my
campus.

 The sun is already rising, and along the
islands, the ponds in the woods have cast off the veil of night mist, and among
the ripples here and there, the frogs that have just woken up from their
slumber are calling out to sing .

 The dew-drenched forest fairies seemed to
have finished their secret meetings of the night, and were snuck back to where
they came, swept away by the sunlight. But the forest opened a new morning as
if nothing had happened, and then it was a day!

 Even the nameless wildflowers seemed to be during
a gentle breeze wiping away the water droplets still attached to their petals,
and busily adding fragrance to their own makeovers, as if they were not even
aware that I had come.

 Even in the occasional hut in the woods,
the smells of life wafted up, and the volume of the people who were never noisy
turned up, announcing that they were part of the forest, was approaching them
with all too much affection.

 Perhaps Aurora, the goddess of dawn, is the
first place to go to wash away the darkness and solitude, the scene of Mother
Nature’s vivid morning, the spring of Ondal in the forest, and the forest is a
very good refuge for all gods and living beings.

 Since they are trying to cut them down so
that they can live on their own, I thought that perhaps all the people living
in the forest believe that being expelled from the forest is the greatest sin,
and they respect the principles of the forest and confirm their love for each
other.

 But here and there, the empty huts in the
ruins cast a sorrowful gaze, lamenting the departure of the dwarves who had
been members of the forest for a long time in their sacred realms, and I felt
like a chimney to help them.

 If I had to add a word, it could only be
said that leaving the old forest, longing for a lifeless gray city like a
battlefield of giants, where people in the world do not know that there is
nothing special and do not even know who their neighbors are, is indeed a
sadness of escapism.

 Still, only the last stubborn hermit guards
the forest, and fortunately, the hermit has made very minimal compromises with
the onslaught of civilizations, wisely entrusting  the last truth to nature for his work and
garden.

 I felt that I was living in such a simple
and noble way according to the order of nature, so pure and mysterious, that the
forest embraced all the mysteries of a thousand years that were unchanging, and
I did not see the whole world,

 He only showed the resoluteness and
nobility of silently fulfilling his responsibilities, reaching out only to
those who conformed to nature. But I’m still unfamiliar with everything, and I can’t
be enough of the meaning to go back to the forest.

 In short, what a beautiful and noble forest
it needs no further explanation, and I don’t need to say anything more, just
that I am in the forest right now may be enough, and I  am willing to thank you for being able to come
this far.

 Above all, I was glad to see a sigh of
relief at being able to soothe the transformation of my exposed skin, which had
been blackened by the hot jealousy of the midday sun, with the shade and smell
of greenery.

 Even more so, I liked the fact that the
forest was unlike anything I had ever seen before, from the occasional drop of
sweat to the babbling stream that greeted me, and the charm of the tubuk that
tickled me with the occasional breeze.

 But when I was busy with everything and my
body was tired, I could have been simple because I couldn’t even think about
it, but the more my body got easier, the more I couldn’t help but feel the
burden of being tired, and what is it to live gradually? Even a grunt, popping
up out of nowhere, was bothering me.

 After all, he had forgotten his
presideship, and as if the slightest relaxation was not a spectacle, he could
not pass it by, so he took out the notebook that he had forgotten for a while,
and scribbled a few words, “The morning dew that is you!” I started
by saying,

 

Even in the dark / I always / Finding Your Breath / Always soaked in happiness / I dream of an emergency.

 Occasionally a little / If you slip / Barely holding me back / Bring out the truth in your heart / I used to beg

 Generosity / Leaning on the petals of the flower / Filled with love / Passing by for a moment / Your name is Morning Dew.

 Even if no one is staring at you / It’s so transparent / And even unpretentious. / For me, it will always be / Unforgettable Beauty

 Before I knew it, my heart was / When you cry for the love in your heart / The morning dew becomes a captive of the sunshine / Disappearing into smoke / I’ll become a martyr

 I swear there will be no more breakups / Even if it’s a heavenly life / Without you, I’d give up. / My heart will be again tomorrow / I ‘m going to be standing in front of you this morning…

 And so, I felt like I was enjoying the last love of my life and the need to find more wisdom and go to the forest even harder, and I was enjoying the walk a little, but  before I knew it, the sun was setting, and I still had a long way to go, so I had no choice but to hurry up.

 Speaking of which, when I added up all the days I’d walked this far and all the days I’d stayed, I couldn’t help but wonder that I had been on the road alone for two months already, but my mind was still full of onlookers, and I was gone.

 Led by a sad wind in between, I could only feel that I was dreaming a human dream from time to time, and I prepared for parting, hating the demon that still lives inside me, longing for the smell of the city.

 The devil’s struggle, which seemed to never leave me, and was trying all kinds of temptations and threats, was still following me from close proximity and even sneering at me, so even though my steps were heavy, my determination to see it to the end was still fueling my little courage.