Oil paint on canvas

The man rode the horse through the forest, watching the sun’s rays dance between the leaves. He’d been riding for hours and hadn’t seen another person in all that time. His family had lived in this cabin for generations, but he’d never bothered to explore much beyond it. The woods were always there—a constant companion, but one he was only now realizing how much he loved.

He stopped his horse at a creek and let it drink from its cool waters while he took off his shirt and splashed water on his face. When he was done, he reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a small box with a mirror inside. He looked at himself in the reflection: his hair was gray; his skin was wrinkled; and his eyes—once so bright and full of life—were dull and tired. He sighed as he put the mirror away and turned back to face the woods ahead of him.

His horse whinnied impatiently as they set off again on their journey home through this beautiful place that had once seemed so ordinary yet now felt like something entirely different: a place of mystery and wonderment where adventure could await around every corner if only one had enough faith to find it.