The war has begun. The whole forest lies alight with a fiery blaze. The birds raise alarm; their siren-like cries bellow throughout the woods, making the forest shudder in fear. The foliage, according to their rank, assume their positions; the young greens ignorantly wave farewell to their fallen friends below, the golden masses shudder with apprehension, and the majestic warriors, dyed red, raise their defiant heads toward the sun, daring enemies to attack. But the soldiers’ threats do not remain unheard; night accepts their war decree and sends along a messenger- the lofty but frigid breeze. Dreadful hours lay ahead.

The rich nobility, the golden bathed grass, stand tall while whispering in ominous tones to the trees. The royalty stand apart from their dark green counterparts, richly adorned with vibrant leaves- purple, gold, red, and green .Yet; they pay no heed to their ornaments. Instead, they continue their ancient chants, scolding the young warriors about their foolish war proclamation. The nobility look up to the sun and beg for assistance while the leaves rustle, pleading for help. The sun, peeking in between two trees, casts a melancholy shadow on the forest. He agrees to help, but warns them that he, soon, must go.

Happy to have an ally, nature happily chirps. The whole forest harmonizes in a single tone with lifted spirits. Insects join in, the crickets keeping a rhythmic beat, cicadas singing. Deep in the forest spiders weave victory banners, but they rejoice too soon. Night releases its warriors: the strong East winds. The chill deepens and soon the insects’ battle cries are drowned out by the howl of the fast air. The scarlet warriors retaliate; they reach for the sun creating a blockade. For a while nature seems to have succeeded in pushing back their foe, but soon the sun starts to set. Losing morale, the leaves hesitate, exposing weakness. The wily wind takes advantage of their fault. The wind breaks through the barrier, causing the leaves to explode off the trees. The warriors keep up their persistent pursuit unaware of the death of their comrades. It is the innocent greens who bear witness to the grisly event; their heads drooped with sorrow, mourning their brothers and sisters. Even the trees grieve the death of their children; their branches swaying with fury.

The battle is lost. Nature retreats. It surrenders to the night, letting itself be consumed by the darkness and stung by the cold air. The animals and insects retreat and burrow into their shelters, disappearing without a sound. Only the great trees and the noble grasses remain rooted to their spots. They endure the beatings, the punishments, and the insults hurled at them by the night. Regardless of their hardships, they still stand tall and keep their dignity, but soon the darkness overpowers them and the once glittering majesties fade into the blackness.

While watching nature try to evade nightfall, I see humankind waging senseless wars and trying to prevent the inevitable. We follow the rules of nature and position ourselves in useless conflicts which turn into destruction and loss of lives. Even though we, as a unique species, possess developed intelligence, we rely on animalistic force and push reason aside. Why can we speak, think, argue and evolve, if we were meant to solve our problems with an animal like mentality?  Every night, as we witness nature’s struggle to hang on to the last rays of sunlight and fight against the night, we see life being consumed by darkness. This concept applies to human lives as well; as we continue to fight and pursue needless struggles, we allow evil into our soul. Slowly it will consume us until we lose our humanity, our ability to think rationally, and our “modern” civilization.