Nature Calls, Spring


 Table of Contents
 
 Cover
 Title
 Copyright
 Table of Contents
 Back to School
 Flora
 Scattered Showers
 Buyan
 The Fox’s Snarl
 Words of Warmth
 Anger Touches All
 Protective Bonds
 The Burden of Emotion
 A Storm Brewing
 Tag
 Roots Reach
 Seeds of Friendship
 Chaos of the Elements
 Buds of the Same Branch
 Good Enough
 Boiling Point
 A Seed of Hope
 Shadows of the Heart
 The End Is the Beginning
 
 
 
 
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 Title
 Table of Contents
 
 
 
 
 
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 Charleston, SCwww.PalmettoPublishing.com
 Nature Calls, SpringCopyright © 2023 by J. Alleyn Winchester
 All rights reservedNo portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, ortransmitted in any form by any means–electronic, mechanical, photocopy,recording, or other–except for brief quotations in printed reviews, withoutprior permission of the author.
 First Edition
 Paperback: 979-8-8229-0333-3eBook: 979-8-8229-0334-0
 
 Dedicated to the magical souls who believed in me…To Sandy, my Father Time watching over me from the starsTo Lisa, my faerie goddess-mother who helped my dream come true
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
 Back to School
 Flora
 Scattered Showers
 Buyan
 The Fox’s Snarl
 Words of Warmth
 Anger Touches All
 Protective Bonds
 The Burden of Emotion
 A Storm Brewing
 Tag
 Roots Reach
 Seeds of Friendship
 Chaos of the Elements
 Buds of the Same Branch
 Good Enough
 Boiling Point
 A Seed of Hope
 Shadows of the Heart
 The End Is the Beginning
 Back to School
 
 It was an early, crisp morning. The winter’s chill lingered in the air, and frost still clung to the bare tree branches. A cold breeze breathed over the parking lot of Ambrose High. The buses lined up against the curb opened, allowing students to begin their day. Puffs of white clouds drifted from their faces as they chatted among themselves. Some of the students were still waking up, yawning and moaning the whole walk to the doors of the two-story brick building. Plenty of smiles still lined the students’ faces as they saw their friends. One, in particular, coming from the visitor parking lot, outshone them all…
 Vibrant emerald irises darted around the school’s landscaping, encouraging a grin as bright as the sun. The young lady looked ready to run about the grounds like a bumblebee, clinging excitedly to the arm of a tall, elegant man with long silver hair in a white dress suit. Her evergreen peacoat covered most of her outfit, but light-wash denim was just visible tucked away inside a pair of shin-high, brown leather boots. Her white-knit skullcap clung to her sandy blond, wavy locks bobbing down her back. The man’s smile expressed his joy at her excitement.
 “Someone seems ready for their first day of school,” he mentioned with a hum.
 “I can’t believe it’s finally here!” The girl squealed as she tried to hold in her enthusiasm, shaking from exhilaration. “Is this really happening?”
 “It will once you walk through the door.” The man laughed warmly.
 “You’re right!” She giggled, hugging her gloved fists tighter around his right arm. She released her embrace to grasp his white porcelain hand, dragging the elder closer to the entry. “Come on! Come on, Winter!”
 As some of the students stared at the scene the two were making, the man called Winter laughed with a full heart as they sped up their pace. Neither of them minded the suspicious gazes. Today was a long-awaited milestone, and they wanted to bask in their shared happiness. Let the world look on as they celebrated.
 
 The chime of the bell announced the end of homeroom, releasing students to their first class of the day. As students stood to leave, idle chatter arose among them—typical postvacation conversation. It was the first day back from winter break, and there was always something buzzing after a break…
 “Can you believe two weeks went by already?”
 “I know! Vacation’s never long enough!”
 One of the students was just opening her black eyes as the rest of the room emptied. She had been resting her head on a puffy brown coat pillow and folded forearms, tucking her hands inside her long sleeves. The gray and black rings running up the sleeves stuck out of her evergreen T-shirt tucked into old denim jeans. Yawning wide and loud, she sat upright at last to get ready to leave.
 “Dude, did we have geometry homework over break?”
 “Man, I didn’t even take my books home last month.”
 After putting her coat back on, the girl reached under the desk to grab her satchel bag. It had been resting against her shins during the morning announcements. Pulling the strap over her black crown, she stood from the desk to walk sluggishly toward the hall. Pausing, the student stared