*Small explanation. This was an assignment I had for my creative writing class. We had to take our favorite original character to our 'happy place' and describe the scene using all five senses. That's why some of you may recognize my character Gavin from my other story, Murderborne. Yes, they are one and the same, although this is obviously non-canon.*

"And... we're here! You can take off the blindfold now," I trailed, watching Gavin pull the black piece of fabric off of his yellow-green eyes. I could see them widen as he took in all the flush emerald foliage of the forest. I had decided to take him to my favorite place; a spot in the middle of the woods, where a hill stood vigilantly over the lake, which had dwindled down to a river at this point. The bright cerulean of the nearly cloudless sky seemed to be laying on the tops of the skinny pine trees that grew haphazardly by the water.

"Wow. It's beautiful," he said an airy voice, holding his left hand over his forehead to block out the sunlight.

"Yeah, except you're missing half of it." Noting the confusion resting on his temples, I reached out and playfully re-closed his eyes. "You have other senses too, ya' know, so use them," I explained.

This time, I could see him begin to focus on his breathing and hearing instead, and I followed suit, both of us plopping down onto the mossy ground.

The first thing I noticed was the sweet, bubbly scent of mountain laurel tickling my nose like champagne, and the phantom taste of its nectar lightly dancing on the tip of my tongue. Under that, was the sharp spice of the pine trees and their sticky sap, the rustic tang of the scattered cedar saplings, and, if you tried hard enough, you could smell the very foam of the babbling steam itself.

Our concentration was then broken by a loud caw as we were sprayed with droplets of water. Opening our eyes, we saw a large blue heron settling himself under the ripples of blue. For some reason, we both found this funny and began to laugh uncontrollably, startling the heron from its position. Now knowing we were here, the bird took into the sky to find another, quieter place. After a minute, we settled down and closed our eyes again, determined to finish our game. This time, harsh cries shattered through the tranquil black world behind our eyelids. Quick, scrabbling noises raced up the trees behind us, and a gentle, summer breeze brushed the overhead branches into each other.

Laying down onto the moss, I felt its spongy, fuzzy texture on my arms and the side of my face. Even though its dampness was beginning to seep through my simple T-shirt, I didn't mind. Another waft of air floated by, accenting how warm it truly was. It is amazing how, if you lay down long enough, you can tell which parts of your body are in the sun, and shaded. Although I couldn't see it, a cloud passed over the sun, turning the air cool for a moment of relief before going back to normal. I took long and deep breaths, slowing down my heart rate to match the sleepy carelessness of everything else.

I opened my eyes and turned my head to see if Gavin was getting all of this. If his dorky grin was any indication, then I'd say that was a yes.

"I can see why this is your favorite spot," he whispered softly, as if afraid to disturb the peaceful noises of the forest with his own gentle voice. His long blond hair was tossed around by the wind as he said, "It's a lot different with my eyes closed."

"Yes, but it's just as amazing. And to think of how much you'd have missed, if you only looked at the surface."