Terese & Kamal

TERESE & KAMAL

December 30, 2004 - January 1, 2005

"I lay here on day 2 of our voyage into this beautiful wilderness, reflecting on what I have seen, what I have done, and what I have felt. This trip has seen many firsts for me: First time staying overnight in a place with no electricity, first time in a sauna, first time skiing.

Currently, we are laying here in Crow's Nest listening to the rain fall down. The ears trick the mind into thinking we are in some sort of monsoon; when in fact it is a light dizzle that beats against our extremely oversized umbrella. The rain comes and washes away the snow that surprisingly greeted us our first day here.

It apparently has been a mild winter for all of New York, but the little snow that is here gave us the opportunity to go sled riding. I have not done this in many years, and the feeling of the rushing down the hill on my pink plastic sled made me feel as through it had been way too long. At one point, I kneeled down at the top of the hill, looking out into the snow - the wilderness and I had a moment of peace. Thoughts could not stay with me. All I could do was feel the beauty that surrounded me flow through me in the way a winter's wind flows between naked trees in the forest. It was as though some divine force had opened up the clouds and allowed me a glimpse into heaven.

That night, my eyes were drawn to the stars. So many stars, their light reached out from the infinite abyss of space, perfectly still, yet dancing nonetheless. Then one shot across the sky, a fragment most likely no larger than a grain of sand taking with it a face brighter and more powerful than the one I had made at my feet. I made a wish, as one seems called to do. I dare not tell it to you, for then it may not come true.

As I look around me, I feel at peace. The rain falls onto the roof. The snow holds on for dear life in the trees. The fire in the wood stove rares bearly contained by its iron surroundings. The trees and the sky smile down on me. I am at peace."

KAMAL

Ithaca, NY

"I see candlelit fares and stars through the roof

I hear the wind and crackling of the fire

I feel the rain on my head and the path under my feet

I smell the warm wood walls in the sauna and the toasting marshmellows

I taste the snow in the air and the apple brownies

Time stopes and I come alive"

TERESA

Denmark