How To Feel At Home: A Short Story

Slip into the woods under the blue-white glow of the full moon. Find a clearing in which you can sit. Slip off your skin carefully, stepping out of it one leg at a time. Find a nearby tree branch and hang it out to dry. Notice how it flaps in the wind, a hollow version of yourself and all preconceived notions of you. Find another tree, not too far from that one. You wouldn't want an animal running off with your flesh while your back is turned. Scale the second tree, hand over leg and occasionally leg over hand. Let the cool air hit your exposed muscle and tendons as you unwind. Lose yourself in thought. Forget where you are. Spend the night howling at the moon and giving into primal urges before getting redressed at dawn, rediscovering where you are, and proceeding on with the day.