The Trees

The early dawn clouds thinly streaked across the dark cold sky in whispers of pink, red and orange. Insects busied themselves amongst the bramble bushes and clusters of trees. Groups of midges illuminated gold by the beams of rising light. Magpies swooped sounding their machinegun clatter.
The dog rushed in and out of the undergrowth sniffing randomly. A multitude of scents bothering him.
Richard Morris strolled at a leisurely pace twenty yards back on the large path by the canal. The dull drone of cars on the nearby carriageway passed intermittently. It was six fifty-seven am. A pleasant spring morning.
Whenever Richard stepped into the shadows of the tree branches that hung loosely above on the right hand side, a slight chill developed on the back of the hands, neck and face. This sudden drop in temperature was uncomfortable in the cool morning air.
The water on the canal reflected the rich colours of the sky, occasional air bubbles reached the surface, sending tiny ripples echoing to nothing. Ducks sat placidly in groups either sleeping or preening their feathers. Some eyed the roving King Charles spaniel wearily, ready to retreat to the reeds and safety of the water if it became too inquisitive.
Richard and Monty were out for their regular morning walk that took in a circuit of the playgrounds of the wooden pirate ship and spider's web climbing frames and the path running parallel to Bewsey Old Hall. It was a walk Richard and Monty took almost every morning during the summer months. The dog enjoyed the running around and Richard often half asleep and walking at a languid pace got some exercise and fresh air before having to venture out to work.
Just beside the ruins of Old Hall the sunlight grew intense smothering everything with a golden hue. It was bright, warm and glorious, the dog's reddish fur positively glowing.
Richard covered his eyes with the left palm of his hand and looked down onto the gravel path, glancing to his right towards where Monty the King Charles Spaniel had darted into at a quickened bolting pace. The overgrown bush opened into a small gap and onto a tiny dirt path. It was littered with Asda carrier bags and the odd rusted and faded can of pop.
Richard called to Monty the King Charles Spaniel. Irritated by the glare of the morning light, Richard stood at the entrance of the path and peered in. The warm rays of the sun beamed onto his face and neck. A wave of light briefly illuminated the floor of the wooded area. The tired structure of Old Hall stood not far from the spot in which Richard now stood gazing. Monty shuffled around a blanket. It was covered in dry leaves and smeared with deep rich soil. The dog's noise sniffed hard and frantically. Richard called the dog once more to no avail.
Hesitantly he set off down the thin barely visible path and into the cold shadow and air of the undergrowth. Monty all the while sniffing furiously. The path was filled with clusters of nettles and the odd bramble bush, still wet with Monty's urine.
Richard walked straight to the blanket and the dog. Wrapped in the pale blue blanket was a dead newborn child.
It's cold blue pale face matched the colour of the blanket. One side of the face nestled in the dirt. An eye was open specked with dirt. A lifeless blue eye. Its tiny little chubby fingers clutched together. The lips deep blue. Richard, for what seemed an age, merely stared at the grim tableaux before him. Another wave of morning sun swept across the woodland floor illuminating the dead child with a sensation it would never itself feel. The glorious warmth of the sun. It passed quickly. Monty sat next to his master. Both silent.
Richard sighed and placed his left hand onto his chin and held it there. For a moment the entire scene felt unreal. He inspected the immediate vicinity with his eyes for any movement was unthinkable at this stage. The abandoned dead child with its bald soft head covered in patches of rich soil was resting in its chin. One arm outstretched. Its legs completely covered by the blue blanket.
Richard managed a step backwards. Monty remained still. Suddenly a violent shaking sensation that began in the legs over took Richard's entire body. Taking a couple of further steps backwards, he had finally made it to the edge of the path. A duck startled him beyond terror by launching from a bush and jumping into the water. Richard's heart thumped incessantly.
Monty too had joined his master on the path. Richard turned at once towards the direction of his house and walked steadily. On the way home he bumped into a woman cycling on her way to work. He told what he had discovered in the undergrowth close to the boarded up mansion of Old Hall. The middle aged woman rang from her mobile phone the emergency services and reported the discovery of a new born child found dead in amongst the trees. Richard waited solemnly and without saying a single word by the path. It would be a long time before he could pass the day without remembering his find.