Off to...
It was a long stretch. I drove and was desperate to see the
road come to a halt…a dead halt. I was tired to my last drop of sweat.
This is an endless
wait for that place that is supposed to be a paradise for the hopeless! What is
this place and why would it be so far away in fantasy, as far as the farthest
star?
The light of the day dimmed and I drove further into the falling
moonlight. I was unsure of the minutes I had to count before I entered the
gates of the magical world. Dry wind
dried my hair that was wet with sweat and the agonizing wait.
What if I hadn’t
agreed to this? Would the love for me
diminish? Is this a test of my strength?
I was hit by the deafening silence of the night. My ear
befriended the whoosh of the wind, and nothing around me mattered to the mind
that was engrossed in an exchange of thoughts and feared silence as an answer for
the lingering questions. I was being driven to the dumbness of the life around
me.
What if we drove back
into the warmth of the sun? The night could just get colder with no end in
sight.
I gave up. My foot maxed the gas pedal and my eyes flung to
close. I risked ending the quest, although the start of the pine forest and labyrinthine
road kicked my spirit and the journey into new life.
The shadow of this tree
could just be the place where rest could mean something. Shall we? Could you
talk now? Am I halfway there? At least…?
No. That was the
first time she spoke in more time than I could imagine. I eventually resorted
to keeping my hope of fulfilling her dream alive. I relaxed my tired feet and
asked for some rest. I held myself to hear her speak. She didn’t.
I succumbed to the crack of my muscle.
This isn’t the end.
I woke up to her voice. It was a whimper that fueled my concern.
This isn’t how I would
like to see my dream. I could be on this drive, be by your side, and be
surprised as we go along. Would you be up for it?
I am up for it. But what
is that dream if it is only a never-ending chase? My voice trembled with
fear. But that was the closest I could get to conviction.
What is quest if it is
not without hope and the confidence of the company that could make it happen? I
sensed the promise she could have made to herself. It was implicit in her
deceptively pleading voice.
This place is the
farthest in fantasy, yes. That is where all hopes see light, and to that, I’d
like the company of your belief. This isn’t any test of your strength. This is
merely the path to strengthen my belief that dreams can be realized. Even if it
means seeing a million cycles of the Sun and the Moon.
She meant it. And I had
to keep myself going, with questions unasked.
Perhaps it is her faith that lets her wait to see what she
would want to. Perhaps it is the confidence in me that instilled that unshakeable
faith in her. Perhaps I could be part of it and experience what a dream would
be in the real world.
I picked myself up. Off
to our next mile.
