Pearly white clouds float gently across the intensely blue heavens. The dusty ground grazes the bottoms of my callused feet, reminding me of my ambiguous past. The lack of clarity is suspicious.
Walking, walking, and walking. As the path lengthens, the magnificent colors become even more vibrant. I’m lured into the view of vivacious hues with heights and dreams more wonderful than imaginable. My foot lands on a black, unnaturally sharp object. I slow my steps from pain and embrace the grand vines hugging me, as if to grab and catapult me to the next unknown, flirtatious lands. I notice the spreading numbness of my left foot and glance at the new pool of passionate red. I continue walking, abandoning trails of blood. At last! I’ve reached the top; victory masks my suffering.
A view so great, we all take it in different forms. It is a rainbow, a flower? Both? I can’t tell. I’m taken aback by beauty; I’m not too sure what I’m looking at either. I’m dazed and drunk watching the stillness of the hills, sky, and the earth. Little by little, I regain consciousness and hear the noisy throbbing of my poor foot. After what feels like eternity, this serenity leaves. The agony has finally surpassed my euphoria. Questions arise quickly as I awake from my distraction. Why is my foot throbbing? I ponder the possible provenances of this pain.
I become quite stiff. As the possibilities grow, so does my suspicion. And like a gust of forceful wind, fear overwhelms me. Then, like the first battle of war, worries attack my vulnerable mind. My breath is shortened to desperate pants and I sense it. I can grasp the horror of his return. I hear hollow whispers, taste bitterness, smell my fear, all while I can still see this beautiful view. My future is daring and dangerous, like the same little girl who was so mesmerized by this beauty.
I’m hungry for safety by human instinct, so I act robotically, with no more desires but to escape. I shudder, unable slow my pounding heart. I take slow steps, then transition into a frantic run. I know now, He has returned. He, a man so grim he isn’t man, who collects the world’s souls so cruelly, is here for me. But why me? Why not the hopeful little flowers? Why not the grand clouds? He responds with a chill that creeps through my stressed vertebrate, arms, and out my fingertips.
Like the fear that spreads across the lands, oblivion spreads through the crevices of my mind. A new sensation travels through my body: adrenaline. Without thought, ration, or logic, I continue to run. My legs take me further than the path can bear. With every step, my burning feet are one step closer to the start. However, I fail and will continue to fail, simply because my final destination does not lie in the knowledge of my beginnings; it exists in new lands of the unknown.