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Topic: Directions (02/02/04)
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TITLE: Changing Directions By Heather Stanwick 02/06/04 |
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To go left would be an easy route, the road smooth and paved, open meadows flanking the sides.
To go right would be a bit more bumpy, a few potholes here and there, debris littering it's surface.
To go straight would be difficult. The gravel road was blocked by fallen trees and large boulders, the sides decorated with treachourous cliffs and deep ravines.
She shifted the heavy pack on her shoulders and looked to the left. This route was heavily traveled and if she needed to rest there were plenty of motels and restaurants.
She looked to the right. Not as congested as the one on the left, but she could still travel it with little difficulty as long as she was careful of where she stepped.
Now she looked straight ahead. This road had only a few travelers, each one carrying a heavy pack and struggling to climb over the obstacles in their path.
Again she looked to her left. The travelers were heavily burdened with baggage, each one fighting for their place on the road giving no heed to those they cut off. They shouted insults at one another and moved a little faster, hoping to be the first to reach the shining city in the nearby distance.
With a frown, she looked to her right. These travelers did not have quite as much baggage, however, they traveled with eyes downcast, watching out only for the dangers in their path and ignoring those who had gotten stuck in a pothole.They didn't shout insults like the ones on the left, but they didn't offer their help either, they just kept to themselves determined to get to the small town far off in the distance.
Her frown deepened as she turned to the road before her. The travelers here were laughing and calling to one another for help. They were stopping to pull others out of the ravines, and shouting with triumph as each one made it the fallen trees.
She could not see their destination, but she could see a wonderous glow behind the mountains.
She was suddenly filled with a longing to be going where they were. She had once walked along the road to the left and her baggage was too much to carry, so she switched directions and tried the road at the right. Her baggage was not as heavy, but her lonliness was unbearable. So she was back at the crossroads once again, time to try something new, find the path that would make her whole. She already knew what lay to the left, she already knew what lay to the right. There was only one path left.
With a sense of renewed confidence, she took a step forward and the travelers stopped to help her over the tree...