Trampling down hill, letting my weight carry me to my destination. Shoes crunching through the crisp autumn leaves and soft dirt of a fresh rain. Breathing slow, feeling the cool air fill my lungs with a sharp chill. Dog panting and trotting to keep up as I start to pick up the pace. The further away I get from There, the easier it becomes to exist. Pine trees swaying in the light breeze. Hair softly dancing against my lips, tickling my cheeks and ears. Every step takes me closer to a place where my shoulders will fall from tension and I can close my eyes without fear of the unknown. A place where peace and trust and inner understanding reside. A place I can call my own.
The hill comes to an abrupt end, and a slow decline through the woods begin. I pause at the edge of the woods and listen. Birds, tussling leaves, scraping branches, a light breeze whispering against my ears. To the left is the Shed, the last sign of civilization. The last remnant of fear that I have to push past. Straight ahead, my own. I take a glance behind and my eyes fall on There. I look through the kitchen window and see that nobody is watching. I grin and giggle to myself as the tantalizing taste of freedom seeps through my lips and brushes the tip of my tongue. I turn and never look back.
I move easily down the soft descent and step lightly, careful to not disturb the sacred surroundings that have taken care of me all these years. The path is sort of luring, the perfect slope that just makes it easy to glide down. I dance along, avoiding the briars in a tango I know all too well. Every branch, every log, every resting spot for spiders, every hole and every root are stitched into the workings of my mind. Before I know it, I'm to the clearing. I fall into my hammock with closed eyes and release all the air in my lungs, all the tension in my body, all the pent up emotion and feelings in my heart.
I slowly lift my eyelids and let the late afternoon sun fill in my vision as my lungs fill back up with that cool, crisp, deliciously all my own, air. I smile and laugh, then sigh. A fleeting moment of regret fills my mind as I think how short this moment will last before I have to return to There. I close my eyes and let my mind go blank, it's better to not think at all than to think about something so dreadful. The sun kisses my eyelids and warms my vision with a canyon red and the breeze tickles my cheeks and the birds sing to my soul. Off in the distance, the dog trotting around sniffing out moles. This is where I can let go. My only space of rest.
