The Tapered Path

There was a natural taper to the path as it wound off into the distance. She was unsure if the path was right, was she going the right way or should she turn back and give up on ever finding herself. She sat for a moment, she’d come so far, given up so much, how could she possibly have chosen the wrong path. She thought about the intersection, the place the pathways crossed. There hadn’t been a sign but she had instinctively felt the path to the left was the one to take. She went back there in her mind looking at the place the paths crossed again, she was searching for clues, she was sure there would be one she had overlooked, nothing but a feeling. She thought about that feeling, felt it again, it had felt right, but now she just didn’t know anymore.

The journey was so long, much longer than she had hoped, much longer than they said and she was tired. It seemed that around every corner there was something else to trip her up, an upturned root, a hidden dip in the path or the enticing calls from the undergrowth. She wondered if the other path had been so treacherous, so unpredictable, she sort of doubted it.

She carried on, wary and tired but at the same time determined. She didn’t want to turn back, didn’t want to retrace her steps over the rough terrain. Hard as the journey had been up until now she felt somehow she was getting somewhere. Even the rest she had just taken, had been beneficial, it had given her time for reflection and introspection. although she didn’t know all the answers, didn’t know what lay ahead, she sort of felt restored and able to continue a little further.

It was around the next bend that she found the opening in the trees. Over in the distance a glistening pond, bathed in the light of the setting sun. Slowly she walked over to the pond and knelt to wash her face. Bending down, she saw herself, saw herself smiling through the glimmering ripples on the ponds surface. At this moment she knew she had been on the right path all along.

~

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