Desolation

So many paths. So many choices. So long the roads, they stretch out into the distance with no end in sight. Which, why, when? Questions abound.

The chains tug at me. Chains to the past, chains to the future. I struggle, they burn. I roar, they solidify. I run, they yank, I fall, they drag me back. Escape, escape! They cry "Duty! Obligation! Reason!"

"Madness, madness! Let me go!" I scream. They sneer, they let go. I stumble to my knees, and the chains fall off. Momentary disbelief, excitement, hope. They walk away.

Unbound, I follow. What? Why? I don't know. I move as if the chains remain, though my mind screams otherwise. "Go! Run!" I can't. Unchained, I am still bound.

A bright star twinkles above. It comforts me, gives me hope. Then another, and another. They shine down on me, with love. My heart leaps in my chest. Here now, is reason to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

But my mind sneers. "Fool! They're millions of light-years away!" I despair. My spirit evaporates in the wind. I cannot argue. They're so far away. So far away.

Desolation.



But the voice of truth tells me a different story.