Walking forward, looking back, seeing the distance covered, I gently peruse my worn out log and weep at its endless pages. Songs of sorrow, hymns of joy, ballads of lost love, and tunes of hope. I continue on, both on foot and in the book. My life delicately put on this parchment. My dreams. Those lost thoughts in slumber, those fantasies that perplex the mind. How some were so real it caused one to depress. Why, why do I ponder onward?
My path leads me to an open field. I traverse this pasture with tenacity. There is a feeling of something waiting for me on the other side. I tuck my tales in my coat pocket and venture on. The clouds dim the sun's brightness a touch. I reach the end of the field to find a path into a wooded enclave. Inside I find a small box. I ponder over the morality of the situation. The box is obviously not mine. I look down and scrolled on the lid is my name, bright, shining, and welcoming.
I open the box with caution, not knowing what perils may lay inside. Creaking open I look inside. Inside there is a small handkerchief made of black silk. I unwrap it to find a celtic ring of love, the claddagh, and a note. I place the claddagh ring on my finger and unravel the note. The note is written in ancient Gaelic, but for some reason I can read it as if it were English. The note reads as follows: Giorraíonn beirt bóthar (Two people shorten the road)
I become dumbfounded. All this wandering, all this wondering. The note makes me long for another time. Companionship lumps in my throat. I have masqueraded for so long that I forgot to open the door to my heart.
I reach for my journal of lifetimes past and pull it out. I quickly open to the chapters that mattered, the chapters about her. I read our exploits and smile, then fight back the tears of remorse. I always told myself that I only needed me. That the presence of another was welcoming but unnecessary. I am wrong. This journey that I am on has been so long and lonely. Giorraíonn beirt bóthar (Two people shorten the road) It didn't need to be. I resolve to find her. No matter how long it takes, I will find her. I clasp the claddagh ring around my finger and make a promise to find my love and journey this life with her, together.
I close the box and bury it. No reason, just did. I sit down for a moment and stare at the sun as it sets. I settle in for the evening knowing that tomorrow my life is changing. I begin to see her in my mind's eye. I send out my feelings for her outward into the ether. I almost feel her turn and look. I pray to the gods that they direct her to my dreams so that my search may begin. I begin to doze off and with her steadily in my thoughts I feel alive. I drift off into dreamland, once again not knowing if it is real or unreal. For now, it doesn't matter, for she is there. She is there, waiting.
