By: D.A. Henneman
An absence of light covers her like a blanket. Breathing in contentment and settling into the exhale, she registers the soft chirps and whistles of unseen creatures that herald the morning. The gentle lull of waves as they caress the shore tempts her to remain, to lie quietly and exist with the sound. If only she could fill her lungs with the crisp salty air and become one with the moment. But life has different plans for her, and her curious nature wins out. She opens her eyes to the stunning inspiration around her and welcomes the beginning of her life.
Lifting her head, she absorbs the surrounding beauty. Crystalline waters extend endlessly in one direction. In the other, the sun edges up on the horizon to begin its smooth climb toward the heavens. This sun is the center of her universe, and the colors that radiate from it are rich hues of burnt orange and candy-apple red, colors that are at home on a painter’s canvas and most vivid in an old man’s memory. As small, rounded waves lick the shore, they leave behind a glistening trail of shells, like tiny treasures on the sand. The shells are almost as insignificant as the grains of sand beneath her feet. Like everything surrounding her, she is aware of their presence but doesn’t know what they represent. What it will all come to mean to her.
Mesmerized by the sights and sounds around her, she struggles to take them all in at once. She is anxious to be part of the beauty around her, but curious what other experiences she’ll discover if she ventures from this place. While limitless in its potential, she doesn’t appreciate this place for what it is. A moment which she will only be able to return to in her mind’s eye when she moves on to an unknown future. Experience and time will ease the melancholy of her longing, but she is unaware of that now. She is anxious to paint the blank canvas of her life with vivid colors of anticipated experiences. There are no worries that furrow her brow, nor responsibilities and demands on her time. Only patience, warmth, and the freedom to run, dance, or sing should she choose.
Standing and burying her feet in the white endless sand, she rises and sets her path. With a deep breath, and a gentle breeze lightly lifting the hair from her face, she begins her journey. The first steps are easy for her; it’s almost as though she is guided by an invisible force. She walks her path alone but is joined in spirit by others, as represented by the footsteps in the sand that extend before her. It is a comfort to her to know they are there, or perhaps were at one time and kept the path clear. She is a fledgling and spreads her wings beneath the safety of this force, encouraged to fly, yet at the same time encouraged to keep her feet on the ground.
Her journey continues on foot along the water’s edge and she notices debris on the shore. These items, some of them large, some small, are indimidating, but she is young and impulsive and is soon running and hurtling the obstacles. Realizing that these challenges were easy to overcome, she is emboldened by her success. As the sun rises in the sky, she approaches a fork that offers endless possibilities in each direction. She looks to the forces that surround her for the answers, but they are mute and the footsteps have disappeared. She realizes they have fulfilled their obligations to her and now she must continue the journey alone. She fears making the wrong choice, not sure which path to take as they both seem to have qualities she desires. As the sun rises in the sky, she makes her decision…to follow the path which looks less traveled.
The journey is now more difficult, and she finds the path thick with dried weeds and stones that cause her to walk around or jump over. Her journey is harder without the invisible support she had come to rely on, but she finds more fulfillment when the choices are hers. As she travels through minor challenges, she finds that the air is sweeter, the beach is more stunning and most importantly, that she is filled with Joy. She soaks it in until it overflows.
Further up, the path takes a bend; clouds threaten to hide the sun’s rays and the waters are restless. In the distance, a darkness moves toward her and overwhelms with a thick despair and anger. She seeks shelter as the storm moves closer and she attempts to squelch the fear that chokes her soul. Terrified, she runs up the path to a large boulder, knowing instinctively that she must stop her journey and wait out the storm. At the base of the rock there is a crevice high enough for her to squeeze into, and trembling from the cold, she takes refuge in this place. The inky darkness surrounds her, and she closes her eyes shuddering each time the winds howl and the waves crash. The ocean churns up its depths and tosses the contents upon the shore. She is threatened with debris as it is thrown near her but realizes even though she is afraid, she is still alive.
The ocean screams in a rage, lightening rips across the blackened sky, and she is filled with anger. Livid that she isn’t in control of her life, that she allowed the ocean to control her with fear and sadness. At that moment she understands, in order to continue on her journey, she must control the storm. She pulls herself from her hiding space and faces the dark churning waters of the ocean. As the rain pelts her and foam tugs at her ankles, she raises her hands to the sky and screams that she will not be controlled by the fear the unknown has created. Her rage warms her and in response to her threats the winds die down, the rains dry up, and the clouds disappear. As the waves slow to a gentle roll, she knows she has weathered the storm. This is the middle of her life and she is empowered. She begins her journey with new purpose.
The beach is littered with debris from the storm, some objects small enough to jump over and some so large that they force her to go around. But she stays on course, knowing now she is capable of handling anything life throws at her. The debris she finds in her path represents the challenges of her life, most of which are behind her as she continues her walk. Her steps are light with the knowledge that even if challenges are put before her, she has the fortitude to overcome them.
The sun is lower on the horizon, and the colors of her memory are welcomed back to make their grand display. She remembers the ease and beauty of early days and wishes to know them again. She considers for just a moment walking back the way she came to grasp those realities, going back to an easier time, but knows it’s impossible to walk a path more than once. The footsteps only ever led in one direction. Besides, her journey would be cheapened. She is the sum of her experiences and wouldn’t be the person she’s become had she walked a different path or made other choices. This doesn’t stop her from feeling a sense of regret that she didn’t have the wisdom sooner to truly appreciate her youth, but she doesn’t wallow in it, she accepts it. It is as much a part of her as the thoughts in her head or the breath in her lungs.
She tires easily now and her steps slow on the path. Resting on a massive log that has washed up from her storm, she looks to the horizon and the sun is once again the center of her world. The colors that radiate from its core are rich hues of burnt orange and candy-apple red, yet they are richer somehow. Instead of being at the beginning of her journey, she is witness to the sunset of her life. Content to know that she faced her worst fears and overcame every obstacle that life put in her path, she now embraces her journey and everything it represents, good and bad, inspiring and terrifying, monumental and insignificant. She is at peace knowing her path wound through a fulfilled and glorious life.
As the sun fades into the horizon and she hears the soft chirps and whistles of the creatures that herald the night, she has no regrets. The sun will come again, and although it will not warm her face, she will be there to walk quietly beside the next traveler who will only know her presence by the footprint she leaves alongside them as they start their journey. She will be the force that guides them at the start of their life, and for her, that is the best way to end hers. A life well-lived and an inspired purpose found along the way.
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D.A. Henneman - Romance Author 
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