The Traveller:

The night has descended upon the forest, and the night life begins to arise from their daytime slumber. The trees are abuzz with the sounds of the woodlands; the creaking of trees as the cold wind bellows through the woods, a howl followed by one, two and many more wolves greeting the blissful orb in the night-sky. And then, the quiet steps of a lone wanderer, passing through the forest floor, carefully making sure he doesn’t disturb the wilderness. An intruder of sorts, but a peaceful one.

He dares not make a sound as he walks. Each step is thoughtfully placed as he continues his pilgrimage through the woods. Not a twig snapped. An ear out for any potential danger, and though he does not hear anything out of the ordinary, his mind is consumed with the thoughts of what could be. He wipes his brow from the cold sweat that begins to seep down his face, worried that even the sound of his anxiety rolling of him, could awaken the horrors of what don’t exist. In reality, he his right as he is alone, isolated and also completely lost. A hard week’s worth of trekking has severely punished the lone wanderer’s mind to the fine line of illusion.

Snap! He swivels his body with as much speed and grace as a ballet dancer, his eyes darting around inside their sockets, to chance upon what could have crept up so close. Crack. He can feel it. He knows it is close. He clamps down hard on his dried lips, blood bursting from his canines in an eager attempt to shut down the scream forcing its ways out of his throat.

His words well lost as his awareness fails to track the ledge that had suddenly emerged, and he starts to fly briefly, before dropping like a stone. Further soundless screams escapes his lungs as plunges faster and faster. The thought of splattering into a bloodied pulp followed by brief flickers of home; his frail mother being gently placed into her grave, peaceful in her eternal slumber; his happy place - a worn and battered fishing hut. All but flickers as reality branched him in the face and broke his fall with an uncertain CRACKKK.

Bruised, battered and bloodied, but alive. His consciousness was swimming in an awkward balance of leaving this existence or struggling. But struggling won as he had always been doing so, day-to-day. He strained his eyes up to see his predators howl in unison towards the moon sadly; their midnight feast lost to mother nature that had graciously allowed this worn soul to live another night. The traveller heaves a sigh of relief and lies down on his back, arms and legs outstretched in relief. He is free. And as he takes a lazy look around his surroundings, he finds himself in a clearing. Getting up, he hastily unties his backpack and retrieves his map from his belongings and identifies where he is.

He is close. Close to finally reaching the end of his journey. Almost able to taste success. On route to his end, he staggers onto his legs like a baby taking his first steps and begins to limp hurriedly. We cannot see what he sees, but he knows the path he will take. The traveller is familiar with his surroundings now. He walks for minutes and then hours. A glint in his eyes and a worn smile that forces him to stay resilient. The pain in his ankle dissolved into a numbing burden as he gazes around in a haze. A mad man.

The traveller’s hands plants themselves firmly on the bark of tree, similar to all those around him; but not to him. He then runs his hands along the groves, following the lines until a certain point, where he stops. Crouching, he places an ear on the oak and listens earnestly. A gentle hoot. To go so far for such a small life. A baby owl the size of an apple lives in the hollowed bark of this tree. The bark begins to shift and move, slowly forming a circle where this white owl resides in and it hops out, pressing as heavily as an apple-sized owl can, into the muddied hands of the traveller. Warmth begins to spread through the traveller’s body, as he cradles the small animal, his mission complete. A long, arduous journey, untold. But he is free from his burdens. Now he is finally free.