Lane 717

One day I was wandering along the road after some pretty wild experiences. I was a little disoriented and I didn’t know my way. I was stopped by by passers asking had I gone astray. They gave me directions on my journey back home for I had a long ways to go and didn’t know where I went wrong. I took heed as they catered to my needs and explained every slight turn to my destination. I was afraid, it sounded really hard and really far. I had never traveled alone by myself this far. They gave me a map, a list of clues. They told me to journey well and stay safe in the woods then they were on their way. I looked at the map then the road ahead and kept the number 717 in my head. Taking each step with courage and grace I was still dumbfounded, lost, and stuck in a daze. I couldn’t believe that I had gotten myself stranded, I felt lonely and sad and I was upset and abandoned. There was no one around to help me get back home. Still walking alone after a while, I ran into this town. Everyone looked at me and asked me why I was down. I explained to them that I was stranded and lost. Everyone turned their head to my needs and all I could do was fall to my knees in defeat. There was an old lady; She asked me how I got lost. I told her that I was out and about and turned the wrong way. She assured me that I wasn’t lost and I knew my way. I was told to hold my head to the stars and I’d never get lost. I held out my hand and told her I was looking for 717, she looked at me then winked her eye and said look within your dreams. She walked away and once again I was left alone. I was confused but I continued to walk on my journey home. My feet ached and I was tired, I’d been walking since the break of dawn. The days were long and dreadful but I traveled on and on until I had blisters on my feet. One day I sat in the grass and I began to weep. There was a tribe of people walking by and they looked worried once they seen my position. As they began to walk towards me I quickly scurried to my feet. I wiped my tears and flashed a smile. The leader looked at me and said child why do you weep? I explained everything that happened to me and they seen the abandonment and devastation in my eyes. I told them that I was looking for my way back home. Two men stood by me and commanded me to come along. I had the number 717 playing in my head like a song. I asked them if they knew the way and they told me that I was here to stay for a while. They showed me their village and they gave me rest and took my map away. I asked for their names but they told me nothing yet. I pleaded and asked them to show me the way and they told me that they had all been left astray. I asked them how they found their way back home and they assured that I knew all along. I couldn’t understand why I kept hearing the same thing and why nobody could help me find 717. They told me that the “found” were living in vain. They gave me secrets and clues and after a while I began to remember that life is a game. They called themselves a soul tribe and they welcomed anyone who didn’t know their way or wanted to hide. Although they were strangers I felt a sense of connection to them in some way that sparked the flame of my soul. They helped me learn the ways of being free they told me that I had to be comfortable with me. Once I realized that they really cared for me I considered them my family. They helped me search the stars and I saw my destiny written in the fog of the night. I connected with spirit to make sure my soul was right. I was healed by the vibrations of their sacred light. I looked at my past and left it in the sands of time. The day finally came for me to venture back into the land and they assured me that if I needed anything they would be there to hold my hand. They told me if I ever needed a place to stay I always knew how to find my way back to my souls tribe. I know my way home. I knew it all along, I discovered myself and realized that I am home.

-India B.