Solitude

Deep in the heart of the woods, she sat alongside the riverbank and stared into the stream. The stillness of the woods and soft trudging of the water encapsulated her in a quiet solace. As she watched the stones and perennial herbs ebb and flow against the base of the riverbed, she gently trailed her feet atop the face of the water and allowed its coolness to refresh her from the hot sun beaming above.

Here, in this place, she can always be found. I reckon it is only in this small patch of the woods, miles away from society, that she can find peace that abounds. For she truly is a peculiar woman. She casts down society's notions of what makes a woman and what constitutes a fulfilling life. None dare to understand her rebellion, and she lacks the desire to be understood. Thus, her romance with society is fairly amicable, as she goes her way, and they go theirs. Indeed, this is a dazzling sight to behold.

I tell you truly, the chatter of the town does not amuse her. The eyes of men do not arouse her. The hierarchical concept of family does not beckon to her, nor does idle companionship enrich her spirit. For she much rather ogle the fish as they swim by or play in the clay of the earth as the wind tousles her coils and tickles her scalp than engage with society all too much in love with themselves and their station in life or pursuit thereof that the beauty of the sky at dawn and the dancing of the stars at dusk never faithfully catches their eye.

It is this peculiar woman who has become the focus of my wonder. For I trail her steps in the woods, sit across opposite her of the river, and watch her as she enjoys life under the scope of my eye undistributed. I adore our quiet walks and time spent at the river; for so long, I have longed to be with a woman agreeable to just being and sharing space.

In the beginning, she paid me no mind to which I felt no care or bother, for even though the time we shared was void of words, it was not absent of presence. As time passed, subtle shifts became apparent in how we shared space. Here and there, she would slow her pace so that I could trail her steps a little closer. Now and then, we would lock eyes across the river, and I saw a hint of a smile in her eyes.

I revel in these moments and dream of the day she pauses in her trek with an extended hand so that we may walk together, or she beckons to me with a wave to come closer so that we may ogle the fish together as they swim by. The day my dreams become reality, I do not know, but I feel myself inching closer as the smile in her eyes grows and her pace steadily slows.

~ The End