Day 2: The Meadow

When I awoke, the rain had finally stopped falling.  Instead of darkness, I peered out of my little cove into an amber glow that illuminated the forest.  It seemed more inviting than the hostile environment I encountered last night.  The musky smell of the forest after a heavy rainfall entered my nostrils, and a brief memory passed through my mind of shapes of people I did not recognize. 

Still hungry and desperate of some other life form to tell me I wasn’t dreaming, I crawled out of my shelter and headed back in the same direction on the dirt trail.  My clothes were still wet, as was the forest, but at least we weren’t getting any wetter.  I wiped my hair out of my face and put one foot in front of the other, my body crying out in pain with every step. 

I don’t know how long I wandered like this, but I sighed with relief when I finally came upon a clearing.  Not just a small meadow surrounded by forest on all sides, but an actual expanse where I could see what lied before me for miles ahead.  Grass.  Deep grass as high as my waist grew on either side of the trail, nearly concealing it.  Wildflowers dotted the area with their color, like drops of paint splattered on a green canvas.  And up ahead, miles and miles ahead, were mountains.  I couldn’t tell how high they were, for I stood quite a ways away, but they looked steep, with jutting edges.  I stood there for a while and pondered my options.  I could turn back and retrace my tracks on the trail with the hopes of finding civilization in the other direction.  I could wait in this grassy area for someone to come across my trail.  Or I could face the challenge ahead, the cliffs, the mountains, the gloomy ridges that stood ahead.  I had come this far, why not take my chances going just a little bit further?  Perhaps a village lied just beyond the first hill, or maybe a traveler who could point me in the right direction. 

I bent down and tightened the sandal straps around my blistering feet.  Whoever carried me out to this jungle could have had the decency to give me good shoes to wear for my trek back.  Unless they were trying to kill me, in which case, I am thankful to still be alive.  Taking a deep sigh, I walked through the tall grass on the trail that seemed to be heading straight toward the looming mountains.