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.  

Day 1:Waking Up

I woke up in the dark in the middle of a thunderstorm, raindrops splattering on my face.  From the brief illumination of the lightning, I could see a forest surrounding me.  A jungle of tall trees, thick bushes, and a river of water making it’s way down the trail on which I lied.  It was hard to breathe, the pouring rain was so thick, even below the shelter of the trees.  There didn't appear to be any others around me.  I called for help, but no help came.  I was cold, drenched, hungry, and alone.  Every drop of rain felt like a beat of a drum on my throbbing head.  Oh, my head.  It was spinning like a whirlwind of memories I could not grasp.  Pictures flashed before my mind's eye, but I did not recognize them.  

I finally stood and tried to clear my mind.  Forget the past, whatever it was, I had to find some people, some food.  I didn't know which way to go on the narrow foot trail before me, so I turned left.  The forest seemed clearer that direction, or so I thought.  

It was hard to see anything in the rain and the darkness, but I continued to walk, to run, on the trail before me hoping it would lead me somewhere. Anywhere. I don't know how long I ran.  I was out of breath and every inhalation seemed to bring an ounce of water with it into my burning lungs.  I had to stop running. I had to find some shelter.  I gave up on my task to find some sort of civilization, and looked for a cave instead.  I found a hollowed out tree large enough to hold three people.  I felt around hoping I wasn't intruding on anyone, anything, and learned that I was, indeed, alone.  So I waited there, in the hollow tree trunk, waiting in vain for the endless storm to pass.  Waiting for the sun to peak over the horizon to soak up the waters and warm the forest.  I waited for minutes, hours, but my head began spinning again, until instead of the dim opening of the cavern, I saw only darkness.  

My Story

Hello,

I am a lost traveler. I have journeyed from the farthest corners of the Earth.  I don’t know where I’m from or what year it is.  I have spent the past few weeks, months, years... I don't know how long, traveling through forests, deserts, and the mighty waters, to get back to where I came from.  How do I know my way home, I’m not really sure.  How do the cranes know how to migrate north in the spring?  Instincts, perhaps, is the answer.  Or maybe I’m not even close to going the right direction to get back to where I came from. 
Though I have had some companions on my journey, I travel mostly alone.  My days are dark, my nights even darker, for man was not created to live alone.  

I have kept journals of where I’ve been. Perhaps you have come across these accounts in your travels.  Maybe you will find them by my body when I am long gone.  I don’t know how you have found them, but you wouldn’t be reading this if you didn't get a hold of them somehow.  

My name is Sangrali Anweraffol, and this is my story.