She feels the sand between her fingers as they sink into the serene beach. Breath, heavy with exhaustion. How long did the sea carry her? Was it just an eternity..or more? Treading water to stay afloat. Deep recesses of will, fight the urge to to stop moving. It would have been easy to relent. To let herself be swallowed up by the churning void. Take a last gasp little bird. There is no meaning. There is no you. Just another grain of sand between a shaking hand.
But, no. Here is solid ground. Land at last. The possibility to stand. The hope of living...instead of just survival. Somehow the waves knew the way. They lap around tired legs, and bid her farewell. The whispers slowly return to the ocean. Dry your feathers..for soon you will fly.
Here. Now. Present in her body. Balance returns. No longer looking down on physical form, like some angel on tired shoulders. A voyeur no more. Seeing through eyes, out into the world that she is part of.
The scars from battle slowly heal. Dragons are no easy foe. All teeth and claws and flames. But, treasure cannot be returned and shared without facing the beast in the cave. It lives and grows if you run away. The way is through..across the fire. The place you least want to look.
Char my being. Rip and shred my Soul. Crush me in lantern jaws. All is preferable to cowering in velvet cushioned corners. No soft comfort in the slow death. No solace found in silent depths. No air to breathe. No life or expression found. Curl up your body, and sink into the abyss by the weight of your heart. Or keep buoyant, no matter the swell, the rip..the pull.
So, here we are at last. Resting among golden shards. Soft and even, in open palms..fall, as time left counts down. A raised head sees the mighty mountain. Where tundra starts, a path beckons her on. For like her once cloudy mind...it is now clear.
