A Road Less Travelled

Things didn’t usually turn so bad, so quickly, but this time there was a definite aura of inevitability from the start.
The road I had taken was one that I had travelled on before, but on previous occasions I had managed to get back to the main road before becoming too embroiled in the journey - and that’s not easy, because it’s badly signposted.
Still, it seemed somehow like I’d met an old friend, one who I’d shared some time with and who I knew intimately. One who knew my secrets, as I knew theirs: and I’d found that this was something that should never be underestimated, this sharing of secrets, this intimacy, had taken me places before, sometimes places I’d rather not have seen.
This road is a long one, and has many false turns, many places to get stuck and many sights that can only be seen from certain vantage points. It also has an element of self discovery, but you have to look pretty hard to find that, and if you do, well, you may wish you hadn’t.

The only thing I’m entirely sure of, is that the road is not a short cut, it’s like a multi faceted being which reveals itself only small pieces at a time, but the worst thing, the very worst thing, is the loneliness of the road. Hardly ever do you come across another traveller, because they are all on a different part of the road, some taking different turns to get where they’re going, some trying to take shortcuts through the hedgerows that surround it which is always a mistake: this road is not so easy to get back onto once you leave it for any other reason than to find the main road.

Sometimes I can hear the other travellers on the main road, it’s that close in places - but cut across the fields and hedgerows? Not me, no way, I don’t know the route, and it’s always amazed me how sound can deceive you. Sure they sound close, but who knows where they are. You could wander forever and never find your way back. No, the only way is to follow the road, maybe explore some of the side roads, but as long as you stay on it, you’ll be safe - or safe-ish at any rate - you probably know that there are no truly safe roads, there’s accident blackspots, sudden bends that take you by surprise, parts of it in need of repair, creatures that wander onto it and cause you to brake or swerve too quickly, and don’t forget other travellers coming in the opposite direction, or other travellers more reckless than you.

Night time is a bad time to be here, things can sound even stranger, and shadows cast can leave an indelible imprint on the mind as you struggle to understand what you saw. Colours and sounds are re-defined, the most everyday object could cause you to jump, always assuming you recognised what you saw, and nervous gestures behind the wheel are not a good idea, not here, for at night, the demons come.
The demons come in many forms and many guises: Once they get hold of you though, it’s difficult to escape their clammy grasp, as they pull at your soul, trying to claim it for their own.
But it can be done.
After all, I know about them and I’m still here.

Still here and back here.

Once you get back on this road, it can seem as though you’ve never been away, like waking each morning to the warm embrace of a lover, you can’t imagine what it was like when not there.

This journey though, is different from others I’ve taken on this road. I’ve travelled further and seen things that I hadn’t seen before.
The further you travel, the more difficult it becomes and there are less turns back to the main road.
It twists and turns, sometimes coming back on itself as you struggle with the wheel. There are hills and rises and false crests, blind corners and steep downslopes. The going gets tough, and you have no choice but to slow down.
Sometimes the turnings back to the main road are hidden, and you slow to peer intently at small gaps in the hedges which might hide a turning, but the further you get, the more false turnings present themselves. These false turnings can take you away from your route, and the main road for a very long time.
Time seems to warp, as it sometimes speeds up and sometimes slows down. It all depends on how far you have come on your journey.
On this journey, I’ve seen lights in the sky, strange creatures that are not demons and maybe not of this world. I’ve seen trees that look like a drowning man struggling against the water destined to kill him.
And I’ve seen despair.
The deepest despair that you can possibly imagine, like being enclosed in an envelope of pure, unadulterated darkness.

But I will get back to the main road.

I must.

I have things to do, people to care for, people that need me.

I can’t complete my journey yet, not this time, because now I know what waits at the end of the road.

The ferryman waits, he waits for me, and for you.

But he can't take me across the river yet, because I haven't completed my journey.

[edit on 8/8/2007 by budski]

A very good post.



To me, it kind of sounds like the "road" to obtain the truth. It is a hard "road" and one that few ever dare venture on. Most people would rather stay in their own comfortable, blissful ignorance, than to venture out and see things for what they really are.

There is much truth to the saying, "Know the truth and get pissed off!!" The truth is rageful, sad, and yes, even frightening at times. However, for those who wish to approach it, the reward goes so far beyond that rage and fear that you may feel, that it makes it all worth the while.

Thanks for your appreciation speaker, one of the things that I wanted from this, was for it to work on different levels for different people.

Judging by some of the feedback I've had, I seem to have managed that

[edit on 10/8/2007 by budski]