TREES

The journey ended where the knowing began

She rose from the boulder.

The wind howled.
The trees whispered.

The earth gave slightly
beneath each step.

Somewhere nearby,
something was blooming.

The path turned left.
Then right.

She moved through it
like a sleepwalker,
already knowing
she would never retrace her steps.

The directions were clear.

The horizon less so.

She had promised.

So she walked.

Past fear.
Past hesitation.
Past regret.

Held upright
by just enough curiosity
to keep moving.

At the edge of the woods,
she saw a clearing.

Relief came first.

Then recognition.

Her boulder waited in the center.

She greeted it with a sigh.