Tangled

As the sun blazed overhead and the sky stretched endlessly blue, we trekked along the rugged path at the cliff’s edge. You surged ahead, driven by some unseen urgency, while I struggled to keep pace, my boots slipping on loose stones.

To our left, the cliff dropped sharply into the azure expanse of ocean, while to our right, twisted barbed wire delineated some unseen boundary. The wire, barely holding on, seemed more a suggestion of containment than a barrier.

At a bend in the path, I stumbled over the stones you kicked up, reaching out instinctively to steady myself, only to find my hand grasping painful barbs. The sharp sting made me cry aloud, but you continued, never looking back, seemingly unaffected by my distress.

I wiped the blood against my shirt, silently enduring the ache both in my flesh and in my heart.

Further along, as I struggled to catch up, I heard a plaintive cry carried on the wind. At first, I mistook it for the bleat of a sheep, but as I approached, I realized it was you, at the wire, desperately trying to free a trapped lamb. Your anguish mirrored the creature’s, each cry echoing the other’s pain.

“We need wire cutters,” you insisted, your eyes accusing me of negligence.

But as I scanned the desolate landscape, I knew rescue was unlikely.

“This land seems endless,” I muttered, feeling the weight of your blame pressing down on me.

With determined hands, you fought to free the lamb, oblivious to the blood staining its wool. Your cries mingled with its bleats, creating a cacophony of suffering that pierced the air. Despite my feeble protests, you persisted, your desperation escalating with each passing moment.

“Stop,” I pleaded, but my words fell on deaf ears. I watched helplessly as the lamb’s struggles ceased, its once vibrant eyes growing dull.

As you cradled the lifeless creature, your touch tender and gentle, I realized that your compassion was reserved solely for the helpless creature at your feet. With a heavy heart, I turned away, the sound of your grief fading into the wind.

Quietly, I retraced my steps along the cliff as the world softened about me. The harsh brightness of the sun mellowed into a comforting warmth, and the relentless blue of the sky became a soothing backdrop to my thoughts. Even the rugged cliffs offered a sense of solace.

At the spot where I had grabbed the barb, the wire glistened with my blood, a reminder of the pain endured. I glanced back briefly, knowing you wouldn’t notice the traces of blood staining the wire.

The fence, still flimsy in places, was the fragility of life and the resilience of the human spirit. With each passing moment, the distance between us grew until you were nothing more than a distant memory, a fading echo in the recesses of my mind.