The light begins to fade. The birds return home to adoring children, chirping their approval of a day's work well done. And soon all is quiet. The forest sleeps oblivious to a lonely soul.
The road keeps going. Shadows lengthen. The path is cobbled by a million fragments of light and shade. The breeze picks up, carrying with it a thousand dead leaves that speak in a mute whisper. But I'm only human and cannot understand the strange tongue.
A light in the distance fills me with a sudden elation. There lay my destination! I start running towards it, not caring which way I took. Serpentine trails that become ever fainter, lead me deeper and deeper into the forest. The light grows brighter, but I'm no closer to its source.
The ground changes character, becoming more and more rocky. The slope becomes steeper too, making it harder for me to continue. But they were petty obstacles in the face of my determination, and I press on.
I was almost there, almost at the summit of the climb. My destination could not be far. The light was so much brighter now, I could almost touch it.
Whoosh!
All of a sudden, the ground gives way beneath my feet. In a split second the world turns upside down and I find myself hanging on for dear life.
The valley was a gaping chasm waiting to swallow me whole. And no one could save me.
