the promise of uncertainty

Melini’s feet stopped before a large crevice. Hanging above her, a rope dangled, beckoning her through the thick fog. Would it really be as she’d been promised?
Three years she had stretched and pulled herself through things she’d never dreamed she’d be strong enough to face - a warrior’s pilgrimage fueled by trust alone. Her hand paused as she lifted it towards the final step. How long she’d dreamt of this. How vividly she’d imagined what would be on the other side.
Her eyes darted to the woven bracelet around her wrist - her mentor’s, who had been lost along the way.

“I don’t know what’s on the other side,” she whispered, “how can I move forward and be unsure?”

Somewhere deep inside of her, an impulse pressed into her lungs, as if through the divide her mentor were promising, “It is the only way to do so.”
Melini took a large soothing inhale as she closed her eyes. As she snapped them back open, her feet left the platform. 

-b

August 17, 2020

Photo Credit: Nicolas Schebitz