The Valley...

Sometimes we find ourselves in the Valley, slowly walking towards the Sunset, trying to make sense of things, trying to survive and sometimes, trying our best to get away from it…

This is one such story… A story of HER who lives in all of us…

She was alone… she was passing through… she was in the valley…

With white clouds sailing through the blue skies, miles and miles of rugged land, tall mountains towering on either side, the Valley looked majestic. There were no trees in sight, just the small patches of grass and flowering weeds here and there. It was beautiful, yet surreal. She felt that the flow carries her through the valley, and she let it. There were no re-routes, no de-tours and no rush, just the path ahead and the path she left behind…

 She heard the whispers from her past carried though the wind. They came to her in flashes like lightning and thunder in the valley. Her memories from lifetime ago; the hurt, the guilt she was holding on to flashed in front of her eyes. But she kept walking, slowly moving ahead. There was no one to talk to, she felt lonely, but she kept walking, letting the flow slowly carry her.

Sometimes, she stopped and looked back, looked at the path she left behind. Vast rugged land up to the far horizon, all covered in a thick maze of fog, she squint her eyes to see as far as she could. Hoping, she might find something there; something that is valuable, something to hold on to. Then she realised, everything that she has not let go of, she was carrying on her shoulder.

It felt heavy, it weighed her down, but she was afraid to let go of it. Why? She asked sometimes. Her shoulders ached from the burden she carried; it slowed her down. Yet, she was afraid… the burden reminded her of who she was. It mocked at each step she took forward and challenged her to look back. Open the backpack and see for yourself what you were back then! It almost whispered in her ear, “you don’t deserve better… come look what you were before…come look…”  with tearful eyes, she moved forward. Her legs ached, her shoulders hunched, yet she could not let go of the burden from her past.

She felt exhausted. She wanted to take a break. There was no shade in sight, just the barren valley all around her. She stopped and sat on the rough gravel, took off her backpack and threw it on the ground. She realised, the backpack was unnecessary. She does not need the hurt, the guilt nor the grief that she was carrying anymore. She was tired of looking back. So, she got up and walked away leaving the backpack behind.

Her shoulders felt much better. She walked slowly but happily, no more pain, no more aches. She stopped to smell the wildflowers on her path and even managed to smile at a bird far above in the sky. The Sun was shining above the valley; soft breeze rustled the thin grass. Things looked much better than before. She felt better, happier, and lighter, almost perfect…

Few miles down the path, suddenly, her legs started hurting again, She started to hear the whispers of the past, “come look what you were before…come look….” She looked back and oh! the backpack she left behind was entangled on one of her ankles! It was dragging itself slowly behind her. It had collected all the rubbish along its way. She screamed in frustration. I thought I left you behind long time ago. Yet here you are… on my face! She stopped again. Not knowing what to do.

This time she stopped and listened…listened to the nature surround her; the wind, the air, a far cry of an eagle, the stillness of the valley, the still small voice in her… telling lovingly, your past does not define you. You have come a long way, and you can let go of that burden…

She looked back at the path she left behind one last time. The rugged terrain stared back at her with no emotion, the fragments of memories flashing in the fog. She sat down and slowly untangled the backpack from her ankle. Removed the debris and opened it.

She took time to look what was inside of it. With tears streaming down her face, she touched the items in the backpack. There was a glass bottle with dozens of beautiful moths, the trapped fragments from her past. She looked at them, saw them for what they were in the past and what they are for her now. She grieved for the lost love, the lost time, missed opportunities, and the goodbyes never said. She let go of the people who hurt her and whom she hurt, knowing that things would have been different. However, they turned out to be the way they were. So, there is nothing she could do about it now.

She loved the people; the memories and she forgave them, and she forgave herself. She took the glass bottle, opened the lid, and let the moths fly away freely in the wind.

She knew it was time to move forward. She could hear her future calling, could almost taste and feel the roses in the breeze. she took the backpack and hugged it lovingly. Cried softly for the things she has lost and for the things she wished could have been different. Then put it down lovingly on a grassy flower bed. With a final goodbye to all that there was the good the bad and everything in between… she was free.

She walked a few steps forward and let loose of her hair in the gentle breeze. Stretched her arms open wide, closed her eyes, and smiled for real after a very long time.

She knew who she was, and she knew she deserved better… There was only one thing left for her to do now, and she trusted the Flow of Life and let it carry her away… out to the open, out of the Valley…

Tree branches in the Winter twilight...