Roads

A Story by Eliot Knight

A letter to you.

Roads

He had been walking the road for some time now. He was familiar with it, he knew that it wasn't always smooth and that sometimes it narrowed, making it near to impossible to walk across, yet he had made it this far.

He could see it, clear as day, a light ahead, he knew what it was, he'd come across a few before. It was an intersection. As he approached it, the scribbled letters on the glowing signboard became clear. He could read it now, another name, one quite like his own. He looked around, hoping to see another face and there, sitting by a bench was a girl, she had her eyes closed, as if she were at peace. Why isn't she walking? he wondered. He had never met anyone at intersections who wasn't walking or running. Is she not worried about not reaching her destination, does she not care, or is something wrong with her. He had a million questions running through his head as he approached her.

As he stood above her, staring impolitely, she slowly opened her eyes as if getting up from a long nap. She looked up at him and gave him a smile, patting the empty spot next to her. He reluctantly sat down, agitated, that now, he too, had stopped walking.

They sat in silence and stared ahead at their individual roads. A few days passed and calm had fallen over him. He knew he could sit there forever. He looked beside him at the girl who was staring back at him as if she had known him his entire life. A feeling of familiarity passed over him and he reached over to hold her hand. The girl pulled away and looked ahead at the road he had not noticed before. It seemed to be intersecting with hers. He stared at it, understanding it.

A few weeks passed by, he looked beside him at the girl who no longer seemed as peaceful as when he had met her. Maybe she had never been at peace. He knew that when he had first laid eyes on her, he had seen what he had wanted to see and not what was true. This time, expecting no different result, he extended his hand towards hers, she pulled back roughly this time. She stood up with her shoulders raised like that of a wounded animal.

She turned her back towards him and started walking down the road with her name on it. He had grown accustomed to her company and seeing her walk away brought out the desire inside him which he had long suppressed. The loneliness inside him could no longer be helped. He had walked his own road in silence all his life, never stopping at intersections, only walking and waiting.

He dared not follow her, for he knew that this time, she would not be so forgiving. She stopped to look back at him, as if letting him know that it was alright. She too had found calm in his company, but he knew that, that's all it was. He could not ask for more as she could never give him more.

He stood up, standing on the road with his name on it, he noticed that their roads not only intersected but seemed to curve into a parallel. He walked his own road up to where she stood. She started walking on hers and he followed a few steps behind.

He realised that this girl had been waiting for him at the bench, not because she was a part of his destiny but because she was a guide, like so many of us are for others, unknowingly shining light on his path so that his way was clearer and easier to walk upon.

© 2015 Eliot Knight

Author's Note

I would appreciate any sort of feedback regarding grammar usage. Writing prompts etc.
What I really want to know is how my story resonates with you, if at all.

My Review

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Reviews

JulianaSun

Roads – a metaphor for the paths destiny lays before us from the very moment we come into the world. Your vision of how fate works – an intricate set of roads and intersections – is rather thought-provoking. Also, the last paragraph is entirely true. Some people are meant to guide us, just as we are meant to guide others.

Could I make a suggestion? In the fragment “reluctantly sat down, agitated, that now, he too, had stopped walking.”- nervous would be a better fit than agitated.