A Quest For Belonging

A child sets out on a quest for belonging.

Once there was a child who was on a quest for belonging. Leaving the safety of his home, he went in search of answers.

He walked for many miles without finding a single clue. Exhausted he slumped down against a great oak and asked aloud, "Where do I belong?"

The tree whispered, "Wherever your heart feels whole."

The child turned towards the oak, feeling alarmed yet inspired to learn more. So thoughtfully, the boy replied, "But what if that feeling fades?"

Suddenly a breeze blew overhead causing the oak's branches to dance. "Then your heart belongs with everything that feels."

The child paused a moment before smiling and hugging the great tree. He felt his heart swell with love and found the strength to carry on.

The boy continued his walk until he grew to be a man and met a woman. When the man and woman touched, they felt their hearts become whole. And so the pair built a new home where they lived together.

But eventually the woman died and the man left the safety of his home once more in search of belonging. He was old now and his heart was empty. Eventually he collapsed in the middle of a barren land and his journey had to end.

But as his body decomposed, rain began to fall. It was not long before new life revitalized the landscape. Decades passed and the spot the man died grew to a great oak. The oak loomed above the other trees in what was now a forest. And there this oak stood proudly and silently until one day a child slumped against the tree exhausted and wondered aloud, "Where do I belong?"

Author's Note

Do you think this is true of belonging? What do you think it means to belong somewhere or to someone? Have you also searched for connection like the child in the story and have you ever lost that connection?

Reviews

[H.L. Cerveise]

Oh my I really liked this one. Most people think in a linear fashion as far as time is concerned. However, that is not true, for everything past/present/future are connected like a massive spider web. If you are looking correctly you can see it the way you wrote this story.