Crossroads

A woman needs to make a choice of which road to follow. Written out of boredom and when I was really tired.

                Crossroads; four roads that each lead to a different ending. In the spot where all the paths meet stands a woman. She stands, lost and confused, gazing down each road. Butterflies fluttering on wings of nervousness and fright cause her to bite her lip and make it bleed. After a moment, her lips part and she sighs, indecisive.

 

                “North.”

 

                Her head turns north. A road leading to a forest bursting with life. A marble brick bath leads the way, and beautiful flowers grow alongside the stone. The trees create a canopy above the path. In the daylight it must be a sight to behold, but tonight the terrors that lay hidden in the sun are awake and prowling. Fierce, bright eyes peer at the woman from the trees and the bushes. Noises catch her ears, hisses, screeches and fierce guttural moans. In amongst the trees a dark figure moves slowly and stops but once to stare at the woman. Its maw opens and a row of gleaming, razor sharp teeth catch the light of the moon. It hisses and turns, lumbering off deeper into the forest.

 

                “I will surely be killed by the monsters living in the forest if I were to enter now. Maybe I should go east.”

 

                Her head turns towards the east. A long gorge stretches as far as she can see to the north and south. On the other side is a beautiful meadow filled with flowers of every type. In the center of the meadow is an apple tree Deer run across the lush grass and rabbits peek out of their burrows and sniff. In the moonlight the meadow is stunning and the woman does not need to be reassured that it is just as beautiful in the day as it is at night. The only way to cross to the meadow though is an old rickety rope bridge. The wood is rotted and the rope is slowly wearing away to nothing.

 

                “If I were to cross that bridge, it would surly snap beneath my weight. I don’t think it’s worth it just to live in a field of grass. Perhaps to the west.”

 

                Her gaze goes west. A gently flowing river with a cobblestone bridge. On the other side is a beautiful town. Fair sized houses with smoke billowing from their chimneys. The town promises order and familiarity. Yet the woman knows something is not right. Nothing is too easy to obtain.  Although this road promises a wonderful thing, she knows that it’s not the one she is destined to travel.

 

                “I know for certain that anything that easy to obtain is not the correct path so I must certainly not go down that path. Perhaps the last road.”

 

                She looks south. Barren is the only word to describe it. A dusty dirt path surrounded by dead trees. Nothing lived there, or at least there was no visible sign of life. Nothing appears to have been able to grow there in years. There is no water or no food. It is a place that has lost its will to live.

 

                “A barren wasteland. Nothing could ever survive within that unless what they needed was at the end of it. Such a hard decision.”

 

                The woman pondered her options. North is the place of shelter, but it is also the place of danger for the animals would surely kill her if she went north. To the east was a dangerous bridge, but on the other side was the promise of nourishment. To the south there was nothing. To the west there was the promise of shelter and nourishment but something told her not to be fooled. Her thoughts were wavering to the west but they were suddenly broken by a voice.

 

                “Hello.”

 

                The woman turned and noticed that she was no longer alone. While she was thinking, a figure appeared beside her on the crossroads. A beautiful woman. It appeared she had done what she could to make herself beautiful before she came here. Her platinum blonde hair with darker roots and tan skin gained from lying on a bed made her beauty one that was not her own. It made the brown haired woman slightly uncomfortable. The beautiful woman smiled.

 

                “Can’t decide?”

 

                “No, I cannot. Have you decided?”

 

                “The west of course.”

 

                The brown haired woman pondered the others answer for a moment before replying with one word that meant so much.

 

                “Why?”

 

                “Because it’s both a place of security and a place where food is available, unlike the other roads that has either one thing or nothing.”

 

                The blonde woman smiled as she watched the other think. The brunette glanced at the town to the west and looked back at the woman.

 

                “But what about the negatives?”

 

                “What negatives?”

 

                “War, hatred, cruelty, those negatives.”

 

                The blonde laughed.

 

                “This is supposed to be paradise. There’s not supposed to be negatives. I should be going. If you make up your mind I’ll see you in paradise. If not well I guess this is good bye”

 

                The woman waved and walked along the road to the west. The brunette watched the woman

smile and wave as she was greeted by others of the town. As she watched, a man in the crowd that greeted her killed another and than a war broke out in the streets. The woman shuddered and turned her head, thankful she could not hear the sounds of the injured and dying.

 

                “I can’t go north or east and I certainly can’t go west. I guess its south then.”

 

                The woman walked along the dirt path and in to the forest of dead trees. For hours she walked and nothing changed. No life, no danger, nothing but dead trees. Only once did the woman look back and she was met with the sight similar to what she was walking in to. Dead trees and a dirt path. With the crossroads gone and nothing to go back to, she continued her walk further into the dead woods. As she began to regret her choice of road she was met with the site of a young child garbed in a simple white robe. The little girl stood in the center of the road staring at the sky. She approached cautiously so as not to frighten the child. Her voice was gentle and quiet when she spoke.

 

                “Hello.”

 

                The child turned and stared at her. A smile enveloped the little girl’s face.

 

                “Hello. I hope I didn’t keep you waiting.”

 

                The woman blinked, in confusion. Her voice came out frightened compared to the strong voice she had tried for.

 

                “Pardon?”

 

                The child laughed and walked around her. When the girl moved behind her, instead of looking to her left side and following the girl as she walked around her, the woman turned to view her from the right. Instead she was met with the sight of a young man no older than 25. His smile and white garment were identical to what the little girl had just been wearing.

 

                “I’m the one who is here to guide you too paradise.”

 

                The woman looked confused.

 

                “This is just a barren wasteland though. What kind of paradise is this?”

 

                “People choose different paths, depending on what they think they need the most. To the north there was nothing but a deadly forest. It provided shelter but at night it is filled with beasts that hunger for blood. Those who want nothing more than protection and shelter go there.”

 

                The young man walked in front of her. The moment she blinked though he was replaced by a woman. She was gentle looking and had the same smile and garment as the other two had. She began to speak in a motherly tone.

 

                “To the east there is a gorge and a meadow. The meadow provides nourishment and comfort. Yet in order to get to it you must cross a treacherous bridge that could fall at any given moment.”

 

                The woman blinked again and when she opened her eyes the motherly woman was gone and replaced by a kind looking old man. He smiled and adjusted the clothing on his body. His voice was worn yet held the passion and excitement of a child’s.

 

                “The west has everything. Yet it is the most horrid of them all. For within the comfort of having everything there are always the seven sins. Lust, greed, envy, pride, gluttony, wrath and sloth. The town was based off the world from which you left and most people dream of going back, hence why that road is the one most people choose.”

 

                The old man limped off the main road and into the trees. He manoeuvred behind one and in his place was a deer. It slowly approached the pat, its footsteps silent in the dead forest. Large eyes stared in to the woman’s and a sound resonated through the trees.

 

                “You chose the path to the south. The path with nothing to give and nothing to take. You believed something lay at the end of it even though you saw nothing worthwhile. This is the path of hope.”

 

The woman was in awe. Thousands of voices echoed, speaking as one. Males and females of every age resonated and created a symphony of beauty and harmony. The sound made tears come to her eyes and slip down her cheeks. She quickly whipped them away and smiled at the feeling of content that course through her. The deer turned and bowed its head to the woman.

 

“Come. I shall lead you to paradise.”

 

The woman followed behind the deer until the end of the road she once thought was never ending. Tears slipped from her eyes when her gaze found her paradise and she felt her heart warm knowing she had found her paradise.