Blind

A man loses his way

The sun was setting, already hidden behind the tall pines.

He could feel the cold begin to bite at him. He knew it was time to go.

He withdrew his GPS and held it up, hoping to make a connection. But the trees were too tall, and the signal couldn't reach him. He had prepared for this. He set it aside and pulled out his compass and map. He used his pencil and traced his way back to camp, set his compass path and set out on his way.

He had grown up in the woods. He'd been to cities and could never find the appeal. The ground was hard and gray, not soft and covered with leaves so you could know your way. There were towers of black and glass, spires built by man that dominated the skies and tore your eyes from the stars. His towers were brown and green, though sometimes they were gold or red, or sometimes just brown with the leaves having touched the ground. The trees would frame the stars, showing you the lights of the universe.

In the city, there were so many lights that it was impossible to find anything. They assaulted the senses. Nature gave you all the light you needed, if you only knew how to use it.

He followed the path down the hill. By his reckoning, it should be just after dark when he arrived back at camp. He regretted that he had allowed himself to get this sidetracked, but it couldn't be helped.

You had to always go forward and watch your way.

He found a boulder along the path and decided to take a moment to see the sunset. He stood at the peak of the boulder and drank his water, observing the golden hues that sank into purple and blue. It was in moments like these that reminded him how much he loved the world, these rosie moments.

An idea occurred to him and he had to smile. He crept up to the very edge of the boulder and held his canteen up into the air, as though he were presenting it to the world.

"It's the circle of l-"

He felt it happen in an instant: his foot lost its traction on the boulder, and the next moment, he was weightless. He had just enough time to realize that this would hurt.

And it did.

He hit the ground hard on his left shoulder, bounced and rolled several times until he hit a tree. The blow stopped him from rolling anymore, but it left him with a wounded arm that he could barely move. He felt his vision begin to darken, and not from the setting sun. He blinked rapidly, fighting the desire to fall asleep. He stayed down, simply breathing, trying to regain his bearings.

By the time he could do more than simply stay awake, the sun had fully set, leaving him completely blind. All he had were the stars, and those he could only just see. Great spots clouded his vision, blinking the heavenly bodies in patterns he couldn't discern.

He slowly sat up and withdrew his flashlight, only to find that it had been broken in the fall. His GPS had also sustained damage, but the broken screen cast off light so he could use it to find his way in the dark. His compass was missing, as was his canteen.

He had his medical kit, thankfully. He cleaned the scrapes off his arms and legs before feeling his head. He found a patch of wet hair on the back of his head and pulled it away, realizing quickly that it was blood. He was probably concussed, which meant he needed to get back to camp. Now.

He put the GPS down and looked back up into the sky. The spots were still there, but he thought he could see them diminishing. He leaned against the nearest tree for a moment, trying to catch his breath until he heard something in the dark.

He squinted against the dark, casting what light he could to find the origin.

There, up in the trees, was an owl. A pure, white owl that was looking down on him with an intelligence that he knew wasn't just his imagination. The owl cast an eerie glow in the light, one which blinded him for a moment. He heard its cry as it fluttered its wings before taking off into the night. He blinked again as the bird flew, but kept his eyes focused on where it had been. There, in the distance, was a light shining in the darkness.

He glanced back up into the heavens and found his vision clear. The stars showed him the way, confirming that the light was the truth.

He walked carefully, keeping his eyes on the ground in the dim light. As he got closer, the light grew and grew until he could make out home. A sound echoed above him.

There, in the trees, was the owl again. She had shown him the way, of that there could be no doubt.

"Thank you," he smiled.

Even when you've been hurt and lost your way, there's always a light shining in the dark.

Author's Note

I tried to make this one a little ambiguous, but I have two interpretations of it. The darkness can be ignorance and the light from the owl can be knowledge. Or the darkness can be the world and the light from the owl can be God. But like I said, I tried to make it ambiguous so everyone can enjoy it :)

Reviews

[A.M.]

Good, smooth language. I suppose it's too many acts going in a row sometimes (he had... he cleaned... he found...), maybe variate them somehow?
Nice work, after all.

[Jesse W.]

I noticed that myself and did an edit before posting it, but evidently I didn't do enough of one. I'll do another run through, see if I can catch them. Thanks!