"I'm scared", I whispered, wishing I could hold those fragile, old hands tighter.
"Don't be." The old lips spread out in a grin. "If a bird never got out of its nest, it would never have learned how to fly. It is the same with you."
How could I tell her? She was so hopeful, a five-year-old look bursting through me form eighty-year-old eyes. How could I tell her that my knees are shaking and that I am hardly holding the tears back. How could I? She wanted this for us so bad. For me, she would say, but... I always knew it was her dream, too. She just didn't have the strength to see it through.
"What if I lose my way?"
"I hope you do, dear girl. Because that... That is the only way to find yourself. We all have a path. Some are more clear than others, but in the end, we are all walking down a dirt road. There are struggles along the way, but you know all too well that the most beautiful roses have the sharpest of thorns."
"I don't understand! This is all just so confusing, and it is happening all so fast!"
"Don't fight it. Embrace it. You have just discovered a new chapter of your life!" She slowly cupped my cheek in her tight palm. "You are so young, and you have so much in front of you. I only wish I had your courage a bit sooner."
"Courage?! How can you speak of courage when I can barely hold my ground from fear!"
"All aboard!", said the man in front of the train.
"No...", I whispered, "No, not yet! I am not ready!"
"You are, little bird! Trust me, there is nothing I want more for you than to get up on that train and see where it takes you!"
I was slowly moving towards the door of train I had only a one-way ticket for. I let her hand and it stood there in the air for a few more seconds, like I didn't even let it go.
"There are beautiful things to see in this life... I've seen so many, imagine how much you will!"
I took another step back, and felt the cold steel of the train behind me. I took one step inside. She was still there, looking in the direction where she assumed I was standing. She waved, like she was supposing that I waved first, and she was just waving back.
In the end, I waved too. I don't know why.
I found my seat and tried to look through the window to the one person I had known, and that I am now leaving.
"I'll be back soon...", I whispered.
I know she hoped I wouldn't be.
"Don't be." The old lips spread out in a grin. "If a bird never got out of its nest, it would never have learned how to fly. It is the same with you."
How could I tell her? She was so hopeful, a five-year-old look bursting through me form eighty-year-old eyes. How could I tell her that my knees are shaking and that I am hardly holding the tears back. How could I? She wanted this for us so bad. For me, she would say, but... I always knew it was her dream, too. She just didn't have the strength to see it through.
"What if I lose my way?"
"I hope you do, dear girl. Because that... That is the only way to find yourself. We all have a path. Some are more clear than others, but in the end, we are all walking down a dirt road. There are struggles along the way, but you know all too well that the most beautiful roses have the sharpest of thorns."
"I don't understand! This is all just so confusing, and it is happening all so fast!"
"Don't fight it. Embrace it. You have just discovered a new chapter of your life!" She slowly cupped my cheek in her tight palm. "You are so young, and you have so much in front of you. I only wish I had your courage a bit sooner."
"Courage?! How can you speak of courage when I can barely hold my ground from fear!"
"All aboard!", said the man in front of the train.
"No...", I whispered, "No, not yet! I am not ready!"
"You are, little bird! Trust me, there is nothing I want more for you than to get up on that train and see where it takes you!"
I was slowly moving towards the door of train I had only a one-way ticket for. I let her hand and it stood there in the air for a few more seconds, like I didn't even let it go.
"There are beautiful things to see in this life... I've seen so many, imagine how much you will!"
I took another step back, and felt the cold steel of the train behind me. I took one step inside. She was still there, looking in the direction where she assumed I was standing. She waved, like she was supposing that I waved first, and she was just waving back.
In the end, I waved too. I don't know why.
I found my seat and tried to look through the window to the one person I had known, and that I am now leaving.
"I'll be back soon...", I whispered.
I know she hoped I wouldn't be.
Cicmila