Retrouvailles – a short story

There’s something there amidst the quiet. I can see it but I can’t reach it and I’m afraid to. I see it there, in the distance. I’m not sure if I should approach it. It’s at the corner of my eye. It’s just there, constant in the silence. Just waiting patiently for me. I shouldn’t look directly at it but it’s kind of hard to ignore.

Should I move towards it?

I mean, it’s been a while since I saw it. And it’s just there, sitting harmlessly. Nothing exciting has been happening for ages now. Everything seems hushed and muted. I slowly turn to look in its direction. It’s still there. Alright, then. Time for a little burst of courage. So I begin to walk towards it.

It’s not moving. Huh, it’s further away than I thought. But just as soon as it’s within my arm’s reach, it moves away. I shrink back. It comes forward as if telling me that it’s safe and saying “come along now, we don’t have all day.” So I warily step forward and it starts to move away slowly, as if giving me time to catch up. We reach the edge of the forest and I’m not sure if I want to enter. It waits for me, as if knowing that I need time to decide. Since it’s been so polite, I follow it. It takes me deeper into the forest, and through the underbrush.

Till we reach a clearing. I didn’t realize it but it’s almost dark out. There still some light but I’m not sure for how long. It stops at the center and I stand there alongside with it. It’s not doing anything and so I start to look around me. There’s wildflowers everywhere and a huge tree at the edge of the clearing. I feel eyes on me and as I turn to see what it was, birds and creatures alike start to enter the clearing. I feel as if I’m intruding. I turn to look questioningly at it but it told me to wait.

I’ve trusted it so far. I decide to have faith and wait for the moment. As I debated whether to leave or stay longer, the sky got dark and the twilight moment was over. It stretches out its hand towards me and without thinking, I took it.

In a flash, everything around me turned bright and I had to close my eyes. When I dared to open them, the world was ablaze with colour and light. Everything around me was cheering as if to say “finally!” I feel as though I was home. My subfusc and dim world before was like a distant past and I knew from that moment on, I would never let that hand go.

 

via Daily Prompt: Dim