Wednesday, January 11, 2023

the wayfaring stranger ...

 There was a time once when the sight of his reflection in a lake so still that it was like looking in a mirror didn't cause him any alarm.  But this time it was like the water was in on the deception.

 He sucked air in thru his teeth so fast it sounded almost like an awkward whistle.  Who was that man looking back at him?

 All he'd wanted to do was claim his place as the rightful heir, but instead, he'd managed to destroy everything he thought he had desired.  Seeds of distrust were being sown, and someone was planting lies about him in the ears of anyone willing to listen.  Which at the moment happened to be nearly everyone that mattered to him.  

 The harvest he had planned on ... a home, a community, a family ... was no longer a future within his grasp and he was ready to just forget it all.  He was torn in half, trying to decide what to do.  Should he disappear yet again into the pine green forest and become a wayfaring stranger?  Or should he fight for what was rightfully his?  With everything that had been said about him, and done to him since he showed up, he didn't know if it was worth it anymore.

 In the end, he chose to leave.  Proving that he was the rightful heir was less important than his peace of mind and heart.  He knew, and that was enough for him.  What the others thought or wanted to believe was not his concern anymore.  He would still have a home, a community, and a family one day.  But on his terms, not on someone else's lies and deceptions.


Participating this week in Words for Wednesday here.

7 comments:

  1. Given Prince Harry's recently released book this is timely. And a great deal more dignified than the afore mentioned Prince.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I honestly did not even have him in mind when this came to me late last night. But it is very timely ...

      Delete
    2. Cindi, maybe it was subconciously rolling around in there.

      Delete
    3. Sandi, very possible. I had started to watch their Netflix show, but after the first episode I stopped. I respected their decision to want a normal life, but then questioned how "normal" can it be when you put yourself out there like that for public scrutiny ... not just with the show, but also with the book. I thought the whole purpose of leaving the UK was to avoid that. I suppose I was hoping for more of an Edward & Wallis fairy tale.

      Delete
  2. A fable for our time - and one which many would do well to heed.

    ReplyDelete

All comments are moderated ... so be nice or be gone.