Friday, September 14, 2007
Chapter 1, Part 4 of 4
Nathan was exhausted and hungry. He had been traveling northeastwards for the last three days without rest. He stopped long enough to rest and feed the horse but no more. He barely cared for himself. His beard was growing in as a tangled nest, his hair was greasy and knotted. He hadn’t bothered to bathe since the day of the funeral. His horse was the reverse, well brushed and fed, the horse seemed to glow with health while Nathan exuded sickness and death.
Nathan was jolted into wakefulness by the siren’s sweet song. He must have been drifting off. Lately, he only heard the song when we was falling asleep. Nathan was sitting on the ground with his back to a tree, head resting against the trunk. Leaning forward, Nathan rose unsteadily to his feet and walked over to a small pool near the stream. He drank some of the cold, crisp water until his thirst was satisfied. Looking down into the pool, Nathan could just make out his reflection. Haunted gray eyes with dark circles looked back at him, his sunken cheeks peaked out from a scraggly beard. A wild halo of brown hair surrounded his pale face. The face looking back at him was not his own but rather the face of someone who had given up on life and was waiting to die. Nathan looked away, guilty that he had accepted that fate so easily.
Standing up, Nathan walked over to his mount and checked his hooves for any rocks or cuts. While he had given up living his own life, he was not about to hurt an animal. Saddling back up, Nathan pulled himself back into the saddle and urged the horse forward.
The last few days had past by in a haze. He barely remembered any time passing. His chain of memories was of a brown tunnel of branches arching overhead. Sometimes he felt those branches reaching out for him, catching on his clothes, pulling at him to lay down and become a part of the forest. And always the rocking motion of his horse moving forward. In the blink of an eye another day past, more branches reached for him, this time with small green buds. He was coming out of the mountains into the fertile valley lands below. Another eye blink, another day. The buds grew larger and the branches seemed to pull away from him. The trees were living while he was walking along the edge of the realm of the dead. The trees seemed to sense this and wanted nothing to do with him now.
Blink, blink. The trees closed in over him as he continued further down in the fertile valley. The green tunnel enveloped him and held him close. He felt at peace, calm and warm. The siren song was fading and he could barely hear it. The deeper into the valley, the thicker the green blanket, the fainter the song. With the muting of the song, Nathan felt himself awaken from his walking slumber. Rather than let the horse chose the path, Nathan picked up the reins and started guiding the horse. Nathan came to a small clearing with a view of the valley below. While he had traveled far down the side of the mountain, he was still quite far from the richness of the valley floor. Nathan could see that the small valley was isolated from the world on all sides by the high peaks of the Eral mountain range. The valley looked to be untouched.
Nathan moved out of the clearing and started following a small lively brook down the steeper slope of the mountain. The brook laughed and burbled, keeping him company and lifting his spirits. There was something about this valley that seemed to restore his spirit. Time seemed to slow down. Minutes seemed to stretch off into hours. The valley floor seemed to come no closer. An overwhelming desire to get to the valley below started to well up inside him. The desire flowed hot through him, he could feel this heat pushing against his normally patient nature. After traveling for hours, the need to get to the valley built to such a level that he thought he would burst. Pushing this intense feeling aside, Nathan tried to relax and enjoy the green tunnel arching above him. He tried to lose himself in the earthy aroma of the leaf littered forest floor. The sweet smell of the cold mountain stream beside him.
Looking forward through another clearing, the desire to be down in the valley came crashing over him. He could not resist the intense feeling that swam up and rolled over him. He sat still on the horse and let the emotion rock over him. He felt like he was being buffeted by strong winds. He swayed and rocked, he reached up and held his head, afraid that it would burst with the overwhelming strength of the feelings welling up inside of him. He had one powerful thought, the valley floor below. He leaned down, head cradled in his hands, beads of sweat popping out on his forehead. Nathan closed his eyes against the suddenly bright sunlight and a vivid picture of the valley floor below sprang into his head. His head started pounding with the intensity of the desire and emotion. As suddenly as it had begun, the emotional outpouring stopped. With the sudden loss of emotion, and the pounding still beating in his temples, Nathan found himself sagging out of the saddle. With a weak hand he tried to grasp the saddle horn to stop his downward motion. His weak grip couldn’t hold him upright in the saddle and he tumbled down to the forest floor below.
Nathan was jolted into wakefulness by the siren’s sweet song. He must have been drifting off. Lately, he only heard the song when we was falling asleep. Nathan was sitting on the ground with his back to a tree, head resting against the trunk. Leaning forward, Nathan rose unsteadily to his feet and walked over to a small pool near the stream. He drank some of the cold, crisp water until his thirst was satisfied. Looking down into the pool, Nathan could just make out his reflection. Haunted gray eyes with dark circles looked back at him, his sunken cheeks peaked out from a scraggly beard. A wild halo of brown hair surrounded his pale face. The face looking back at him was not his own but rather the face of someone who had given up on life and was waiting to die. Nathan looked away, guilty that he had accepted that fate so easily.
Standing up, Nathan walked over to his mount and checked his hooves for any rocks or cuts. While he had given up living his own life, he was not about to hurt an animal. Saddling back up, Nathan pulled himself back into the saddle and urged the horse forward.
The last few days had past by in a haze. He barely remembered any time passing. His chain of memories was of a brown tunnel of branches arching overhead. Sometimes he felt those branches reaching out for him, catching on his clothes, pulling at him to lay down and become a part of the forest. And always the rocking motion of his horse moving forward. In the blink of an eye another day past, more branches reached for him, this time with small green buds. He was coming out of the mountains into the fertile valley lands below. Another eye blink, another day. The buds grew larger and the branches seemed to pull away from him. The trees were living while he was walking along the edge of the realm of the dead. The trees seemed to sense this and wanted nothing to do with him now.
Blink, blink. The trees closed in over him as he continued further down in the fertile valley. The green tunnel enveloped him and held him close. He felt at peace, calm and warm. The siren song was fading and he could barely hear it. The deeper into the valley, the thicker the green blanket, the fainter the song. With the muting of the song, Nathan felt himself awaken from his walking slumber. Rather than let the horse chose the path, Nathan picked up the reins and started guiding the horse. Nathan came to a small clearing with a view of the valley below. While he had traveled far down the side of the mountain, he was still quite far from the richness of the valley floor. Nathan could see that the small valley was isolated from the world on all sides by the high peaks of the Eral mountain range. The valley looked to be untouched.
Nathan moved out of the clearing and started following a small lively brook down the steeper slope of the mountain. The brook laughed and burbled, keeping him company and lifting his spirits. There was something about this valley that seemed to restore his spirit. Time seemed to slow down. Minutes seemed to stretch off into hours. The valley floor seemed to come no closer. An overwhelming desire to get to the valley below started to well up inside him. The desire flowed hot through him, he could feel this heat pushing against his normally patient nature. After traveling for hours, the need to get to the valley built to such a level that he thought he would burst. Pushing this intense feeling aside, Nathan tried to relax and enjoy the green tunnel arching above him. He tried to lose himself in the earthy aroma of the leaf littered forest floor. The sweet smell of the cold mountain stream beside him.
Looking forward through another clearing, the desire to be down in the valley came crashing over him. He could not resist the intense feeling that swam up and rolled over him. He sat still on the horse and let the emotion rock over him. He felt like he was being buffeted by strong winds. He swayed and rocked, he reached up and held his head, afraid that it would burst with the overwhelming strength of the feelings welling up inside of him. He had one powerful thought, the valley floor below. He leaned down, head cradled in his hands, beads of sweat popping out on his forehead. Nathan closed his eyes against the suddenly bright sunlight and a vivid picture of the valley floor below sprang into his head. His head started pounding with the intensity of the desire and emotion. As suddenly as it had begun, the emotional outpouring stopped. With the sudden loss of emotion, and the pounding still beating in his temples, Nathan found himself sagging out of the saddle. With a weak hand he tried to grasp the saddle horn to stop his downward motion. His weak grip couldn’t hold him upright in the saddle and he tumbled down to the forest floor below.
# posted by Canadian Loonie @ 7:42 AM 
