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Hope-By Hannah C. Duling

A Story of Reflection
Written By Hannah C. Duling
(c) Copyright 2008
All Rights Reserved
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I dug my fingers into the ground, getting the dirt beneath my nails. My tears splattered.......

....making small puddles. I don't remember why I was crying this time. Someone might've died, maybe I failed to reach someone's expectations, or perhaps I just screwed up really badly. It didn't matter, anyway.

Someone walked up to me. I lifted my head to look at the newcomer; as much as I blinked the tears away, I still couldn't make out much more than the stranger was a man. It was like I was looking through some filter... no, like I was thinking through a filter.

"Why are you crying?" he asked as casually as you might greet someone. But there was a hint in his voice... like he knew something I didn't.
"I... d-don't kn-know any-more," I muttered, my voice shuddering with my breath.

Suddenly, he came closer and knelt in front of me. The man pulled my hands off the ground and pressed them to his chest. My tears stopped when he surprised me with this.

I felt his chest rise and fall with every calm, easy-going breath. But there was something else... a constant, gentle th-thud. This feeling... this sound...

He took my hands away from himself, and I almost stopped him, though I wasn't sure why at the time. Next, he laid them on my own chest, but didn't let go of them. I felt the silent sobs tearing through my lungs, making my bosom heave unevenly with every breath. I didn't get it. What was he...?

My ragged breathing stopped in a second. I waited.. . .

Nothing. I looked up to my stranger, confused tears pouring out of my begging eyes. Though I still couldn't make out his features, I knew his face was understanding.

"Hope," was all he said. My eyebrows pushed together, trying to make sense of it. "You've given up hope."

My lips pulled back in a grimace. How could he possibly know? But then- ...I hadn't even remembered why I was crying... I don't remember how I got here, or what I was even doing before then. All I saw was this darkness surrounding me, and my own shortcomings. "...but I don't know what the future could hold," I finally said after a long while.

This time I could make out that he was smiling, "That's right. You don't. That could mean more pain, more suffering. But at the same time, it could mean joy, and fortune. You won't know until you stand up and step forward."

Th-thud...

I gasped, nearly falling back.
My stranger-friend chuckled, standing up. His hand reached down for me, and I took it after a slight hesitation.

Th-thud.

I stood up, for what felt like the first time in weeks. My knees trembled, but they held.

Th-thud.

Light slowly started pouring in from somewhere. I looked around and found myself to be on a dirt path, surrounded by what looked like miles of fields.

Th-thud. Th-thud.

Then I saw him. His hair was long and brown, tussled by the wind, but not messy. He had a beard of the same color that surrounded his mouth, which was curving up and reached his eyes.

And those eyes...

Th-thud, th-thud, th-thud.

And then he was gone. And all I saw ahead of me was a trail, leading straight toward the sun.

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