1 Day: That's All

I climbed and climbed, sweat beading on my forehead, pooling in the crease at my elbows. I felt like I'd been climbing forever. Had it been this rocky the whole time? When did I get that bruise on my ankle? There was nothing before the hike and nothing could possibly lie beyond it.

Somehow, without any warning, I reached the top.

I was startled, stumbling to a halt at the end of the path. The end of the path? How could this be? I tested it with my toe, brushing aside weeds to make sure there wasn't more road underneath. I rubbed my bleary eyes and blinked a few times. It was real. This was the end.

Panting, I turned around and looked at the slope behind me. Miles and miles of road, twisting into the orange-hazed horizon. A road I had traveled. It seemed impossible, even after months of hiking, that I could have covered so great a distance. I squinted, trying to see the pond with the little boat in it that marked my starting point. Was that it? That slight shimmer reflecting the light of the setting sun? I couldn't be sure.

My muscles throbbed softly, still expecting to be called into action at any moment. Did I even remember how to rest after so long a journey? I looked around the clearing, here at the top of the mountain, and spotted a chair sitting under a tree. The sight of it made my limbs woozy. Oh yes, I remembered rest.

I glanced once more at the long trail that had lead me here. I lingered on the thought of each footstep, so labored and seemingly insignificant, and yet here I was at the top of the peak. I smiled, and finally allowed myself to understand. My journey was over. Really over.

"I did it," I said in a whisper.

I collapsed into the chair and fell asleep almost at once.