A walk in the woods
By Janet Baldey
I am happy, I suppose, or perhaps
‘content’ is the better word. I have a
comfortable home and enough money to meet my needs, but something is missing,
and I know very well what it is. I have
no sense of belonging. I float through life without touching or being touched,
so that, although it is Marcus who died, sometimes I feel I am the ghost. But,
unlike Marcus, I exist and as I do not believe in the afterlife, my outlook is
barren.
All
the above was the truth as I saw it yesterday, but today, something has
happened that I can’t explain. Nor do I
want to, for that would destroy the kindling of hope that has fanned a spark of
life in me.
This morning, I
took my dog
At almost the
same time as I emerged, another figure appeared from a track on the opposite
side of the park. It seemed another
walker had braved the rain. I looked for
the dog for it would be odd, not to say ominous, for anyone to be out without a
pet in these conditions. Sure enough, I
saw the tip of a tail whisking thigh high just above the grass, and I relaxed. But not for long. They drew nearer and as my eyesight focussed,
I stopped abruptly, shocked. The tail
was
I lick my lips,
they feel cold and dry and taste of winter.
I regret many things in my life, but none more than that moment of
hesitation. Except, now I am left with a
feeling of hope that won’t leave me. For
this reason, tomorrow, and the next day and the next, I will return and who
knows, I might find him again.
Copyright Janet
Baldey