Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Entry #91

One Step
by Val Griswold-Ford


One step.

Just one. But I have to step alone for the first time.

I’ve never stepped alone – you’ve always been beside me, holding my hand, a devil-may-care grin lighting our way, putting the fluorescent lights above us to shame. Now all I have is the uncaring glow of inanimate bulbs and my way is shadowed, dim, cold.

My hand reaches out automatically, as always, and a painful spasm cramps my knuckles as I grasp nothing but air. My eyes blur – a single tear wets my cheek. Even my sorrow is singular now.

Once again, I look up, look forward, but all I see are stairs mounting into an unknowable future. No one stops to help me; I may as well be invisible, immobile, a vase or a rock, unmoving and unnoticed.

And then, as I hesitate, something warm wraps around me, a quick breath that wipes the tear from my skin and kisses my lips. The same kind of fleeting kiss you always gave when I faltered, when you had to turn back to help me.

“One step,” the breeze whispers in my ear. “One step towards me. You can do it.”

One step. I shift my weight, ready to move.

After all, you won’t wait forever.

12 comments:

Sameera Ansari said...

That was sad and haunting.Beautifully written :)

Lena said...

amazingly beautiful.. reminds me of one piece i wrote once. So sad.. but even when they are gone, they will be there to guide us when we cant do something alone.
Loved the emotions in this one :)

Aniket Thakkar said...

"a single tear wets my cheek. Even my sorrow is singular now." This line did it for me... Was totally captured by the piece after it! Great work! Brings back memories...

laughingwolf said...

tear-jerker....

BernardL said...

A touch of melancholy and salvation.

Sarah Hina said...

Heartwrenching tale, Val. I, too, loved the line Even my sorrow is singular now. We do need someone to climb with, or toward.

Very beautiful writing. And an uplifting resolution. Great job. :)

Karen said...

Very moving piece. I love how she feels him in the end.

Catherine Vibert said...

This gave me tingles. Heartrending little tale. And I wonder, is she feeling him help her on earth, or is he helping her step into the afterlife... I like to think perhaps it is the latter, because I want them to be together. Well written.

JR's Thumbprints said...

Very "in the moment" with a touch of sadness.

bluesugarpoet said...

Touching - solo, but never alone. Lovely story!

jana

Obscure Optimist said...

The pain seems so evident.... touching...
Very well written.

Anonymous said...

Great job with pacing, technical skill, and voice!

Thanks for being a wonderful part of the contest!