47 Freedom

1I'd forgotten just how freeing it was to be back in my camp.
I had returned to the water's edge so I could take advantage of the fishing, the lotus plants and my swimming. To immerse myself in the cold waters of the river was exhilarating. I could strip naked once more and indulge in feeling clean, lie in the water and comb my hair back to lustre.
But most of all I didn't have to accommodate other's expectations of Me. I could be the whole of Me once more, opening my inner senses to the world and not have to guard them against attack.
I shuddered at the power of that man's fierce energy. A raw, destructive force which destroyed everything in its wake. I wondered how Yí Rán coped with it, being such a gentle soul. I doubted she visited her father-in-law; I must admit she never mentioned him.
Dismissing all those thoughts, I sat myself beside the water and contemplated its flow. 
Yes, I had been snagged by the river bank and eddied in the pools, but now I was free, back in the Flow of Life and this time I would not relinquish it for anyone.

I sat like that for some time and feeling refreshed, collected my hunting knives, bow and bolts and headed for the woods.
'Mm, wonder what's going to be on the table tonight?' I mused as I silently padded up the hill towards the rustling in the trees.

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