…so she stood up, dusted herself off, cleaned up the wound and started walking again. It hurt for a while, but she had no time for pain. She had to keep going. And then, the unthinkable happened. She saw something shining inside a cave. It was a heart. A brand new heart. It was the most precious thing she hade ever seen, entirely made out of trust. Its beat was strong, so strong, that it could be heard from miles away. And it was so bright, that it lightened the entire forest with one beat.
But the sand storm was on its way, devouring everything that stood before it. And she had to run across the valley that lead to the higher ground in order to escape from it. It was a long journey, and a very dangerous one. She had battles to fight and she didn’t want to risk the treasure she had just found. She needed both hands to fight.
So she went down to the shore, grabbed some oak logs and built a small chest. She then placed the heart in it, and closed it. She grabbed her knife and wrote the word “home” on the wood. She knew the wood was resistant enough to stand the weather and the time at sea; and the heart’s beat was strong enough to find its way down to the highland’s shore. She then vowed to build a lighthouse, a sanctuary where the heart could shine bright and light up the new land. And then, placed the chest on the water as she saw it float away. “A sacrifice worth making, for it its safe. I will hear its beat again, when the time is right” she said to herself. And with these words, she started her journey again.
The journey was indeed long, longer than she ever expected it to be. She got lost many times, and fought incredibly dangerous creatures. The wound on her chest had healed completely, leaving a large scar. But she learned to appreciate this scar, as a symbol of her own bravery and strength. And as the days turned into nights, she fell down many times, getting all sorts of scratches on her face, arms and legs. She would sleep in caves sometimes, but sometimes she wouldn’t sleep at all. She would cry at times for she was terrified of silence and darkness. But mostly, she would think of the heart. She would imagine its journey and would sometimes fear for the waves to sink the chest, or to take it to a different shore. But then she remembered its beat, and its shine. Sometimes, she could even swear she had heard an echo or a reflection of a ray of light… and these thoughts would keep her at ease.
She finally arrived to the new land. It was completely unexplored, but beautiful indeed, and it extended itself beyond the horizon. The air was fresh, and she knew she would be safe there. She was dying to start her new life there, but she knew she needed the heart’s light in order not to get lost. So she started building the foundations of the sanctuary. She wanted them to be as steady and reliable as they could possibly be, for she wanted the lighthouse to stand tall so it could light up all across the territory. This new task, turned out to be even harder than her journey. But she would not complain, she was happy with even the smallest stone for it was a sign of her progress.
And at the end of every day, she would go sit on the shore, completely exhausted, and fall asleep waiting for her “home” to come back to her. “It is safe” she said…
