A Poetic Narrative: Halfway to My Destiny

In the heat of the noontime sun here I stand;

Amidst the debris of my shattered sanctuary;

Sweating, trembling, weary, hungry and thirsty;

From such fearful and horrible experience,

Yet I am just halfway towards the end of this very long day.

If I may recall how this day had started;

From the darkest dawn in a far away place of my origin;

I was awaken by the terrifying howling of the unknown.

I should have preferred to go back to sleep to be cradled in darkness,

If there was an assurance of safety and peace.

The breaking of the day brought instant hope to me;

I thought of starting the day right for a long journey;

I knew that I had to be rooted out from my birthplace;

But where to, I didn't know.

Then I slowly made a step away from such confusing sight;

Trailing the pathway before me; hoping to end towards a brighter destiny.

Such hope though had quickly faded when along the trail I met this hermit,

Indicating that i must be in the wilderness;

Hence I resolved to hold on to courage and inner strength;

If I wished to survive and get out from this place.

The old man told me of my location;

That I was in a danger zone; then he led me to a crossed pathways;

And said he cannot escort me further;

He left me to decide which path to follow;

Then warned me to prepare myself;

For whatever consequences my choice may lead.

I trod alone on the pathway that I had chosen when the old wiz had long been gone;

The rays of the brightening sunlight had now started to bite my skin;

While my feet ached as I continued to walk on;

Thorns and thistles abound along the bushes as I progressed;

Regrets haunted my mind for this difficult path I had chosen;

But how could I know that the path I had not chosen was better than this?

Besides, to turn back now is too late.

When at the end of this path I had chosen;

I realized that it was not after all too bad; for I was approaching a big beautiful tavern;

And thought to myself that in this place I will establish an abode for my own.

I thought that after all I am in fact among the luckiest travelers;

When in the gateway a good-looking and cheerful host welcomed me.

He told me that everything I needed was here and will all be given to me freely.

Such a beautiful and furnished abode for weary travelers like me;

Food, drinks, and comfort; bounties and kindness were too good to be true;

He further said, "You can stay here for free and through eternity.

Later in the tavern, which was actually a villa in the middle of nowhere;

I was full and refreshed and ready to rest in the sleeping chamber assigned to me.

Suddenly a deafening and horrible growl outside the bedroom shocked me;

I ran towards the door and peeped in the keyhole;

And there I saw the shadow of a huge and monstrous creature devouring bloody human beings;

My reflexes instantaneously catapulted me and out through the back window I fled;

Ran, ran, ran as fast and as far away as I can for dear life;

I continued to run until my muscles and my breath couldn't carry me farther;

Was it an hour? Two hours of running? I ran through eternity till I collapsed and breathless.

I must have fallen asleep for quite some time;

For when I came to, a lone horse rider was carrying me and set me on the horse back to ride;

I was still in a mentally disorganized state but my mind was asking;

Can my life be preserved? Do I have other choices?

Riding on horseback with him while I sleep along the way;

And to a far away city he took me;

Once in that city he said to me "In this city you can stay."

But in my mind I said "...a City of Fallen Angels..."

It was a huge old castle but there never was an inhabitant; no not a soul.

In the castle we enjoyed the banquet on a long table;

There was a cornucopia of all variety of food, dishes, fruit...

I sat at the other end of that long table opposite him;

With a queenly robe and a crown on my head, I was treated like a perfect queen;

If this was a dream then I wanted to sleep in my lifetime;

Living the life of opulence and a king to take care of me.

His jolly mood and charming ways were contagious in the onset;

But in an instant he turned into an ogre;

He thundered and roared like a howling wolf;

His devilish countenance expressed a vicious anger;

His eyes were red and blood ooze from it like tears;

He picked a spear from out of the blue and cast it aimed towards my forehead;

But what he did not know; I saw what he would do while he was just thinking of it;

And so my trustworthy reflexes catapulted me once again from such a Devil's den.

As soon as I was safe and out of his reach; I cast away my crown and tore off my robe; for all of these are symbols of illusions and perfidy;

I was almost completely naked when at the corner of my eyes I saw his shadow approaching me;

My first reaction was to run away as I always did in this situation;

But I thought better and face him square instead;

Enough with running away; I die if I will, I have to face my enemy;

And so with the loudest and most authoritative voice I can muster I thundered..

."You are unreal!

You are just a shadow!

You are just a figment of my thought!

A fruit of a weary mind!"

And furthermore...

"I am your Master!

I am in control of my own destiny!"

Those powerful words that I uttered turned him instantly into an old limping hermit;

He was the one I met at the onset of my journey;

He suddenly stumbled and mumbled incorrigibly;

And withered like a dead tree before he finally burned to ashes.

As I turned my eyes to look where the castle stood;

A huge and thick fog encompassed it;

An so I ran towards it to see what had transpired;

But when the fog cleared; what I saw was a gigantic pile of debris.

I turned again and raised my hands up high as I looked up the sky;

And as I did, I felt a creeping miraculous strength tingling within me;

A refreshed feeling of victory and hope started to warm my body.

A realization warmed my blood as I learned of my life's designation;

I realized that my destiny is actually just within me; my own strength and courage;

I am still halfway of this very long day;

But I am revived and my strength is as the morn;

And I still have enough time to build a home of my own.

Right here where I stand;

Are valuable fragments of the castle that used to be here;

I can gather those useful and valuable pieces;

Mend them and reshape them according to my wishes;

From them I can recycle and build my own castle according to my own design;

The days of running and stumbling into strangers in unknown lands;

Are now a thing in the past;

For where I stand is where my home of beauty, peace, love and abundance.