He stood looking out from the deck, steaming coffee in hand. There was no more to see than a sea of fog, a blanket that covered the face of the world. whether the world was hiding its true self or too fearful to look out at the state it had created he could not answer. All he knew was things were a mess and the coffee tasted good. The steam felt warm on his chin even as the cold crept into his toes.
He reviewed the situation in his mind and ran through all the connections that spider-webbed into this point. The confusion, the crime, the lawlessness, the pain and suffering experienced by the many. It went so wrong so fast. Even as the echoes of the cries of victory and freedom reverberated off the walls of authority, the rot was creeping in and as nobody watched, it again took hold.
This is the problem with obtaining freedom he thought, if no one knows how to act free, they act on what they know. It was inevitable that what they had learned, the powers that influenced them in the past would direct actions in the future. Maybe it is a cycle without end, no possibility to break the loop as humanity is not fashioned to do so, their weakness of wheel is not strong enough to break the tracks and find a new path, its own path.
Life has become one of steady direction and even when a community thinks they are changing the course, they can rarely hold the tack for long before they float back towards the only path they have ever been on, the way of average based on impossibly high and narrow peaks, and very broad and deep valleys. There were better ways of course but, convincing the average to act for liberty was a Herculean effort when they already believed they were free.
The coffee was cooling fast and he swilled it once and lifted the edge to his lip to take in the last of its dark murkiness until it was drained. He looked into the empty cup and watched as a tiny bubble at the burst. Now, it was empty, the bottom was in, it was finally time to refill.
A warm hand slid into his own and they stood silently looking into the fog until the right moment arrived. "Can you see it?", she asked and he replied he could and asked the same in return.
"Of course, the vision is mine. Now come, they are gathered."
"Do you think they will see?"
"Some may, most will not, some will turn away in fear. Whatever the result we must do what we can."
"There is no other way."
"No other way."
Who awaited, who had gathered, who was willing to lend an ear was yet to be seen. The invitation had been open, shareable, available to all to discuss other ways. Not many had replied but, it does not take many to start the change of the world just one to do it right. His time was gone it was not to be him but now, it was time for his daughter to try, perhaps she would be the one. Hand in hand they turned their backs on the fog and the nothingness it contained.
She carried his aged weight on her shoulder as they walked and wondered if he would ever see free.
Taraz
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