Burnt

I trudged on wearily, lonely. The dirt road stretched for what seemed like forever and the large hill in the distance seemed to loom like Mt. Doom if it was placed in the desert south west. My shoes, which had at one point been the staple of every outfit I wore, now seemed to pour in bad memories with every step.

"Where am I even going" I thought to myself as I attempted to shake a small, yet surprisingly painful pebble out of my dreary foot attire.

Is I walked onwards, I looked around to see burnt. Burnt trees, burnt animals, burnt everything. At 18, I had vague memories of a time before the burnt. A time when there were blooms and bees and smiles. Not now. Not ever again.

My pack sat heavily on my shoulders. The men's rucksack was much too big for my thin frame, and dug deep where it rested.

"That's it, I'm taking a break". I gingerly removed my bag, careful to avoid the spots where it had begun to wear into my skin. I remember when it would have been ill advised to sit in the middle of the road. Back when cars would rumble by at quicken paces, trying to return to their homes. Their family. Now though, it made no difference.

The thought of family made my stomach churn. As hard as I fought it, I couldn't help but think of her.

"Follow the road, you'll know you're there when you see this" she said, holding up a worn locket. It was shaped like a heart, silver like it had never been polished, and on a dainty gold chain. It had been around her neck my entire life. I believe at one point it must have been a gift from my father, whom I could not remember.

I remember looking at the locket, then back at her. Tears had formed, which I tried to fight. I couldn't let her see me cry and I couldn't waste the water.

"But...I can't leave you". It came out in a voice I didn't recognize as my own and as I reminisced on it, I realized it must have been the grief and the ash.

"GO. Now. I'm burnt and broken and cannot make the trip. Go".

And so I went, taking the locket with me. Away from her, away from the tatters of a family home and away from what I felt was my last shred of humanity.

I chuckled wryly to myself. "Burnt, everything is burnt."

My mental trip back to the burnt home had sapped much of what little energy I had, and it was crucial I crest that looming hill before the sun went down and it was time to rest.

I flinched as I picked the heavy pack up again. In the side pocket, I saw a familiar shine and reached for it. The locket.

Since the beginning of my journey, I had been pondering what she could have meant "you'll know when you see this". A majority of the logical side of my brain chalked it up to the burns. Its hard to think straight in that much pain. Yet the emotional side, which rarely made an appearance, had hope that perhaps I would meet someone who would know me by the sentimental ornament.

I now stood at the base of the mount. In person, it didn't actually seem that intimidating.

"Quick and easy, up and over, then rest for the evening".

As I began to scale the task before me, I realized the extent of my weakness. Months with meager rations had withered the muscles on my once powerful legs, and the blisters on my feet made themselves known.

I continued to put one foot in front of the other. Though I ached, it was vital I continue. I was never sure what would come out at night, though the only company I seemed to attract was the dust I kicked up.

"Half way up! Maybe even three quarters of the way" I thought joyfully. I felt what seemed like a smile creeping it's way across my face. The first in a very long time.

I was at the top sooner that I would have imagined. As I stood surveying the burnt below, my eyes rested upon an oddity in the charred landscape.

There below me, nestled in the ashes, was what seemed to be a collection of small, haphazard huts. Though it was still in the distance, I was sure I could see at least a few individuals moving.

I felt something on my cheek and realized it was a single tear, straying far from its home, like me.

The little ragged town I looked upon, from where I stood, formed the shape of a heart. I could swear that it even glinted in the fading light of the evening.

"Clever, she was always clever". Satisfied with my discovery, I perched on the top of this monument, ready to go to my locket in the morning.