Hope

Somewhere there's a road I long to walk. It is wide and full of others, faceless people all running towards the end. I feel them calling me to join them, and I see their smiling faces, masks against a backdrop of secrets. They have intrigue and they hold power over one another. I watch them and I long to follow.

My road bumbles a different way. Its rocky crags slice into my flesh, feeding on the weariness of my crumbling bones. I walk on, towards a golden haze drifting in the distance. Every so often, the voices of the the other road grow softer, and the golden haze grows clearer, and I feel warmth creep into my tired toes.
Far off, I catch a glimpse of a fleeting silhouette. Another is on my road. Smiling, I call out to him, the voices fading entirely. I feel a strange bubbling joy well up in my heart.

Hope.