A Dream of Ends

A Dream of Ends
by
Keaton Foster

Walking through the valley of life, before me it unwinds in such splendid waves. Looking up at a clear blue sky, it dances back and forth across an endless horizon. A bank of silver clouds swirl as a soft wind creeps in from the unknown. The moon hides in the overpowering presence of the sun. The night is held at bay by time itself. The stars are there in the heavens above but I am blind to their presence against the backdrop of the blue sky.

Nature is abound in this place, the beast of many walk about, aimlessly in search of all that they wish to feast upon. The predators hide in the shade of the tall maples and pines that line the floor of a valley that goes on for as far as I can see and beyond all that I could ever dream.

A majestic eagle soars to the heavens as it screeches a song of death for its prey that hides in the thickets nearby. The rabbit flees, the field mouse scurries away, the golden trout swims deeper. All heed the warning of the majestic eagle. He is king in this realm of creatures that linger in the day.

A grey wolf dances in the shadows and tricks of light that move across the valley in a display of heaven and hell. His brethren follow suit, they howl in a symphony of death. His fangs are stained with the blood on many. He is the predator of all in this place that I have come to call existence.

I am always weary of his kind. They often hide in plain sight yet I am sometimes blind to their true intent. They are most cunning in the ways of death. I wish not to be their next victim. I am certainly not ready to be devoured whole. I have yet to explore the true beauty of this place. All that it is and all that it could be is right here in my mind's eye.

As I sleep in peace, I shall wander deeper into the valley that unfolds. I know that I should know better. I should turn back but I won't. Something is pulling me deeper, driving me forward. Further than I have ever been.

Stepping forward, pine needles crush beneath my feet as if to warn me of what lies beyond. The uncertainty of it all begins to stir me from my deep sleep. I should stay here in the familiarity I have come to call my life.

Maybe the endless valley of my mind has an end after all. Maybe there are predators out there in the deepness of the tall pines and the maples that line my way. Predators that are far worse than the wolves that are hiding in plain sight. It is scary to think that all I see is not real, as my Imagination makes it appear more real than just about anything else in my life.

With each step forward, I grow more confident that I should turn back to the comfort of what I already know. Many steps come and go. The fear in me further grows. I wish to awaken but I am somehow now being drawn into the uncertainty of what lies just beyond my reach.

Finally, I reach a new place, a place that I have never been in my mind. It looks similar compared to the last. Many of the same things are close by but this time unlike before, something is most certainly different.

Standing here, the clear blue sky begins to fade. The sun is quickly replaced by the blackness of night. The stars come out to play. The silver clouds fade away as the thick nothingness of night takes shape. The moon stares me down with its lifeless embrace.

I shall stay here for a while, for an eternity I am afraid. The view is quite different. It is sadly appealing in all that it represents. A dream of ends has led the way to the rising sky of blackness that I now see in my mind's eye and I shall never again wake. I will forever be in this place. Such a dream shall never cease. I am afraid that I went too far into the valley of life.

Unfortunately, I have reached its end…




A Dream of Ends
Written by Keaton Foster Copyright © 2012.