Flight of the Aspen: A Sequel to "The Aspen"

Breathe me in. 

Take me to our secret place, where pain evades us. Where love is paramount.

The golden shimmer of the aspen call to my soul.

They comfort me at the height of this place and seem to sing a melody of triumph to one another.

I reach out and catch a fallen note, holding it close to my chest, pushing it deep inside -- a key, for a time when I will need it most.

For a day when I will no longer hear the music. --The Aspen September, 2011


Is it time to say goodbye

When every right turn leads left?

When every dance becomes an unsyncopated nightmare?

When the rhythm has left your feet and the music has left your lungs?

My hands tremble at the thought of this new journey before me.

Not knowing if I’m running or becoming...

Something new.

I want to explore the unchartered territory within my veins.

But how do I know if I’m running toward my next adventure or simply escaping?

In my cocoon of hibernation I hear a faint but familiar sound outside.

Within moments, I feel my heart quickening.

I look down to find a diode of red, radiating from my chest.

As I reach to examine the foreign emission,

It unexpectedly bursts into a rainbow of the most brilliant colors, I’d ever witnessed -

Shades of vibrancy my eyes had never beheld.

The key! I shriek, remembering a long forgotten promise the mountains had made me.  

I scratch the surface of my skin to find the light.

With a gentle tug, attached to a ribbon, emerges a wooden key, about three inches in length and warm to the touch. 

At first glance, it resembles a key that might open the antique door of an historic home.

Yet, as I look again, golden leaves begin to sprout from the key’s bow.

I know I must move quickly before the key is enshrouded by leaves and bark--

And my chance for a new beginning is overgrown...misshapen...gone. 

If the time for the key is now, there must be a keyhole somewhere close, I reason. 

At the top of my entrapment, I see a tiny pinhole of light.

That must be it!

My fingers and the key make their way toward the only light I can see. I fumble awkwardly, as a child trying to force a square peg into a round hole. 

Twigs from the bow are growing longer and time is growing shorter for me. 

It is simply a matter of time before I will be holding a small tree, instead of the key to my freedom.

Praying, I make one last thrust at the hole above me. It slides into something. I think I found it! A perfect fit! 

My heart is pounding and I am sweating profusely as I can only guess what is waiting for me beyond this safely spun prison I had created for myself.

Taking a deep breath, I turn the latch; without warning, my cocoon breaks into a million pieces, and I am left alone... in the wilderness. The refrain is louder in this space, and with a smile, I finally recall its source...  (to be continued)