Two Become One

26May07

Five months.

Five months of new places, of new people. Five months of painful laughter and painful reality. Five months of learning, of unlearning. Five months of hard days and long nights. Five months of fear and exhilaration, of revolution and temptation. Five months of meeting new friends. And meeting old ones. Five months of confusion, of insight, of revelations. Five months of great food and crappy beds. Of beautiful views and depressing sights. Of dancing in the streets. Of staring at your feet. Of truth and lies. Of anger and joy. Of experience. Five months of adventure.

Five months is a long time. Beards have grown thick and been shaved and grown thick again. Tans have darkened and faded again. Memories made and forgotten. The longing for freedom has finally given way to a longing of a different kind. Resolve has weakened and fuel burned out. Now the anticipation of normality tinges every breath with a metallic tang. Gone is the want know that which cannot be conceived, now is the longing for what was had before. In that different life that we left so long ago. Five months ago.

For some the power still draws, the imagination still tingles. Unwalked soil still calls and unimagined worlds are still reachable. Another adventure. Another experience. Another few weeks in hallowed land.

And so such power, like the gentle but insistant pull that pools spattered droplets of mercury, draws us apart. Like the now spend fuel casing on a rocket, I fall back down to earth while my counterpart continues onwards. While I drop back into the cool ocean of origin, the adventure continues.

I’m going back now. My part of this story is finished. In time, I’m sure, when my reserves are filled again and the needle of my wants swings once again, I will make another journey. There is a big world out there, and plenty of time for me to see it.

Barry

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